Katherine Oliver
Katherine Oliver | |
|---|---|
| Born | ???? Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY |
| Nationality | U.S. |
| Citizenship | U.S. |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Media & Entertainment |
| Notes | |
*former General Manager of Bloomberg Television & Radio prior to joining Bloomberg Administration. | |
Katherine Oliver is an American media and entertainment executive based in New York City. On August 1, 2002, she was appointed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as the Commissioner of The New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, which facilitates all aspects of film, television and commercial production in New York City, coordinating on-location filming, liaising with the community and promoting the City as an entertainment capital[1]. Oliver is the main liaison between the Mayor's Office and Hollywood and “aims to make filmmakers and production companies happy to return to New York.”[2] In 2013, Oliver and Mayor Bloomberg were featured on the cover of Variety and were credited for their role in “revitalizing the city’s entertainment sector.”[3] An economic impact study released by the Boston Consulting Group in 2012 found that New York City’s entertainment industry during Oliver’s tenure as film commissioner had grown to account for a $7.1 billion annual direct spend in New York City, an increase of $2 billion since 2002, and that the local industry created 30,000 jobs in New York City since 2004, growing to employ 130,000 people.[4] AM New York noted that: “New York's film and TV industry is stronger than it has ever been, pumping $7.1 billion into the local economy in 2011 and bringing in some $60 billion over the last decade.”[5] After Bloomberg announced that former president and co-founder of NYC Media Group Arick Wierson was returning to the private sector,[6] Bloomberg named Oliver as the incoming president of NYC Media and general manager of NYCTV. In July 2010, Oliver became the commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment,[7] the city agency that includes the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, NYC Media, and NYC Digital.
New York City's Entertainment Industry
When Oliver started in 2002, there was a perceived hassle-factor of working in New York City. “A lot of people are intimidated about shooting in New York City because it’s a busy city,” she told the New York Times. “What we’ve tried to do is to convey: “No it’s simple; it’s a one stop shop. Come to our office.’ ”[8] Production levels have increased dramatically since Oliver’s appointment as film commissioner. Between 2002 and 2011, television production in New York City grew by 82% while the number of primetime episodic dramas based in the City increased from only 9 series in the 2001-2002 TV season to 25 series in 2012-2013.[9] In 2012, TV drama production in New York City increased by 37% while it decreased in Los Angeles by 20%.[10] The growth in production has also been a boost to the local economy with on-location filming bringing money into the local economy and attracting tourists who are inspired to visit the settings of the shows they see on screen.[11]
At the start of her appointment as commissioner in 2002, Oliver immediately updated the way permits were issued, doing away with electric typewriters and reducing permit process wait times. In later years, an online permit system was developed, allowing any production with Internet access to apply for location requests, eliminating the need to visit the office in person to obtain permits.[12] Oliver also emphasized customer service and implemented measures that would make it more cost effective to film in New York City, like the “Made in NY” Marketing Credit[13] – free advertising in subways, buses and on Taxi-TV for qualified productions in exchange for a donation made to a local cultural institution – and a discount program lessening the cost of goods and services for films and TV shows in the City at 1,000 participating businesses.[14] “It’s being innovative and responsible and responsive to the changing sector,” Oliver told Variety. “It embodies what’s happening with our customers day in and day out.”[15]
Filmmakers responded to the open access and additional services. According to HBO executive Bruce Richmond, “Location shoots, especially in a city the scale of New York, have their complexities, so you always want an engaged mayor’s office. That’s exactly what we’ve seen with Mayor Bloomberg’s team.”[16]
Marketing, Education, and Workforce Development
To distinguish productions that filmed at least 75 percent of their projects in New York City, Oliver teamed up with @radical.media, a NYC-based media company, to create the “Made in NY” logo. “We created this logo,” Oliver told the Village Voice. “It kind of looks like an old New York City subway token, and we thought this is our mark of distinction, and every project that qualifies will display it proudly. It really led to a grassroots initiative where people in the industry were kind of vying for this status.”[17] In 2013, the “Made in NY” logo was expanded to also include digital companies and startups that had at least 75 percent of their development based in New York City.[18]
