Toon Zone Talkback - Jennifer Davidson, CN Senior Vice President (1969-2007)

[livingfruitvirus]

This can't bode well for network morale.

Cartoon Network SVP Jennifer Davidson Dies at 38

December 03, 2007

http://spe.atdmt.com/images/pixel.gif (http://clk.atdmt.com/goiframe/33920225/nmtnwpix0010000128ave/direct;ai.33920225;vt.2/01)
Cartoon Network SVP of Programming and Scheduling, Jennifer Davidson, unexpectedly died early Saturday morning, Dec. 1, 2007. The 38-year-old wife and mother died of a sudden illness. She is survived by her husband, John Davidson, and three young children, Mitchell (7), Oliver (5) and Harper (2).

"We have lost a shining star, not only at Cartoon Network, but within our industry," said Stuart Snyder, EVP/COO for Turner Broadcasting System Inc.'s Animation, Young Adults and Kids Media group. "Our hearts and prayers go out to John, Mitchell, Oliver, Harper and Jen's family and friends."

Viewing services will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 4, from 7:00-9:00 pm at The Sandy Springs Funeral Home in Sandy Springs, Georgia. The funeral is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 5, at 1:00 pm at Buckhead Church in Atlanta. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to one of three charitable organizations the Davidson's have actively supported -- FRAXA, the Fragile X Research Foundation (www.fraxa.com); (http://www.fraxa.com%29;) the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (www.leukemia-lymphoma.org); (http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org%29;) and BrightPoint For Children (www.brightpointforchildren.org) (http://www.brightpointforchildren.org%29).

Davidson was an early member of the Cartoon Network team when the network was launched in 1992 and was most recently promoted to SVP in September 2007, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day scheduling and strategic positioning of all on-air content for Cartoon Network and Boomerang, as well as on-air promotion for Adult Swim. Previously, she served as VP of marketing, ad trade, consumer products trade and strategic operations for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. Among her accomplishments, Davidson was part of the team that launched Adult Swim in Sept. 2001 as a separate entertainment service targeted for young adults. She also won several industry and marketing awards including a 2000 BDA Gold Award for total package design (Boomerang). This year, Davidson was selected as a 2007-08 Betsy Magness Leadership Fellow.

Over the years at Cartoon Network, Davidson served in several other capacities including VP/exec producer for on-air promotion and operations. In this role, Davidson exec produced all on-air promotions, stunts and specials, and she developed and implemented new on-air promotion planning processes, including a new production software system. Prior to this, Davidson served as Cartoon Network's VP, on-air promotion, production and operations (1998-2001), partnering with the network creative director to produce packaging, promotion, interstitials and multiple off-channel campaigns. In this capacity, she exec produced the launch of the all-classic cartoon channel, Boomerang. Davidson started her career at the network as production/operations assistant and operations coordinator/manger and was later director of on-air promotion operations/production.

Davidson was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1969 to John and Bobbie Stitt. She graduated in 1991 from Virginia Tech with a bachelor of arts degree in broadcast communications. Along with her husband John and three children, Davidson is survived by her parents, two sisters, a brother, and a host of extended family.

http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=21614

[ShadowGUN]

Whoa:eek: :eek: !!! You have gotta be kidding me.
My condolences to Jennifer Davison family.

[Rolling Cloud]

:eek: :(

Man, this sucks!

Sudden Illness? That's never good. ><

[Sketch]

My condolences to her family.

[Darklordavaitor]

Wow, that's terrible. I'm very sorry.

[Don_East]

:sad:

I don't know what to say. She was one of those who had the "Show live-action for ratings" mentality. But I didn't want her to die because of it, maybe lose her job but she could've gotten back on her feet. Death is something that should never be wished on anyone.

I send my condolences to her friends and family.

[PC!]

Oh, wow. To think it was only a few weeks ago TZ interviewed her. What a sad loss. My prayers go out to her family and friends.

[Havenkel]

It didn't seem so long ago that TZ interviewed her... I really hope that this doesn't effect CN much.

I'm going to miss her, seeing as she was in CN back in it's best days.

[Master Toon]

I'm so very sad to hear this, my condolences to her family and friends.

[StellaMagic]

Poor woman!:sad: What happened? She seemed real healthy a few weeks ago.:confused:

[D Dubbs]

This is devastating. 38 is way too young.

[Blackstar]

Wow. I wasn't crazy about her game plan for CN, but I never wanted her to die for it.

Reading this news has affected me in a strange way. I didn't know Mrs. Davidson personally nor professionally. I only knew what I read from her in the interview that was posted here just a couple of months ago. Her sudden death scares the crap out me for 2 reasons: 1) She seemed so healthy and full of life when TZ interviewed her. As far as I know, she didn't have a long running illness that gradually weakened her over time, it was sudden illness that came seemingly from out of nowhere that just killed her. And 2) because she was only 38, an age that is very close to my own.

