Industry Guest Speakers
KATHY SCHOBACK, Vice President, Sega of America & Member, International Digital Game Association
As Director of External Publishing and Development at Sega, Kathy Schoback oversees relationships with Sega's external North American developers and publishing partners. She has served in various roles in her tenure at Sega, including head of Dreamcast third-party publisher management, regional sales, and consumer service. Kathy has also worked on the Game Developers Conference as part of the management team, and is currently a board member of the International Game Developers Association.
Celebrity Hosts
DEIRDRE FITZPATRICK, KCRA News Anchor
Deirdre joined KCRA in December 1999 from KCCI-TV in Des Moines.
She has a bachelor's in journalism from the University of Missouri, Columbia
and is currently working on a master's in media management from MU.
While in Northern California, Deirdre has covered both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City for KCRA and Hearst-Argyle Broadcasting. She has won emmys in feature reporting and writing, and has been nominated for sports reporting.
Speaking of sports, Deirdre is an endurance athlete, who has competed in races including the Boston Marathon, Ironman France and Ironman Wisconsin. She is currently training for Ironman Coeur d'Alene.
She is on the Board of Directors for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and raises money for cancer research by competing in marathons and triathlons.
MIKE TESELLE, KCRA News Reporter
Mike TeSelle joined the KCRA staff in 1998 as a general assignment reporter.
He came to Sacramento from WNDU-TV in South Bend, Ind. Mike also worked as an anchor/reporter for WFBB-TV in Great Falls, Mont. and began his television career at WPVI-TV in Philadelphia. He has also worked as a freelance reporter and photographer for "Entertainment Tonight" in Hollywood.
Mike's accomplishments include the Edward R. Murrow regional award for best team coverage of live, breaking news, and a National Press Photographers Association award for spot news.
Mike is a graduate of Syracuse University in New York with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.
KITTY O'NEAL, Entertainment and Feature Editor, KFBK
Kitty O'Neal currently anchors the KFBK Afternoon Drive news from 4 to 7 PM weekdays. She also provides news updates during The Tom Sullivan Show from 1 to 4 p.m. Additionally, Kitty is KFBK's entertainment and feature editor. She has had many coveted news assignments including covering a presidential inauguration, the Grammy Awards, and thirteen Academy Award ceremonies.
Now in her 16th year career with KFBK, Kitty has served in various capacities, including producer for The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Morton Downey Jr. Show. She also spent seven years as the news director and morning drive news anchor for KGBY, Y92.5.
Kitty's television credits include three years on KOVR 13 as entertainment reporter and host of the weekly real estate show "Home TV," which ran for ten years. She also appears in many commercials, videos and national programs, including a CBS TV miniseries and the A&E Channel's "Biography."
Kitty donates much of her time to community and public events, and has been featured in numerous articles for local newspapers and publications and has twice appeared on the cover of "Sacramento Magazine." For two years, the readers of that magazine voted Kitty "Best Afternoon Drive Radio Personality" in Sacramento.
Before her media work, Kitty sang professionally in touring musical group and continues to perform today. She has her B. A. Degree in Communications from California State University, Sacramento.
She is married to Kurt Spataro, a local chef and restaurateur. Kurt is a partner with Randy Paragary in nine local restaurants: Paragary's Midtown, Paragary's Gold River, Twenty-Eight, Centro Cocina Mexicana, The Blue Cue, Cafe Bernardo in Midtown, Davis and Roseville, and the Esquire Grill on the K Street Mall next to the I-MAX Theatre under the blue neon light in the Sacramento skyline!
Kitty is also a partner in Klisa cell phone purses at www.klisa.com.
Kitty and Kurt have four cats: Rudy G., an Ocicat, Giorgio Armani, a Somali, Sammy Cahn, half Ocicat-half Blue Abbysinian, and Daisy, a stray tabby who really wanted to be adopted!
J.D. MAHER, Meteorologist, News10
Meteorologist J.D. Maher officially joined the News10 staff in January of 2000.J.D. is the station's meteorological "utility infielder," filling in wherever he's needed. He also works the weekend morning shift, providing the latest weather for viewers planning outdoor activities.
Prior to becoming a regular staff member, J.D. spent 18 months as a freelance substitute weathercaster for News10, filling in on both weekdays and weekends.
Before coming to News10, J.D. reported weather in Reno, Nevada at KTVN (CBS Affiliate), and more recently performed weekend weather duties in Sacramento at KMAX (UPN Affiliate).
J.D. is a Sacramento native. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Broadcast Communications Arts and Journalism from San Francisco State, and attended Sacramento State University's Masters Program for Communications Studies. He is also currently studying for his American Meteorological Society (AMS) Seal through Mississippi State University. In addition to his weather credentials, J.D. is also a full time fifth grade teacher.
Active in the community, J.D. does volunteer work as a board member of the Sacramento Life Center, a pregnancy resource center which provides medical and counseling services to both women and men.