Throughout Oliver’s time as commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, and later the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, the agency developed a number of programs to help New Yorkers gain access into the entertainment industry, including a free series of career panels[19] and the “Made in NY” Production Assistant Training Program, which, with the nonprofit Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, prepares unemployed and underemployed New Yorkers for entry-level jobs on sets and in productions offices. Approximately 96 percent of the program graduates are people of color, and “Made in NY” PAs have worked on over 2,000 productions.[20]
Oliver has also championed educational initiatives and assisting the next generation of filmmakers to develop their talents. In collaboration with the Department of Education and Tribeca Film Institute, Oliver and her team developed the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts: The Moving Image, a guide that outlines expectations for the study of film, TV and animation from early elementary school through high school graduation.[21] A scholarship fund was established for students attending New York City College of Technology and pursuing a baccalaureate degree in the entertainment technology field; the fund was made possible through a donation from Teamsters Local 817 in support of the Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting.[22] In 2012, it was announced that the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment would invest in the new Brooklyn College Graduate School of Cinema at Steiner Studios. “We have an obligation as an economic development agency to train and retain people of the industry,” said Oliver.[23] Tuition is expected to cost less than half that of most graduate film programs in the U.S.[24]
Tax credits for film and television production
Oliver has been credited with pushing a series of tax incentives for filmmakers and television production in a bid to win back production jobs from California and Canada. "This business is coming here as a direct result of this [tax] program," Katherine Oliver, commissioner of the Mayor's Office for Film, Theater, and Broadcasting, told the New York Daily News." [25]
Bloomberg L.P.
A former reporter and producer for CNBC, Oliver moved to Bloomberg, L.P. just as the financial giant was turning its focus to news and media content. Oliver eventually began running the news and content operation out of Bloomberg's London office, where she commanded a team numbering 650. In 2002, after spending nearly a decade overseas, Oliver returned to New York to join her former boss in his new position as Mayor of the City of New York.
Personal life
Oliver is unmarried and lives in New York City. She is known by close friends as "K.O." - a nickname given to her by her former and current boss, Michael Bloomberg.
References
- ^ http://www.nyc.gov/html/mome/html/home/home.shtml
- ^ http://variety.com/2013/biz/biz/oliver-1200375839/
- ^ http://variety.com/2013/scene/spotlight/variety-fetes-mayor-michael-bloomberg-and-katherine-oliver-1200414859/#1/mayor-bloomberg-praises-katherine-oliver/
- ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/new-york-city-60-billion-spent-tv-film-bloomberg-321679
- ^ http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/new-york-s-entertainment-industry-is-stronger-than-ever-report-1.3707048
- ^ http://www.nyc.gov/cgi-bin/misc/pfprinter.cgi?action=print&sitename=OM&p=1242423391000 Statement By Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg On The Resignation Of Nyc Media Group President And General Manager Arick Wierson
- ^ http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100730/FREE/100739979
- ^ http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/the-insider-hollywoods-liaison/
- ^ http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/big-apple-is-becoming-the-new-hollywood-for-a-list-tv-production-report-1.4970645.
- ^ http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20130127/MEDIA_ENTERTAINMENT/301279969
- ^ http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20130317/MEDIA_ENTERTAINMENT/303179981
- ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/new-york-film-tv-office-244586
- ^ http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118052300.html
- ^ http://www.moviemaker.com/news/top-10-cities-moviemaker-2013/
- ^ http://variety.com/2013/biz/biz/oliver-1200375839/
- ^ http://variety.com/2013/biz/features/bloomberg-1200375168/
- ^ http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/01/media_and_enter.php
- ^ http://pandodaily.com/2013/02/19/bloombergs-parting-gift-to-nyc-tech-an-online-hub-to-make-doing-tech-in-ny-easier/
- ^ http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/well-tell-you-how-to-get-to-sesame-street/
- ^ http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/steiner-studios-%E2%80%98hollywood-east%E2%80%99-expands-facilities
- ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nyc-promotes-arts-alliances-schools-90105
- ^ http://livedesignonline.com/news/made_in_newyork_scholarship_winners_1008
- ^ http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20121220/EDUCATION/121229987
- ^ http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118063894/
- ^ Studio Briefing http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1289810/news#ni0098420
External links
