Spotlight on Public Broadcasting: STORYTELLERS
SEP 14 WED | SEWARD, ALASKA | 5:00 PM |
SEP 15 THU | CRUISING HUBBARD GLACIER |
SEP 16 FRI | SITKA, ALASKA | 8:00 AM | 6:00 PM |
SEP 17 SAT | JUNEAU, ALASKA | 9:00 AM | 10:00 PM |
SEP 18 SUN | SKAGWAY, ALASKA | 7:00 AM | 3:00 PM |
SEP 19 MON | KETCHIKAN, ALASKA | 12:00 PM | 7:00 PM |
SEP 20 TUE | CRUISING THE INSIDE PASSAGE |
SEP 21 WED | VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA | 7:00 AM |
Spotlight on Public Broadcasting: STORYTELLERS
When PBS first went on the air more than 50 years ago, it was born out of a groundbreaking idea: that Americans deserve a non-commercial television service whose sole mission is to educate and inspire. Guided by that bold mission, public television has transformed communities and strengthened lives. PBS programs have let us traverse with the wildlife of the Okavango Delta, solve mysteries, cook alongside culinary artists, fall in love and ask a million questions. PBS has educated, engaged and inspired viewers across America, one program at a time.
This 7-night itinerary offers travelers access to some of America’s most celebrated television producers and journalists responsible for the best documentaries, investigative reporting and news programming on television. For years, the PBS NewsHour and Washington Week have been known for offering “more light than heat” in reporting the news of the day. This voyage will feature Phil Rucker, Washington Week favorite. He will be joined by Phil Bertelsen, producer and director of many PBS stories for American Masters and American Experience.
OUR SPEAKERS:
PHIL BERTELSEN
Phil Bertelsen is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning producer and director who uses film and television to entertain, inspire, and provoke audiences. His work spans from documentaries on Netflix, NBC, PBS, and Viacom to episodic television, including network dramas Madame Secretary and The Black List. His documentary films chronicle pivotal events, prominent figures, and meaningful perspectives in the pantheon of the Black experience and critical subjects like racial identity, transracial adoption, homelessness, education, and cyberstalking.
His most recent project, The Picture Taker, about a Civil Right photographer shown to be an FBI informant, is due to premiere in festivals and theaters this Fall (2022). His last project Who Killed Malcolm X, is a six-part series currently streaming on Netflix that explores the death and controversial convictions associated with the slain civil rights leader. His work prompted a reinvestigation of the decades-old crime resulting in the exoneration of two wrongly convicted men. Currently, Phil is one of the Directors on the highly anticipated Hulu documentary series, based on the Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times essays of the 1619 Project. He is also one of the Executive Producers and Directors on HBO’s upcoming multi-part documentary Seen and Heard. Other themes his films have covered include Martin Luther King, the Media, and the Movement (Hope and Fury), the Presidency of Barack Obama, (Through the Fire), the legacy of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, (Beyond the Steps), as well as the significance of Shirley Chisholm’s historic run for President, (Unbought and Unbossed).
Through his storytelling, Bertelsen explores topics absent from our history books and demonstrates how integral Black history is in the whole story of America. In addition, he’s explored perspectives from the African Diaspora, producing Afro-Pop: Seasons 2 and 3 for public television.
Bertelsen has screened his work at prestigious global competitions, including the Sundance Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival, and the London International Film Festival. In addition, he has won a Student Academy Award as well as awards from Director’s Guild,The Tribeca Film Festival, and Urban World Film Festival. And he has received grants from organizations that include The Ford Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), Black Public Media, the Independent Television Service (ITVS), and the Paul Robeson Fund.
Bertelsen holds an MFA in Film and TV from New York University where he was a Spike Lee Fellow. He has a BA in Political Science and Journalism from Rutgers University and is a member in good standing in both the Writers and Directors Guild.
PHILLIP RUCKER
Philip Rucker is the White House Bureau Chief for The Washington Post. He previously has covered Congress, the Obama White House, and the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns. Rucker also is co-author of “A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump’s Testing of America,” a No. 1 New York Times bestseller, and is a Political Analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. He joined The Post in 2005 as a local news reporter.
Honors & Awards:
- Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, 2018, for coverage of Russian interference
- George Polk Award, 2018, for coverage of Russian interference
- Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize, 2018, for distinguished reporting on the presidency
- Sigma Delta Chi Award, 2018, for coverage of Russian interference
Meet and engage with these experts and their featured guests at panel discussions, presentations, as well as private dinners and cocktail receptions which allow for one-on-one interaction during the unforgettable voyage. All of the presentations will be non-partisan. These presentations will be coupled with celebrations of arts, culture and history courtesy of filmmakers from PBS’ American Experience and Great Performances
