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Joel Bach

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Joel Bach
Born1970 (age 53–54)
NationalityAmerican
EducationBrown University
Occupation(s)Journalist, film and television producer
Years active1991–present
Known for60 Minutes
Years of Living Dangerously
Notable workYears of Living Dangerously, co-creator, with David Gelber
AwardsEmmy Awards
Environmental Media Award
Websitetheyearsproject.com
Notes

Joel Bach (born 1970) is an American journalist, film and television producer, known for his work on 60 Minutes with CBS News and for co-founding the environmental project, Years of Living Dangerously with David Gelber.[5][6][7] He won two Emmy Awards for his work on 60 Minutes, and shared with David Gelber both a Primetime Emmy Award and an Environmental Media Award for Years of Living Dangerously.[2][3][4]

Bach worked at 60 Minutes with correspondents including Ed Bradley, Lesley Stahl, Steve Kroft, and Scott Pelley. He successfully recruited film director James Cameron as an executive producer of Years of Living Dangerously, and enlisted actors to the project including Harrison Ford, Jessica Alba, Matt Damon, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Early life and education

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Bach spent his early life in Colorado.[1][8][9] He was raised near the Roaring Fork River in Colorado, which would later inspire the name for his joint production company with Gelber.[8] Bach studied video and film production at Brown University.[10] Bach fostered his early interests in the environment and combined these motivations with his burgeoning film skills at Brown.[10] He created the short film, Brown Is Green, intended to educate first year students at Brown on why they should recycle.[10] The piece also served as his honors thesis.[11] Bach graduated from Brown University in 1991.[10]

Journalism career

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ABC and NBC

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Before landing at 60 Minutes with CBS News, Bach had worked at American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and National Broadcasting Company (NBC).[4] In addition, he gained filmmaking experience through directing public service announcements, short films, and music videos.[4] He worked out of San Francisco and Los Angeles, producing advertisements released domestically within the United States.[4]

60 Minutes

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Bach and Gelber had previously worked together on 60 Minutes with CBS News, prior to co-founding the Years of Living Dangerously project.[5][6][7] Bach joined 60 Minutes in 2004.[1] He spent seven years as a producer and journalist with 60 Minutes.[12] While working at 60 Minutes, Bach earned two Emmy Awards for his investigative journalism and production efforts with CBS News.[4][13][14] During his time at CBS News, Bach primarily worked with 60 Minutes journalists including Ed Bradley, Lesley Stahl, Steve Kroft, and Scott Pelley.[4][12]

During their lunch breaks together at 60 Minutes, Bach and Gelber shared their mutual wishes to subsequently work on a project dedicated to educating people about the environment.[15] After Bach and Gelber had collaborated on two separate stories related to climate change for 60 Minutes, they realized it was the most crucial news topic worthy of additional stories.[16] They both felt they had not seen enough coverage of the topic at 60 Minutes.[17] They knew they wanted to focus more on the topic, but were cognizant of the fact that they could not simply inform their supervisors at 60 Minutes that they would intend to only focus on one solitary news issue of climate change.[18]

Bach began to attempt to produce as many news pieces related to climate change for 60 Minutes as he could.[1] He and Gelber discussed the topic of global warming and agreed it was not getting enough significant attention from the media.[19] Bach and Gelber both left 60 Minutes together in order to devote more time and energy to their climate change project.[20][21][8] Together in 2011 they founded the company to focus these efforts, Roaring Fork Films — in the process Bach described they both left, "the best job in TV, 60 Minutes."[8]

Years of Living Dangerously

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In 2011, Bach and Gelber received their first funding source for the Years of Living Dangerously project, with a check for US$750,000 from investor Jeremy Grantham.[22] Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, used his company Vulcan Inc. to allocate $1.8 million towards education and marketing related to the project.[8] In total, Bach and Gelber were able to raise $15 million in funds for the project.[23][1] They initially wanted the Years of Living Dangerously project to be a feature film.[1][5][18] Fellow film and television executive Jerry Weintraub convinced Bach and Gelber to instead make the production into a television series.[5] Their idea for the project was motivated further by Bach and Gelber's experience watching the 2012 United States presidential debates, and he noticed there were no questions on climate change.[5][21]

After Bach and Gelber successfully enlisted Weintraub and film director James Cameron as executive producers of the television documentary project, multiple celebrities joined soon thereafter — including Harrison Ford, Jessica Alba, Matt Damon, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.[5] They were joined by news reporters Lesley Stahl and Chris Hayes.[24][5] David Nevins, president of entertainment at Showtime Networks, explained why they decided to move forward with the project in 2012.[25] Nevins stated it presented Showtime with a rare chance to utilize both celebrity star talent and filmmakers such as James Cameron, "with the hard-hitting, intimate journalism of 60 Minutes veterans Joel Bach and David Gelber."[26][25]

