Tracy Swedlow

I am the CEO, publisher, and editor-in-chief of InteractiveTV Today (ITVT) (), which I founded in 1998, and am also the co-executive producer and director of the TV of Tomorrow Show conferences () that occur in-person, bi-annually in San Francisco and New York City and during our annual Leadership awards and other livestreaming events. (Note: These two offerings are now incorporated within TMRW Corp.) Our main outlets, the ITVT email newsletter and Web site, are read daily by thousands of high-level TV executives around the world. We focus on the multiplatform TV ecosystem (industry development, content, monetization, and technology) via frequent video podcast interviews called “Televisionation” ().

My earlier writing has appeared in many leading newspapers and trade publications, including the “New York Times,” the “San Francisco Examiner,” “PC World,” “Multimedia World” and “VR World.” Topics I have covered in the past include virtual reality (e.g. wrote very pieces on the early days of VR in Silicon Valley), email communities, surveillance, privacy and technology, online gravesite memorials, and, of course, multiplatform streaming (OTT) and interactive television.

Prior to founding ITVT/TVOT, I was chief evangelist at (now Yahoo! Groups); new media editor at PC World; a producer and director for Telemorphix, a pioneering interactive TV company, and a video producer at Steve Michelson Productions in San Francisco.

A regular presenter at ITV industry conferences and panels, and a frequent guest on television and radio shows, I actively communicate my understanding of the history of multiplatform and interactive TV; its current trends, technologies, content innovations and applications; the complexities of executive leadership and industrial dynamics; and where I think the medium and the TV industry will and must go in the future to audiences around the world. I served as the founding chairperson and judge of the "Television" and the "Broadband" categories respectively for The Webby Awards.

Other media experiences include voiceovers on many feature films while at Sound One in New York City (e.g. “Hannah and Her Sisters” and “9 1/2 Weeks"); participation in the Director/Playwright Workshop at Playwright's Horizons in New York City with founder, Bob Moss; participation on various experimental technology multimedia theater showcases directed by the visionary George Coates in San Francisco; conceiving, producing, directing the first 3 fashion shows (as interactive theater) on the Black Rock Desert in the early years of the Burning Man project, and directing an episode of the “Twlight Zone” called "The Obsolete Man" at the Dark Room in San Francisco. In August 2005, I created and directed a politically-charged multimedia "blogtheater" (my term) piece that focused on post-election America called "Fuck That!: The Political Science Show." In my non-spare time, I produce and edit the occasional book such as "Desert to Dream" (a photography book) and "Train of Thought" (a children's book), improve my art car (“Marblus Sharpkr”), train as a traditional boxer, write original musicals (working on one currently) and paint (). I also am also a mother to a great teenage daughter named Hannah and wife to Richard Washbourne, who co-owns ITVT/TVOT.

My education includes a Ph.D fellowship in Directing at the University of California, Berkeley; a Masters degree in Dramatic Criticism from Northwestern University; a certificate in French and French Literature from the Université de Cannes; a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater History from Tulane University; studies in Drama at the Royal Holloway College at the University of London; as well as a high school degree from Culver Military Academy in Indiana.

Originally from Columbus, Ohio, I witnessed the birth of QUBE, the first commercially deployed interactive television platform, and CompuServe, the first commercial online service.


CONTACT

Tracy Swedlow
tracyswedlow@
415-608-4766