Maurice Wolfe "Reese" Schonfeld (November 5, 1931 – July 28, 2020) was an American televisionjournalist and executive. Trained as a lawyer, he co-foundedCNN withTed Turner in 1980, and went on to establishFood Network in 1993.

Schonfeld was born inNewark, New Jersey, on November 5, 1931.^[1] He was ofJewish descent, the grandson ofYiddish-speaking immigrants.^[2] His father, Philip, worked as a partner in a glass-and-mirror company; his mother, Sarah (Wolfe), was a housewife, secretary, and bookkeeper. He got the nickname "Reese" as a result of his younger sister's mispronunciation of Maurice.^[1] He graduated fromWeequahic High School.^[2] He went on study atDartmouth College, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1953.^[1] He subsequently earned an M.A. andJ.D. degrees fromColumbia University.^[3][2] However, he never went into practice.^[1]

Schonfeld began his career with United PressMovietone News in 1956. Later he became vice president ofUnited Press International Television News; when its U.S. business was purchased byTelevision News Inc. (TVN) in 1974, he joined that company for a year. In 1975, after TVN folded, he founded the Independent Television News Association, a service that provided independenttelevision stations with pooled news coverage viasatellite.^[4][5]

Ted Turner approached Schonfeld to find out about satellites. Schonfeld recalls Turner asking him how much a satellite would cost, and upon hearing the sum Turner exclaimed "only a million dollars a year?", after which Turner acquired his first satellite. Approximately a year later he was approached again by Turner, who wanted to found a 15-hour all-news channel.^[6] Schonfeld convinced Turner to increase to a 24-hour news channel. Schonfeld calculated it could be done with a staff of approximately 300 if they used an all-electronic newsroom and satellites for all transmissions.^[6] It would require an initial investment of $15–20 million and several million dollars per month to operate.^[6] In 1979, Turner sold his North Carolina station,WRET, to fund the transaction and established its headquarters in lower-cost, non-unionAtlanta.^[6] Schonfeld was appointed first president and chief executive of the then-namedCable News Network (CNN).^[6] He hiredBurt Reinhardt as vice president of the network;Sam Zelman as vice president of news and executive producer;Bill MacPhail as head of sports; Ted Kavanau as director of personnel; and Jim Kitchell, former general manager of news atNBC, as vice president of production and operations.^[6] While at CNN, Schonfeld is credited with originating the24-hourcable news concept. In 1982, Schonfeld was succeeded as CEO byTed Turner after a dispute over Schonfeld's firing ofSandi Freeman and was succeeded as president by CNN's executive vice president,Burt Reinhardt.^[7]

After leaving CNN, Schonfeld joinedCablevision Systems inNew York, where he developed and oversaw the first 24-hour all-news service on a local cable system,News 12Long Island.^[1] He also producedPeople Magazine on TV forCBS,^[1] and assisted in developing "News Channel 8" forAllbritton Communications Company.^[8]

Schonfeld subsequently worked withTime Warner in planning theInternational Business Channel. He designed and implemented theMedical News Network, an interactive TV news service, forWhittle Communications in 1993. He also served on the board of Robert Halmi International before it was sold toHallmark.^[4]

In 1992, Schonfeld began developingFood Network (originally the TV Food Network), which launched on November 23, 1993. He acted as president of the network, which was sold toBelo Broadcasting in 1996 and was later resold to theE. W. Scripps Company. Schonfeld sold his interest in Food Network to Scripps in 1999. He continued consulting for various media projects and occasionally contributed toThe Huffington Post.^[4]

Schonfeld was married to Pat O'Gorman from 1978 to his death.^[9] O'Gorman was sister to poetNed O'Gorman.^[10] Together they had one child— Juliette born in 1966, twelve days before the birth of his youngest child with Karen Lamberti his wife at the time. The marriage with Lamberti ended in divorce 4 years after the births of his two last children once the affair became known. Schonfeld had 5 children with Karen Lamberti between 1960 and 1966; Alexander, Ellen, Orrin, William, and Jennifer Ida.^[1] Schonfeld was the author ofMe and Ted Against the World, an account of the development and early history of CNN,^[1] and "The Global Battle for Cultural Domination", an essay inDeveloping Cultures: Essays on Cultural Change.^[11]

Schonfeld died on July 28, 2020, at his home inManhattan. He was 88 and had suffered from complications ofAlzheimer's disease.^[1][12]

• Me and Ted Against the World: The Unauthorized Story of the Founding of CNN, Harper Collins, 2001,ISBN 0-06-019746-3,ISBN 978-0-06-019746-9
• Developing Cultures, Essays on Cultural Change, Routledge, 2006,ISBN 0-415-95282-4,ISBN 978-0-415-95282-8
• "Shadow of a gunman",Columbia Journalism Review, 1975.(available to read here)

• Biography,The Huffington Post
• Kevin Downey,Reese Schonfeld on the rise and fall of CNN,Media Life Magazine, March 19, 2001

• Appearances onC-SPAN

• 1931 births
• 2020 deaths
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• 21st-century American male writers
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• Deaths from dementia in New York (state)
• Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in New York (state)
• Food Network
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• Presidents of CNN
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