The series debuted on Showtime in 2014.[27][28] The project received a generally positive media reception.[29][30] Columbia Journalism Review noted the show "drew praise", while The Guardian observed, "the series has very high standards of accuracy."[29][30] Bach and Gelber's work garnered Years of Living Dangerously the 2014 Emmy Award, for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.[23][31][20] He and Gelber also won the 2014 Environmental Media Award in the category, Outstanding Achievement for Environmental Content.[3][32]

Season two of Years of Living Dangerously was subsequently picked up by the National Geographic channel.[16][33] For season two of the series, Bach reached out to David Letterman after discovering he showed specific attention to climate change issues on his CBS program Late Show with David Letterman.[34][35] Bach explained how he landed Letterman for Years of Living Dangerously, "He seemed to perk up when this issue came across his lap We reached out to him to see if he’d want to be part of this, and he said, ‘Absolutely.’ He said [that climate change is] something he does think about a lot."[35] Bach and Gelber sent David Letterman to India for the second season, to interview the country's prime minister Narendra Modi about energy issues.[35][36]

For their second season, Bach and Gelber continued to use celebrity star power to bring attention to climate change, and additionally provided more examples of solutions and direct methods on how interested parties can address the issue.[33] Their work on the second season of Years of Living Dangerously was again recognized by the Environmental Media Awards, with another nomination for Outstanding Achievement for Environmental Content.[37]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2004–2011 60 Minutes on CBS News Producer Won two Emmy Awards.[2][3][4]
2014–2016 Years of Living Dangerously Co-Creator with David Gelber Won a Primetime Emmy Award and an Environmental Media Award.[2][3][4]
2020 X Marks the Spot Producer Written by Jacob Kornbluth, narrated by Sigourney Weaver

