General Info

Michael Flaster is President of Traveling Mind Productions, a media production and consulting firm he established in 2000. His clients have included Marketplace Productions in Los Angeles, The United States Department of State and Minnesota Public Radio. Prior to his full-time affiliation with Traveling Mind Productions, Flaster was Associate General Manager for Programming for public broadcasting stations KPBS Television and Radio in San Diego, California, a position he held from 1995 until his retirement in 2001. Flaster's career in public broadcasting spanned more than 2 decades. His tenure at KPBS began in 1989. As Associate General Manager, Flaster managed the day-to-day programming and operational activities of KPBS Radio and Television. His responsibilities included strategic and long-term planning as well as programming and program development for both stations' national and local programming and production divisions; the station's radio reading service, news, air-promotions, traffic and radio operations departments. Flaster served as Program Manager for Public Broadcast Service affiliate KPBS Television from 1993-1995. During that time KPBS experienced the most substantial audience growth of any major market Public Television station in the country and continues to rank among the top rated public TV stations nationwide. Flaster was honored by the Public Television Programmer's Association with the 1995 Charles Impaglia Programmer of the Year Award and the 1994 Golden Grid Award for programming innovation and achievement. In 1994 Flaster was honored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting with a Silver Award for Excellence in Television Performance Programming. Michael Flaster is responsible for the creation of the station's Full Focus multi-media documentary initiative, he created the station's documentary production unit and had served as Executive Producer for a number of PBS broadcast specials, including "Liquid Stage" and "Skin Stories." Mr. Flaster served as Program Director for Public Radio Station KPBS-FM in San Diego from 1989 to 1993. During his tenure at KPBS Radio, Mr. Flaster designed and implemented the station's news and information format, which more than doubled the station's average audience. KPBS-FM remains San Diego County's largest and most honored radio news operation. Flaster created & executive produced many of the station's premier regional programs, includingand A Way With Words. Flaster's work has received First Place honors for Journalistic Excellence in Radio Economic and Feature Reporting from the Southern California Radio/Television News Director's Association and from the San Diego Press Club. His work as Television Executive Producer has been twice recognized with first place honors by the Southern California Radio/Television News Director's Association. Michael Flaster's work has garnered a CINE Golden Eagle International Film Award, a Columbia duPont Silver Baton, two Ohio State Awards, first place honors from the Ohio Associated Press for large market news reporting and top honors from the American and Ohio Bar Associations for legal affairs broadcasting. He was recognized as one of the top 50 San Diegans to Watch in 1996 by San Diego Magazine and was honored with a first place award by Northern Ohio Live Magazine for his work as producer for National Public Radio's live, two day Statue of Liberty Centennial broadcasts from Manhattan in 1986. Flaster has served as a part-time faculty member in the Communications Department at San Diego State University, teaching courses in Telecommunications Management and Programming and was an instructor in the Telecommunications Department at Kent State University for nearly a decade. He has served as guest lecturer at Columbia University, New York University and the University of California at San Diego and was Station Manger for noncommercial radio stations WSUC-FM in Cortland, New York and WKHR-FM in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Flaster has served