Very self-driven, Judith Marlane has always wanted to excel. She attended the High School of Performing Arts as a dance major, and threw herself into her studies. Dr. Marlane would leave the house very early so she had time to practice before school, learn from masters of the craft like Robert Joffrey during the day, and take extra classes at Carnegie Hall of Lessons at night. All of her dance, theater, and music training combined into an exciting and fruitful career in the performing arts.
One of Dr. Marlane’s first professional position was producer, writer, and broadcaster for Channel 13, WNET, in New York. Her aptitude quickly caught the attention of her peers, propelling her to roles like president of JSG Productions, producer of news and public affairs programming for Channel 9, MCA/WWOR-TV, professor and chair of the Department of Radio, Television, and Film at California State University, Northridge, and president and CEO of Legal News Network. Dr. Marlane also served as a lecturer at the School of Broadcasting in Christchurch, New Zealand, an instructor at Columbia University, and an associate communications professor at Hunter College. She remains the president and CEO of Juroco and a professor and chair emeritus of the Department of Cinema and Television Arts at California State University, Northridge, to this day.
The highlight of Dr. Marlane’s journey was when she earned an EdD from Columbia University in 1974. She had always wanted to obtain a doctorate degree, just for the sake of learning, but life always got in the way. Between having and raising her kids and leading a fulfilling career, she just didn’t have the time. Dr. Marlane isn’t one to give up, however, and she found a way to make it work. She was very proud when her deliberative work and effort paid off. Her other professional designations include a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Columbia University.
To further spread her knowledge, Dr. Marlane has participated in a number of speaking engagements over the years. She was most recently a moderator and panelist for the Broadcast Education Association’s “For the Student” and “Ethics in the News Media” events, the sole Western lecturer in an academic seminar at the Eighth International Shanghai Television Festival, and the organizer and featured lecturer of a master class in film and television at the University of Tel Aviv in Israel. She was also a featured lecturer at the Palm Springs Museum of Art, a featured speaker at “The Role of Newswomen in the Twenty-First Century” for American Women in Radio and Television, the organizer, featured speaker and seminar moderator at “Women in Television News” for the International Radio & Television Society, and a panelist for the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles’s Commission on Jewish Art and Culture, among many others. Additionally, she authored pieces like “A Woman of Worth,” “Women in Television News, Revisited: Into the Twenty-First Century,” and “The World of Chinese Television.”
In recognition of her hard work and dedication, Dr. Marlane was honored with the Silver Angel Religion in Media Award, a silver medal from the International Film & TV Festival, and the Broadcast Preceptor Award from Women in Television News.