Awards and honors

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Year Recognized work Award / honor Organization Result Ref.
2008 60 Minutes, "Left Behind" Emmy Award, Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a News Magazine Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Nominated [38]
2009 60 Minutes, "The Bailout" Emmy Award, Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a News Magazine Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Won [13][39]
60 Minutes, "Where's the Bottom?" Emmy Award, Outstanding Interpretation or Analysis of a Business News Story - News Magazines Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Won [14][40]
2010 60 Minutes, "60 Billion Dollar Fraud" Emmy Award, Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a News Magazine Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Nominated [41][42]
2014 Years of Living Dangerously Primetime Emmy Award, Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Won [2][43][44]
Environmental Media Award: The EMA Outstanding Achievement for Environmental Content Award Environmental Media Association Won [3][32]
IDA Award, Best Limited Series International Documentary Association Nominated [45][46][47]
2015 Years of Living Dangerously Cinema for Peace Award: The International Green Film Award 2015 Cinema for Peace Foundation Nominated [48][49]
2017 Years of Living Dangerously Environmental Media Award: The EMA Outstanding Achievement for Environmental Content Award Environmental Media Association Nominated [37]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Fitts, Alexis Sobel (January 2014), "Almost famous - Can a star-studded documentary series make people care about climate change?", Columbia Journalism Review, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, ISSN 0010-194X, archived from the original on March 30, 2021, retrieved March 10, 2022
  2. ^ a b c d e "Years of Living Dangerously", Emmys.com, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, 2014, archived from the original on December 23, 2021, retrieved March 10, 2022
  3. ^ a b c d e f Gajewski, Ryan (August 7, 2014), "'Years of Living Dangerously' Named First Honoree of 2014 Environmental Media Awards (Exclusive) - The Showtime documentary series about climate change will be feted at the Oct. 18 ceremony and is also currently nominated for two Emmy awards.", The Hollywood Reporter, retrieved March 11, 2022
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Joel Bach, Co-Creator and Executive Producer of Years of Living Dangerously, Managing Director & Executive Producer", 2016 Annual Dinner: California Shows The Way: Leadership and Innovation in the Face of Climate Change, Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs, April 21, 2016, archived from the original on June 13, 2021, retrieved March 10, 2022
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Murphy, Cullen (May 2014), The Greatest Story Ever Ignored, vol. 56, Conde Nast Publications, Inc., retrieved March 10, 2022
  6. ^ a b Duvall, John A. (2017), "Years of Living Dangerously", The Environmental Documentary: Cinema Activism in the 21st Century, Bloomsbury Publishing, ISBN 978-1441197283
  7. ^ a b Benimeli, Claire (2018), L'anglais en Master MEEF 1er degré, Hachette Education, p. 123, ISBN 978-2017059394
  8. ^ a b c d e Kimmel, Sherri (April 2014), "April is the Coolest Month - '60 Minutes' veterans' character-driven series on climate change makes its debut", Swarthmore College Bulletin, Swarthmore College, archived from the original on June 14, 2021, retrieved March 10, 2022
  9. ^ McManus, Reed (April 4, 2014), "Big Celebs for Big Problems", Sierra Club, archived from the original on July 12, 2017, retrieved March 10, 2022
  10. ^ a b c d Revkin, Andrew (May 6, 2014), "Climate-Change Stories", Brown Alumni Magazine, Brown University, archived from the original on August 10, 2020, retrieved March 10, 2022
  11. ^ "Honors Theses About Brown University", Brown University Library: University Archives and Manuscripts, Brown University, November 2, 2021, archived from the original on July 15, 2020, retrieved March 10, 2022
  12. ^ a b Weprin, Alex (December 3, 2012), "Showtime Orders Climate Change Documentary With Celebrities, '60 Minutes' Veterans and Chris Hayes", Adweek, archived from the original on February 16, 2015, retrieved March 10, 2022
  13. ^ a b "CBS News Wins Five Emmy Awards", Viacomcbsspressexpress.com, CBS, September 22, 2009, archived from the original on March 10, 2022, retrieved March 10, 2022
  14. ^ a b Ariens, Chris (December 8, 2009), "CBS Takes Home Four Business/Financial News Emmy Awards", Adweek, archived from the original on March 10, 2022, retrieved March 10, 2022
  15. ^ Malone, Michael (October 31, 2016), "Democracy thrives, at least in Hollywood: Amazon evolves its pilot process, while NBC singing series taps public opinion", Broadcasting & Cable, vol. 146, no. 38, Future US, Inc., p. 18 – via Gale General OneFile
  16. ^ a b Khalamayzer, Anya (December 29, 2016), "How to revolutionize climate change storytelling", GreenBiz, GreenBiz Group, Inc., retrieved March 12, 2022
  17. ^ Blanding, Michael (Fall 2017), "Covering Climate Change with Urgency and Creativity: A look at news outlets bringing innovation and new audiences to stories on climate change", Nieman Reports, vol. 71, no. 4, Harvard University, Nieman Foundation, p. 38 – via Gale General OneFile
  18. ^ a b Spiegelman, Annie (April 8, 2014), "Years of Living Dangerously: An Interview With Showtime Producer Joel Bach", The Huffington Post, archived from the original on August 13, 2020, retrieved March 10, 2022
  19. ^ McDonald, Kathy A. (August 5, 2014), "It's a contest of nonfiction's finest: history vs. current affairs", Variety, vol. 324, no. 20, Penske Business Media, LLC, p. 20 – via Gale General OneFile
  20. ^ a b Astle, Randy (September 3, 2014), "Joel Bach and David Gelber on Years of Living Dangerously", Filmmaker Magazine, The Gotham Film & Media Institute, retrieved March 10, 2022
