Rick Kaplan is currently executive producer of “The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.” He was a broadcast journalist for more than 30 years. As president of CNN-US (1997–2000), he was responsible for all news and programming at the CNN News Group. Kaplan galvanized CNN’s ability to provide extensive and up-to-the-minute live coverage and analysis of both breaking and on-going news events. Kaplan joined ABC News in 1979 as a senior producer for “World News Tonight;” from 1979 to 1997, he was executive producer for a variety of ABC News and ABC television network programs, including “Good Morning America” news, “Nightline” (1984–89), “Primetime Live” (1989–94), “World News Tonight,” (1994), and, finally, ABC-TV Special Projects. Prior to joining ABC, Kaplan was a producer for “The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.” He is the recipient of many awards, including 34 Emmy Awards, three Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, Overseas Press Club awards, and two George Polk awards. Kaplan was the visiting lecturer in the Lombard Chair at the Shorenstein Center in the spring of 2001.