Generation Reinvention 27: Creating Empowering Stories about Active Aging for TV, Radio and Online

On May 31, 2011

A woman deeply in love lost her husband in a car accident; left with two young children to raise she found new purpose by fulfilling three promises to her late husband. A Boomer doctor nicknamed Lucky has swum across a Florida lake (1,000 meters round trip) over 5,000 times, and every morning fans from around the world join him for a little liquefied luck of their own. Class rock group Orleans’ lead singer, famous for “Still the One,” waited to have children until age 45, and now at 60 his kids are keeping him young in spirit and even more connected to his rock music career.

These inspiring stories have been documented by a company led by this week’s guests. Marc Middleton is founder and CEO of Bolder Broadcasting and The Bolder Media Group (BMG); Bill Shafer is executive vice president.

BMG is among the world leaders in active lifestyle content creation and delivery across multiple platforms. Bolder Media Group’s products include the social networking website http://GrowingBolder.com, The Growing Bolder TV Show, The Growing Bolder Radio Show, and the Growing Bolder Radio Network.

Growing Bolder TV delivers empowering stories that inspire audiences of all ages to believe that it’s never too late to achieve their dreams. Currently distributed by American Public Television, Growing Bolder has grown from two public broadcasting stations to 288 stations in just 9 months. It is now in 125 US markets, including 38 of the top 50 markets.

A broadcast veteran, Marc Middleton spent 14 years as Sports Director and anchor at WESH-TV in Orlando before moving to the News Anchor Desk. Among his many assignments, Marc covered the Olympics in Barcelona, Sydney and Athens. Marc is an award-winning reporter whose work has been recognized with two Emmys, 5 Emmy Nominations, the Dupont Award for Excellence in Journalism, AP Sportscaster of the Year and two UPI Sportscaster of the Year awards. Marc also served as WESH’s technology reporter and helped produce the stations first-ever streaming Webcasts, blogs and podcasts.

Bill Shafer is co-host of Growing Bolder TV and the Growing Bolder Radio Show. A broadcast veteran considered one of America’s best storytellers, Bill has been one of Florida’s most honored journalists for nearly three decades. As news anchor, sports director and lifestyle reporter, he brought seemingly ordinary people to the forefront and proved everyone has a story. He has won countless national awards for his work. In his spare time, Bill is a youth ice hockey coach.