  21. ^ a b Meyer, Robinson (22 September 2015), "Science - How to Make Global Warming Look Like a Movie - As their Emmy Award-winning doc series moves to the National Geographic Channel, the producers of Years of Living Dangerously talk about tricking viewers into learning about the climate.", The Atlantic, retrieved March 10, 2022
  22. ^ Peltz, Michael (April 2014), "Climate Change and the Years of Investing Dangerously", Institutional Investor, Euromoney Trading Limited – via Gale General OneFile
  23. ^ a b Gillis, Justin (September 23, 2014), "Shining Star Power on a Crucial Subject", The New York Times, p. D5, retrieved March 12, 2022
  24. ^ Adams, Erik (April 10, 2014), "Years Of Living Dangerously frames a climate-change documentary like an action movie", The A.V. Club, retrieved March 12, 2022
  25. ^ a b Rose, Lacey (December 3, 2012), "Showtime Orders Climate Change Series From James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Weintraub", The Hollywood Reporter, retrieved March 12, 2022
  26. ^ Memmott, Carol (December 3, 2012), "Cameron to produce Showtime series on climate change", USA Today, retrieved March 12, 2022
  27. ^ Abrams, Lindsay (April 8, 2014), "Watch the powerful first episode of Showtime's 'Years of Living Dangerously' - James Cameron's epic climate series hits the Internet", Salon, retrieved March 12, 2022
  28. ^ Keene, Allison (April 11, 2014), "Years of Living Dangerously: TV Review", The Hollywood Reporter, retrieved March 12, 2022
  29. ^ a b Abraham, John (April 9, 2014), "Years of Living Dangerously – a global warming blockbuster: This new Showtime climate change documentary is a nonfiction thriller you won't want to miss", The Guardian, retrieved March 12, 2022
  30. ^ a b McCormick, Andrew (July 30, 2019), "Audiences are (finally) paying more attention to climate stories", Columbia Journalism Review, retrieved March 12, 2022
  31. ^ "Years of Living Dangerously Wins 2014 Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series", Entertainment Newsweekly, NewsRX LLC, September 19, 2014 – via Gale General OneFile
  32. ^ a b "Climate Change Documentary Earns Awards", GW Public Health, George Washington University, 2022, archived from the original on July 30, 2021, retrieved March 11, 2022
  33. ^ a b Alcinii, Daniele (September 17, 2015), "Nat Geo Revives 'Years of Living Dangerously'", RealScreen, Brunico Communications Ltd., retrieved March 12, 2022
  34. ^ Gajewski, Ryan (September 17, 2015), "David Letterman Lands First Post-'Late Show' TV Gig — About Climate Change - 'Years of Living Dangerously' producers Joel Bach and David Gelber tell THR how they nabbed the star for the Emmy-winning series' second season.", The Hollywood Reporter, retrieved March 12, 2022
  35. ^ a b c Blistein, Jon (September 17, 2015), "David Letterman Scores Post-'Late Show' Gig on Climate Change Series", Rolling Stone, retrieved March 12, 2022
  36. ^ "PM Modi's NGC interview to be done by David Letterman", Indian Television, September 21, 2016, retrieved March 12, 2022
  37. ^ a b Nyren, Erin (August 7, 2017), "Netflix and Fox Lead 2017 Environmental Media Association Award Nominees", Variety, retrieved March 11, 2022
  38. ^ "Nominees for the 29th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards Announced by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences" (PDF), Cdn.emmyonline.org, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, p. 10, July 15, 2008, archived from the original (PDF) on June 19, 2017, retrieved March 10, 2022
  39. ^ "30th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards Winners Announced at New York City Gala" (PDF), Cdn.emmyonline.org, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, p. 6, archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2021, retrieved March 10, 2022
  40. ^ "Where's the Bottom?" (PDF), NewsPro, Crainsnewspro.com, December 2009, archived from the original (PDF) on March 10, 2022, retrieved March 10, 2022
  41. ^ "60 Billion Dollar Fraud" (PDF), NewsPro, Crainsnewspro.com, September 27, 2010, archived from the original (PDF) on March 10, 2022, retrieved March 10, 2022
  42. ^ "Nominees for the 31st Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards Announced by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences" (PDF), Cdn.emmyonline.org, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, July 15, 2010, archived from the original (PDF) on December 26, 2016, retrieved March 10, 2022
  43. ^ "David Gelber '63 Wins Emmy for Years of Living Dangerously", Swarthmore.edu, Swarthmore College, August 21, 2014, archived from the original on October 22, 2021, retrieved March 10, 2022
  44. ^ de Moraes, Lisa (August 26, 2014), "Creative Arts Emmy Awards: 'Saturday Night Live', HBO Grab Most Trophies — Full List Of Winners", Deadline, archived from the original on January 25, 2021, retrieved March 10, 2022
  45. ^ "International Documentary Association Awards Announces Nominations - The awards will be handed out Dec. 5", The Hollywood Reporter, October 29, 2014, archived from the original on September 23, 2021, retrieved March 11, 2022
  46. ^ Busch, Anita (October 29, 2014), "'Citizenfour,' 'The Sixties' Among IDA Documentary Award Nominees", Deadline, archived from the original on February 12, 2021, retrieved March 11, 2022
  47. ^ Thompson, Anne (October 29, 2014), "International Documentary Association Nominations Impact the Oscar Shortlist", IndieWire, archived from the original on September 22, 2020, retrieved March 11, 2022
  48. ^ "The International Green Film Award 2015", Cinema for Peace Gala Nominations 2015, Cinema for Peace Foundation, 2015, archived from the original on July 22, 2020, retrieved March 11, 2022
  49. ^ "FNE at Berlinale 2015: Georgian Film in Berlin", FNE Daily, Film New Europe, February 8, 2015, archived from the original on April 18, 2021, retrieved March 11, 2022
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