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As the President and CEO of G.C. Media, a company that employs brand management techniques, Cliff Abromats improves ratings, revenue and cash flow at television stations and other media properties across the country. The company has a cross-platform focus.

A broadcast executive for 30 years, Cliff has managed television stations and newsrooms in major markets. He is adept at news, marketing, product development, sales and understands Nielsen’s measurement methodology and interventions.

Prior to forming G.C. Associates in 1999, Cliff was Vice President of Network Development at NBC. Based in New York, his charge was to analyze current television practices, determine which worked and design new strategies to replace those that did not. Cliff and his associates developed entirely new and successful methods of ratings improvement, effective marketing, inventory management and revenue enhancement. The results of this breakthrough work were presented three years in a row at the NBC Sales and Marketing Conference at Promax.

Before moving to NBC, Cliff was the Station Manager at WIVB-TV in Buffalo, where he improved cash flow by 35% in 18 months.

His career first gained recognition for his ability to manage a diverse style of newsrooms. At WABC-TV in New York ratings improved. Channel 7 moved back into first place. In St. Louis, his guidance took KSDK, the number one station in the nation, to even higher ratings. In both diverse stations powerful brands were refined.

Awards include three local Emmys, “Best Newscast” honors from both AP and UPI and a Columbia-DuPont citation.

Cliff is a graduate of the University of Miami.

Contact:  Cliff.abromats@gcamedia.com

Ellen Miller tracks evolving trends in digital media that are changing the way we share news and information. She has fresh insights into how newsrooms can make the most of digital resources to grow loyal audiences.

Ellen is a veteran of television and online news. She has worked in diverse markets, large and small, from Chicago, Sacramento and Cleveland to Nashville, Albany and Baton Rouge. Her experience as a news director, assistant news director, reporter, producer and online editor gives her a comprehensive understanding of the pressures and the opportunities in the 24/7 news environment.

As Director of the Center for Sustainable Journalism at Kennesaw State University near Atlanta, Ellen studied revenue models for online news and social media. She organized conferences with some of the top experts in social media marketing. She also launched an online news startup called the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, www.jjie.org. This experimental project in niche content has grown to become the nation’s top online source for news about children and the law.

Ellen has won two dozen awards for reporting and producing, including “best newscast” in multiple markets. She has degrees from Cornell University and Boston University, where she earned a Masters in Journalism.

Contact:  ellen.miller@gcamedia.com

Mark Tekushan sees advertising, production and design in extraordinary ways. His creative genius spans the world of marketing for international tourism, award winning animations, and medal winning luge designs for the Olympics.

He creates bold, high-end media design and advertising for television, print, and the web. He’s in charge of ad buys, production design and animations, with a client roster that includes consumer products, ad agencies and television networks.

Mark specializes in re-branding the image of a company using strong visual techniques. He has a unique ability to explore any potential market and maximize a client’s full potential. In developing a new or existing brand, Mark says one must look at four key qualities: “the challenge, the creative idea, the solutions, the results. All four disciplines are essential for a successful relationship.”

He not only creates some of the most innovative media design, he also taught title design for motion pictures and broadcast advertising as a Professor at the NYU Center for Advanced Digital Applications. He currently is a Professor at the Cleveland Institute of Art.

His clients have included the Turkish Ministry of Tourism, Budget Car Rentals, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi-Aventis, The NBA, The NFL, Pizza Hut, Newsday, The Food Network, ESPN Sports Network, Court TV, Warner Brother Films, The Charlie Rose Show on PBS, and HBO.

The list of design packages and live action sequences he has created is a long one:

• Design work for advertising agencies including BBDO, and Grey
• Projects for PBS, CNN, Madison Square Garden Network, Jim Henson Entertainment, and Sports Illustrated’s SITV
• ESPN Network Packaging - remote productions, and over a hundred and fifty program opens and packages
• HBO On-Air Promotions – More than ten network campaigns, live action, graphic design, 3D, including HBO Sports "Inside the NFL", “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel," and 25 program packages for Wimbledon coverage
• Cinemax - more than six network campaigns
• ABC Network
• NBC News - The Brokaw Report, NBC Entertainment - Johnny Carson
• CBS News and Evening News - more than twenty program opens, including 48 Hours and Eye to Eye with Connie Chung

Mark’s career almost took a different turn. While studying at the Cleveland Institute of Art, he created the aerodynamics design for a Can-Am Formula One racecar. He also designed luge sleds for the U.S. Olympics team, which won Silver and Bronze at the Lake Placid Games.

Contact:  mark.tekushan@gcamedia.com

Steve Rolandelli has more than 25 years experience investigating and delivering insight on customer behavior and attitudes in the fields of electronic and print media, consumer products, financial services, government services, and industrial products. His work includes design-to-delivery responsibility for more than 500 studies involving markets and consumers at the local, regional, national, and global levels.

Steve’s deep knowledge and experience in quantitative and qualitative investigation make him highly qualified to direct studies of competitive landscapes, market trends, and customer attitudes. He has proven ability to understand, connect with, inspire, and earn the trust of clients, and receives consistent praise for delivering clear, easy to understand, and actionable market insights.

Steve’s accomplishments include:

• Providing insight on brand equity and equity-driving factors that has helped clients gain customers, raise market share, and boost profitability.
• Improving promotional impact and efficiency by helping clients choose messages and placements consistent with their brand identity and their customers’ interests.
• Guiding product development teams toward decisions that have led to profitable new ventures and helped avoid or correct costly missteps.

Prior to joining GC Media, Steve worked as an independent marketing consultant, spent five years as Director of Client Services for Decision Analyst, Inc., and 19 years with Audience Research & Development, where he was Vice President of Research for domestic and international clients.

Steve holds a Master of Business Administration degree—with emphasis in research, data analysis, and economics—from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University.

Contact:  steve.rolandelli@gcamedia.com

Jon Currie is our ratings expert. As the founder and President of Currie Communications, Inc., Jon is uniquely qualified for this role, having performed literally hundreds of studies on the impact of Arbitron and Nielsen on television viewing in virtually every market in the United States - locally as well as nationally. Currie has been used by major firms such as NBC, Fox, Gannett, Tribune, CBS, and more to solve their most serious ratings related issues. In addition, he has provided unique services such as buzz research and social media before both were fashionable. Jon has done studies for companies as diverse as Paramount Pictures, Ford, Procter and Gamble, Caterpillar Industries and the Catholic Church and has also worked internationally in Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the UK and Puerto Rico.

Before starting his own firm, Jon ran Arbitron Ratings' Los Angeles office, beginning the infamous Arbitron-Nielsen meter wars in markets such as Denver and Phoenix. Jon has been a player in virtually every phase of the Industry starting at Frank Magid Associates where he helped launch Good Morning America and ASI Market Research where Jon conducted and supervised hundreds of studies on television, advertising, cable, and movie viewership for all three networks, most major production companies, many New York ad agencies and many cable television providers in the early days, participating in such research as the launch of CNN.

Jon started his work in Media as the Director of Broadcasting, Asst. Prof. Mass Communications at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. Jon earned his Masters in the same discipline at Queens College, while driving a cab in his hometown of New York City. Jon currently resides in Los Angeles where he is very active in the media community.

Contact:  researchguru@gmail.com