Broadcast Veteran Lew Klein to Receive NATPE Honor

LOS ANGELES: Lew Klein, president of the NATPE Foundation, will be recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award during NATPE.

Klein helped create the NATPE organization more than 50 years ago. He will receive the award during NATPE, which will be held January 17 to 19 at the Fontainebleau and Eden Roc Miami Beach resorts.

Klein began his career in the 1950s in the programming department of WFIL (now WPVI) in Philadelphia. From 1984 to 1993, Klein served as president of Gateway Communications, which owned four CBS affiliate stations in New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. He was the executive producer of American Bandstand and the award-winning series Frontiers of Knowledge and College News Conference. Klein has held the position of adjunct professor at the School of Communications at Temple University in Philadelphia for 64 years.

“Lew Klein is a legend in broadcasting who had the vision, compassion and relationships to found both NATPE and the NATPE Educational Foundation,” said Andy Kaplan, NATPE chairman and president of worldwide networks for Sony Pictures Television. “It is an honor for me to present the Lifetime Achievement Award this year to Lew, who paved the way for so many in our business.”

Additionally, NATPE has unveiled the NATPE Student Membership tier as part of the NATPE Educational Foundation. The new Student Membership tier will provide college students nationwide access to NATPE’s resources for young professionals looking to establish a career in the broadcast and content industries. Klein started the NATPE Educational Foundation to promote educational activities on behalf of NATPE. Klein currently serves as the foundation’s president. The interns who volunteer at NATPE this year will be given a one-year membership to the new tier.