The Shipley Magazine

June Baldwin ’68: Using the Medium For Meaningful Messages

Leigh Green
"Courage for the Deed; Grace for the Doing.” These words resonate with June Baldwin ’68. “To have courage, you have to have a big, big heart,” she says, “a heart big enough to take actions that may not be popular. Courage to do the right thing and then to do it with grace.”

It is courage and grace that underpin Baldwin’s remarkable career in broadcast television, an industry she notes is known for its uneven playing field. She’s held a driving, steadfast focus on social impact, and says, “Television’s a powerful medium for transforming consciousness, for giving a voice to those who don’t have one.”

Once recruited by Johnny Carson to run his production business affairs, Baldwin went on to work with Norman Lear, Quincy Jones, and Aaron Spelling. But she began to feel removed from the causes near to her heart and so, in 2004, when she was laid off from her senior executive role at Columbia Tri-Star, she moved into the public television arena.

“That’s not what one normally does,” she says, laughing. The pay cut was significant but worth the sacrifice. Now, as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of nonprofit KCETLink, she’s doing her heart’s work. “Producing enlightening, socially significant, and entertaining programs,” she says. Her most recent projects include Democracy Now! hosted by Amy Goodman, investigative news series SoCal Connected, Earth Focus, and award-winning Migrant Kitchen.

Baldwin’s idea of success is simple, yet profound: “Know who you are and what values are most important to you. If you honor those values, then you will know that you have lived your life with integrity, which is the true measure of success.”
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The Shipley School is a private, coeducational day school for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students, located in Bryn Mawr, PA. Through our commitment to educational excellence, we develop within each student a love of learning and a desire for compassionate participation in the world.