Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer of the award-winning crime and justice series "48 Hours."
Zirinsky's work and programs have earned virtually every major journalism honor including multiple Emmy Awards, a George Foster Peabody award, the Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence, the Christopher Award, The Writers Guild of America award and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award. And in 2013, she was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by the New York Festivals International Television & Film Awards.
In addition to "48 Hours," Zirinsky was the executive producer of the critically acclaimed Showtime documentary "The Spymasters - CIA in the Crosshairs," which featured the only interviews with all 12 of the living former and current heads of the CIA.
Zirinsky was also the senior executive producer of the 2013 documentary series, "Brooklyn DA," and serves as the senior executive producer for breaking news specials for CBS News, such as those done in the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks, the movie theater shooting in Aurora Colo., the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., and the Boston Marathon bombings.
Since joining CBS News as a part-time production clerk in 1972, Zirinsky has worked for a variety of CBS News broadcasts and covered national and global news, several presidents, wars, international conflicts, the Olympics and the world of fashion. She also is responsible for the oversight ofCBSNews.com's crime blog, "Crimesider."
In her current position, Zirinsky also served as the co-executive producer of two "Person to Person" interview specials; she executive produced "David Letterman: A Life on Television";she produced "The Grammys Will Go On: A Death in The Family", a documentary about the Grammys and the night Whitney Houston died, and "Vanity Fair's Hollywood."
Previously, she was an executive producer of CBS News' award-winning broadcast "9/11" - a documentary on the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that included the only footage of the first plane going into the north tower of the World Trade Center and of activity inside the Trade Center before the towers fell. The documentary has been updated for the first, fifth and 10th anniversaries.
Zirinsky has also produced such primetime specials as "The Royal Wedding: Modern Majesty;" "Fashion's Night Out" with Vogue and Editor Anna Wintour; "That's The Way It Was - Remembering Walter Cronkite;" "Ted Kennedy: The Last Brother;" "Change and Challenge: The Inauguration of Barack Obama" and "Katie Couric's 'All Access' Grammy Special." She also produced the documentary series "The Injustice Files" for ID Discovery; and the CBS News documentaries "The Lord's Bootcamp," "In God's Name" and "Flashpoint."
Zirinsky also produced for Showtime the critically acclaimed documentary, "Three Days in September," which told the story of a school taken hostage in Beslan, Russia. The film was also featured at the Tribeca Film Festival.
She also produced for CBS Entertainment an online companion to the series "Jericho." She was the executive producer of "Elvis by the Presleys," for CBS Entertainment and was the executive producer of two specials for Tyra Banks' "America's Next Top Model."
Before joining "48 Hours" in 1996, she was executive producer of Campaign '96 (1995-96), managing the daily operations of CBS News' election-year political coverage, and of the primetime CBS News magazine, "Eye to Eye" (1994-95), after having served as the broadcast's senior broadcast producer and senior producer (1993-94).
Zirinsky was the director of CBS News' 1992 political reporting, responsible for coordinating coverage of candidates, issues and events for all CBS News broadcasts, including the presidential election. During that period, she was CBS News' senior producer at the 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France, where she oversaw the CBS News and Sports news desk for the network.
Earlier, Zirinsky served in several capacities for the "CBS Evening News with Dan Rather" in New York and Washington, D.C. In New York, she was its senior broadcast producer (1991-92) and senior producer (1989-91). In Washington, she managed all feature stories and oversaw editorial content of daily hard-news events (1986-89). Zirinsky was CBS' White House producer for more than a decade. She first joined the "CBS Evening News" as a producer in 1979.
She also worked on other CBS News broadcasts, including the "CBS Morning News" and "CBS Evening News" weekend editions. Zirinsky worked the Democratic and Republican National Conventions from 1976 through 1988 as a floor producer for Dan Rather, Lesley Stahl, Ed Bradley and Mike Wallace. In 1992 she was senior producer for all coverage at both conventions.
