Frot-Coutaz, Gaitán, Swanson, Weiner to Recieve NATPE Tartikoff Award

Quartet to be honored at B&C/Multi and NBCU reception during NATPE's Miami conference

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/7/2011 1:25:01 PM

NATPE announced Monday that Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Fernando Gaitán, Dennis Swanson and Matthew Weiner will receive its ninth annual Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award.

Frot-Coutaz is the CEO of FremantleMedia North America and executive producer of American Idol. Gaitán, VP of production and content for Colombia's RCN TV, is widely known as the creator of Ugly Betty (Yo Soy Betty, la fea).

Swanson, who is currently the president of station operations for Fox Television Stations, was the first to give Oprah Winfrey her own daytime talkshow while he was GM of Chicago's WLS. He also persuaded the Olympic Committee to stagger its Winter and Summer games two years apart. Weiner is the creator and executive producer of AMC's Mad Men, which has won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series each of its four seasons. Weiner was also an executive producer and writer for HBO's The Sopranos.

"Our honorees for 2012 have lived, worked and traveled all over the globe. Their common interest and the reason we have chosen them, is their passion for great TV programming. Cecile, Fernando, Dennis and Matthew love what they do and we are pleased to honor them in Brandon's name," said Rick Feldman, president and CEO of NATPE.

The Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award was created "to recognize a select group of television professionals who exhibit extraordinary passion, leadership, independence and vision in the process of creating television programming."

The cocktail reception celebrating the recipients will take place on Jan. 24 during the NATPE 2012 Market & Conference,  at at reception sponsored by NBCU and B&C/Multi at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami.