PHILLIP L. BELL

In October, 2001, Phil founded BellMedia a television production company specializing in broadcast, cable and corporate video productions. BellMedia clients include corporate and non-profit organizations.

Phil's career in the television industry includes a variety of assignments as a news anchor, reporter, producer and manager for major network affiliates in Tennessee, Florida, Illinois and Iowa. As a reporter and news producer for two decades, Phil covered many nationally significant stories: The first space shuttle launch; the Cuban refugee flotilla from Mariel Harbor; and Hurricane Hugo as it struck Charleston, South Carolina. Phil also reported extensively on Tennessee's political scene and on the state correctional system. He organized and produced WTVF-NewsChannel 5's (CBS) award winning election coverage for more than eight years. He also produced numerous award winning documentaries as head of the station’s special projects unit.

Most recently, Phil was Executive Producer of the popular and highly rated Talk of the Town program, which airs weekdays on WTVF-NewsChannel 5. In September, 1996, Phil was named as founding director of Nashville's first local all news cable channel, NewsChannel 5 Plus. He brought a wealth of experience as a broadcast journalist and extensive first hand knowledge of the Nashville market to the job, including more than five years as Executive Producer of News at Nashville's CBS affiliate.

Awards bestowed upon Phil include the Cable Ace Award, two Emmy®s, a First Place Documentary Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Unity in Media Award from Lincoln University of Missouri, and the Jerry Thompson Communicator Award from the National Conference of Christians & Jews. Additionally, he received four Emmy® nominations.

Phil represents the Nashville/Mid-South Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences as the National Trustee and is immediate past president of the chapter, as well as an active supporter of several organizations which promote excellence in broadcast journalism. He serves on the advisory board to the Department of Communications at the University of Tennessee at Martin, and as a past board member of the Society of Professional Journalists in Nashville.

DEBBIE TURNER

Debbie Turner is the President and General Manager of the News Channel 5 Network. Prior to coming to Nashville in 1992, she was with the parent company of NewsChannel 5, Landmark Communications in Norfolk, Virginia. Debbie began her career working as an auditor for Price Waterhouse. A CPA, she received her BBA degree from the College of William and Mary.

Active in the community, Debbie currently serves on the following boards: MTSU Board of Visitors, Tennessee Association of Broadcasters, Leadership Nashville's Board of Trustees, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, and the Saint Thomas Hospital Foundation. She is an alumnus of Leadership Nashville and a member of the Downtown Rotary Club. She is a former board member of the following organizations: The Jason Foundation, Kids Voting, and the Better Business Bureau.

Debbie has two teenage children..