Zirinsky's international news experience is extensive. She traveled overseas with presidents Carter and Reagan. Her assignments have taken her to Russia, China, Japan, Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In 1989, Zirinsky ran CBS News' operations out of Panama during the United States invasion of that country and was in charge of CBS News' operation in Beijing during the Tiananmen Square student uprising and military crackdown. Earlier that year, she was lead producer for CBS News' coverage from Japan of Emperor Hirohito's funeral. She was the senior producer responsible for setting up and overseeing the Network's news operation in Kuwait while covering the first Persian Gulf War, and it was under her stewardship that CBS News was the first network to enter Kuwait, just behind the Allied forces.
Zirinsky was technical advisor/associate producer for writer/director James L. Brooks on the film "Broadcast News," starring Holly Hunter as a Washington network news producer.
Zirinsky was graduated cum laude from American University in Washington, D.C.
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BRIAN TALLEY – OWNER/WINEGROWER, TALLEY VINEYARDS - HOW EL NINO IS AFFECTING THE CENTRAL COAST AND NEW RELEASE
El Niño is everywhere in the news due to severe weather in Texas, flooding in Missouri and unseasonably warm winter temperatures on the East Coast, all of which have been attributed to this weather phenomenon which is marked by warm Pacific Ocean temperatures near the equator.
Much of the focus in California has been on how El Niño will affect our ongoing drought. The early part of the season has been good for the Sierra Nevada snowpack which was measured to be 108% of average in December. Things haven't been quite so good for our local water supplies on the Central Coast, which receive very little benefit from snow that falls in the Sierra Nevada. Lopez Lake, which supplies water to our local cities and downstream release for the Arroyo Grande Creek, is at its lowest level since the dam was completed in 1969. Other local reservoirs, including Nacimiento, San Antonio and Cachuma are even lower.
As of December 31, total seasonal rainfall in Arroyo Grande was just over 5 inches, about average for this time of year. All of this appears likely to change as the latest prediction is that El Niño will have a greater impact in our area during the month of January when the jet stream shifts to the south. Hopefully this means accumulating snow in the Sierras and more local rainfall which will refill our reservoirs, recharge our aquifers and turn our hillsides green. This will be good for everything we grow, especially our oldest chardonnay vines, which have really struggled during the drought.
It is widely acknowledged that a single wet year won’t solve California’s long term water supply issues, but it’s better than the alternative. Cheers to rain in 2016!
NEW RELEASE
We are proud to introduce a new wine to the Talley Vineyards and Bishop's Peak lineup. The 2013 Bishop's Peak Elevation is a proprietary blend that harks back to the origins of the Bishop's Peak brand in 1999 and Brian Talley's belief that Paso Robles could produce world class cabernet sauvignon. It serves as the flagship of the brand and winemaker Eric Johnson's vision of a true Bordeaux style blend from the appellation.
• Produced from 50% cabernet sauvignon, 17% petit verdot, 17% cabernet franc, and 16% malbec
• Grapes sourced from Santa Margarita Ranch
• Harvested October 31 - November 12, 2013
• Fermented with native yeast in stainless steel fermenters
• Aged 18 months in French and American oak barrels, 39% new
• 1,496 cases bottles in June 2015
Deep ruby in color, the 2013 vintage of this classic Bordeaux blend is a beautiful expression of the Paso Robles appellation. The nose has bright notes of olallieberry and ripe plum, layered with roasted macadamia nuts and wet river rock. The palate is supple, intense and refined with underlying notes of oak and baking spice, followed by a hint a red cherry. Enjoy this beautifully crafted blend with roasted leg of lamb or a hearty beef stew.
STEVE EVANS – THE MOVIE GUYGREAT MOVIES OPENING THIS WEEKEND AND BOX OFFICE PREDICTIONS AND HOPES. FIND OUT WHAT MOVIES ARE WORTH YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY. GET SET FOR THE WEEKEND.