Stars Come Out for Cyma
By Tom Steinert-Threlkeld -- Multichannel News, 11/16/2006 11:42:00 AM
Washington -- Cyma Zarghami got her first job because she could type. She got her second because she could cut and paste. And she became a general manager, she said, because she could take good meeting notes.
"Don't you just love cable?'' she concluded.
Zarghami, president of Nickelodeon and MTV Networks Kids & Family Group, was named WICT's Woman of the Year at Wednesday night’s annual Women in Cable & Telecommunications banquet at the Grand Hyatt here.
Zarghami benefited from an MTVN full-court press on her behalf. A bigger-than-life Dora the Explorer was walking the hallway beforehand, getting her photo snapped with guests. The salute video -- featuring MTV animated stars such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora, as well as living, breathing industry executives -- could have seamlessly fit into the day time or evening fare on a Nickelodeon network.
And it could also amuse audiences with industry executives' attempts to pronounce the name of the 20-year veteran of MTVN (it’s “See-Ma Zar-Gah-Mee”).
The evening was hosted by Nick News anchor Linda Ellerbee (former anchor of NBC News Overnight). It featured an on-screen cameo by former Nick president and now-Oxygen Media chief Geraldine Laybourne, who is vacationing. And it added appearances by cable-operator honchos from Cox Communications CEO Pat Esser to Advance/Newhouse Communications’ Robert Miron to Insight Communications’ Michael Willner.
But the high point in the packed ballroom was the appearance on stage with MTVN CEO Judy McGrath of a young high-school student. When Kathleen Herles opened her mouth, out came the voice of … Dora the Explorer. Dora, of course, is the seven-year-old Latina heroine of Nick’s flagship program for youngsters.
Herles has been providing the voice of Dora for 10 years, since before the show originated in 1999. And if she can keep the pitch of her vocal chords high, she will still be surprising audiences as the voice of Dora when Zarghami reaches her 30th year at the programmer.
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