Barbara Cochran

Barbara Cochran has been president of RTNDA since April 1997. RTNDA is the world's largest professional organization devoted to electronic journalism, representing local and network news executives in broadcasting, cable and other electronic media in more than 30 countries.

An industry insider, Cochran's career in journalism has spanned 30 years in Washington. Among the positions she has held:

• Vice president of news and Washington bureau chief, CBS News
• Executive producer, NBC's Meet the Press
• Vice president of news, National Public Radio
• Managing editor, Washington Star

From 1989 to July 1995, as vice president and Washington bureau chief for CBS, Cochran directed the network's coverage of the Bush and Clinton administrations, the U.S. military involvement in the Persian Gulf War, and the Republican landslide in the 1994 congressional elections. At the time of her appointment at RTNDA, Cochran was executive producer of politics for CBS News and supervised coverage of the 1996 election.

Cochran began her career at the Washington Star as a copy desk trainee in 1968 and moved up to managing editor. She moved from print to broadcast journalism in 1979 when she became news director and then vice president of news for National Public Radio. At NPR, Cochran supervised the creation of Morning Edition, which, along with All Things Considered, won the duPont-Columbia award during her tenure. In 1983, Cochran joined the television ranks as political editor for NBC News, and later was executive producer of Meet the Press for four years until joining CBS.

An active member of professional organizations, Cochran serves on the boards of the International Women's Media Foundation and the National Press Foundation and on the Board of Visitors of the University of Maryland College of Journalism, the Advisory Board of the Columbia Journalism Review, Knight Foundation's Journalism Advisory Committee, the Advisory Board of the Pew Center for Civic Journalism, the Advisory Committee of the Newseum and the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Cochran has appeared frequently on CNN's Reliable Sources and has also been on C-Span, Fox News Channel, MSNBC and National Public Radio. She has also spoken to organizations on First Amendment rights, the Freedom of Information Act, cameras and microphones in the courtroom, broadcast standards, and media ethics.

Cochran has a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York and a bachelor of arts degree from Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA.