Sixty Slices of Life ... on Wry The Private Life of a Public Broadcaster

Fred Flaxman is the producer and presenter of Compact Discoveries, a classical music public radio series heard on public radio stations in the U.S. and worldwide 24/7/365 via the SKY.FM internet radio service (www.sky.fm/compactdiscoveries). He is an award-winning writer, public television and radio producer, and public broadcasting executive. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, Baltimore Sun, Houston Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, Seattle Times, Palm Beach Post, Sacramento and Parenting magazines, among other publications. He is the recipient of a first-place award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Flaxman was the editor of "The Timeless Tales of Reginald Bretnor," a collection of 15 stories by the late nationally published science fiction and fantasy author. He was an occasional commentator for the nationally syndicated public radio programs Marketplace and MonitorRadio. Flaxman was vice president for national programming of WTTW/Chicago for six years. There he started the annual Illinois Young Performers Competition with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and received an Emmy award as executive producer of "Messenger to Poland." In 1978 Flaxman founded Public Broadcasting International, headquartered in Paris, France, which, over the years, produced several major specials for PBS. In 1970 Fred Flaxman was the founding manager of public radio station WETA-FM in Washington, D.C. He later served as a vice president of WETA-TV and as assistant general manager and director of programming and production for KUAT-TV, the public television station in Tucson, Arizona. In 1991 Flaxman became general manager of Southern Oregon Public Television, Inc., a position he left in September, 1992, to work as an independent producer and freelance writer. He was vice president for development of public broadcasting stations WXEL-TV-FM, West Palm Beach, Florida, from April 27, 2000, until December 30, 2005. Raised in the New Jersey suburbs of New York City, Flaxman holds a B.A. with honors in journalism from the University of Michigan, an M.A. in political science from Stanford University, and a certificate in French studies from the Sorbonne, University of Paris. Defying modern precedent, he married his one and only wife, Annick Story Flaxman of Dinard, Brittany, France, in 1963. They have two grown children.