ITP faculty member and two-time Emmy Award–winning Harvard Graduate School of Design alumna Katherine Dillon was featured in Harvard GSD's news about her career in television, Web development, and podcasting. Below is an excerpt:
As the internet emerged, she became interested in what it would mean for media companies and moved into the department at ABC focused on the pivot to digital content. CNN had launched 24-hour cable news programming in 1980, with many other networks following suit in subsequent years, and in August 1995, the early days of the internet, CNN announced their creation of a 24-hour news website. Dillon, who was working on early web programming, convinced ABC executives that they should develop a 24-hour online news site. The network announced that plan in October 1997, basing on the prototype Dillon built using HyperCard, Apple’s Macintosh program for multimedia design. “It’s such early, dated technology,” she notes, laughing at how rudimentary HyperCard looks today. Nevertheless, it was effective; leadership took notice, and Dillon was named general manager of ABCNews.com, setting the creative and editorial direction and hiring the team that created the website and its programs.