A Conversation with Jonathan Blakely: Shifting the Media Landscape

Join us for a conversation Thursday, November 18 at 12:30 in MPA #429 with GW alumnus Jonathan Blakely, Executive Producer of 60 Minutes+. 

Jonathan Blakely was named executive producer of 60 Minutes+ in February 2021. He works with 60 Minutes' senior editors to produce this new version of the Sunday classic for a new and growing online audience on Paramount+. 

The CBS News veteran had been the senior producer of the 60 Minutes program "60 in 6" that launched on Quibi in 2020. He was responsible for overseeing the production of the program from story assignment, to shooting and editing to delivering the finished segment for streaming.

Before that he was a senior producer for "CBS This Morning," managing the critical first hour of the morning news broadcast.

The newsman has excelled at every level of CBS News since joining the organization in 2012, demonstrating abilities in the field and in the studio.

In 2019, he initiated and supervised an investigation into more than 150 police departments in the U.S. for "CBS This Morning." The report sought results from the increase in officer anti-bias training spurred by the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014.

Blakely covered Ferguson and several other major domestic stories as a producer for the "CBS Evening News" for two years, including a series on the opioid crisis viewed through the eyes of addicts. At the same time, he field produced stories from Mumbai, India, and Lahore, Pakistan, for CBSN, the News Division's 24/7 digital streaming news service.

Blakely began his career at CBS News researching and writing for "CBS This Morning," before being promoted to associate producer in 2013.

Johnathan will discuss his role in creating a new version of the classic 60 Minutes show and how his experience at CBS News has helped shape his career. 

Registration is required. Lunch will be provided.