Mediacorp editor-in-chief joins New York Festivals' TV and Film Awards advisory board

SINGAPORE: Editor-in-Chief of Mediacorp Walter Fernandez was among two industry leaders appointed to the New York Festivals' TV and Film Awards advisory board.

He joins the board alongside CEO of WaterBear Network Ellen Windemuth, forming a 16-member panel, the New York Festivals announced on Wednesday (Jan 19). 

The New York Festivals' TV and Film Awards honours content in all lengths and forms from around the world, covering categories such as news programmes, documentaries and entertainment programmes.

"The 16-member advisory board panel of world-renowned executives is an international brain trust of some of the most innovative storytellers, content creators and industry executives whose experience and expertise provide a futurist’s view of the evolving television and film industry to NYF’s TV & Film Awards," said the New York Festivals in a media release.

Mr Fernandez brings more than 25 years of journalism and editorial experience to the advisory board, it noted. As editor-in-chief, he oversees all news and current affairs content on television, radio and digital across English news brands such as CNA and TODAY, as well as vernacular brands like Berita in Malay and Seithi in Tamil. 

In 2020, CNA was named Channel of the Year by the Association for International Broadcasting (AIB). 

Mr Fernandez manages more than 1,000 employees in Singapore and around the world. He also oversees AI strategy and solutions for the newsroom and broadcast engineering for Mediacorp. 

In May 2021, he was also appointed as Chief Sustainability Officer to drive Mediacorp's sustainability initiatives and action plans across its business and among its staff members.

Mr Fernandez said he is honoured to join the advisory board and looks forward to working with industry professionals from around the world. 

"Every year, the TV & Film Awards honour the best in global news, sports, documentary and entertainment programmes.

"The awards are one of the most well-known and widely respected in the world and we are always thrilled when CNA and Mediacorp receive these accolades," he said. 

Ms Windemuth, CEO of WaterBear Network, oversees the strategy and direction of the new free streaming platform "dedicated to the future of our planet", said New York Festivals. 

She executive produced the Netflix documentary film My Octopus Teacher, which won both a New York Festivals Grand Award and a Gold Award, a BAFTA and an Oscar for Best Feature Documentary. 

"A seasoned executive producer and distributor, she has produced over 500 hours of content to date herself," said New York Festivals. 

Ms Windemuth said it is a privilege to be on the advisory board of the festival. 

"In these challenging times, people must connect and align on a global scale via great storytelling," she added.