But mostly, I am saddened because her 3 young children no have to grow up without their mother, and just in time for Christmas also. My condolences go out to Mrs. Davidson's family.

R.I.P.

[Silverstar]

All CN rhetoric aside, I am truly shocked and saddened by this news. No family unit should lose its' mother, especially at such a young age. Mrs. Davidson was interviewed by TZ only a short while ago.

I'm sure the network will recover; it's my sincerest hope that the Davidson family will too.

My sympathies go out to the family she left behind.

R.I.P. and God bless.

[Lavenderpaw]

What's that saying... "Only The Good Die Young." Man,only 38 and with a large family to support.That's never good.I will include them in my prayers.

[Movie06]

Oh my god, that's very, very sad. :( I feel very sorry for this loss. May she rest in peace. And now, a moment of silence...

[Light Lucario]

Wow. Just wow. I was shocked to see this news when I first saw the newspage. This is just so terrible. I know that many people didn't like her game plan for live-action on the block, but I'm glad that none of that it has carried any negative reactions towards her in this news. She just got the promotion in September and ToonZone just interviewed her a few weeks ago. She sounded so nice in the interview and it was great for her to have bulid up her carrer like that. She had a family and a great future ahead, I'm sure, and it is so sad how it was cut tragically short. I remember how she mentioned her kids in the interview. I'm sure that they're beyond depressed over this. My dearest sympathy and condolences go out to her family and loved ones at this difficult time. May she find a peaceful rest and God bless her.

[MegaJ]

This is awful news. I too, wasn't crazy about her live-action strategy, but reading that interview she also did really seem to want to keep a lot of animation on the network. It sucks too, because she was relatively young.

Rest in Peace.

[Ed Liu]

I can't say that I knew Jennifer Davidson well. The sum total of my contact with her was the 15 minutes I got for her Toon Zone News interview. However, in that time period, it was pretty clear that she was an interesting, warm, and friendly person with quite an impressive list of accomplishments for someone so young. The network and the industry is poorer for her passing, and my heart goes out to her family at this trying time.

R.I.P. Jennifer Davidson.

-- Ed

[PRdude]

This is devastating. 38 is way too young.

All CN rhetoric aside, I am truly shocked and saddened by this news. No family unit should lose its' mother, especially at such a young age.

My sympathies go out to the family she left behind.

R.I.P. and God bless.

I concur. My sympathy level even went up a few notches when I saw that her youngest kid is just two years old.

[Antiyonder]

I too hope her family will be okay, especially her kids.

[Kitschensyngk]

Whoa.

Well, that came out of nowhere.

:( :sad:

[Antiyonder]

Well, that came out of nowhere.

:( :sad:

Just that I imagine that kids take a death in the family harder than the adult members. Not always the case, but usually anyway.

[Mr.Penguin]

Wow this is really sad....as everyone else has said; my condolences to her family. :crying:

[Master Moron]

Wow. When I first went to the Toonzone homepage and saw her picture I thought they just left the interview on the homepage. Then I saw the date and I thought, there's no way she can be dead, she's too young. But, then, I clicked on the article and I was floored. You know, it's weird that I'm affected by this at all. I don't know her, and the only thing I know about her is what I read about in that interview. But, this is really freaking me out for some reason. Maybe it's just that fact that I'm receiving news about someone's death through the internet. Usually when I receive news about death it's done audibly. There's someone else there giving me the news. But, just reading the news on a webpage is just so lacking in emotion that it makes me feel cold on the inside.

[Speedy Boris]

^ It -is- pretty freaky. Especially in regards to "sudden illness". I mean, if someone struggles with a life-threatening illness for a long time, that person's death isn't as big of a shock, because it was a gradual thing. But "sudden illness" is one of those things that just comes out of left field. It's a tragedy either way, don't get me wrong. But to just die suddenly like that... it's really surprising, and not in a good way. Makes you really appreciate life, and how easily it can be taken away.

Sorry, I'm rambling. My thoughts and prayers go to her family, friends, and co-workers. And I'd like to give her posthumous props for her involvement in the creation of Boomerang and Adult Swim, two of the best things to come out of CN in recent years.

[spyke]

My condolences to her family.

[Jimmy Kudo]

How sad...

And she was young....not to mention beautiful.

Rest well.

[SkullsandRoses]

I'm pretty much mimicking what everyone else has said on this thread, but god, this is just awful. It breaks my heart knowing the fact that three young children have just lost their mother. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends in their time of grieving.

~May she rest in peace~

[tucsoncoyote]

Yeowch.. that's gotta sting.

And 38 years old is indeed way too young. (Sudden Illness? I'm guessing either a Pulmonary Embolism or something like a sudden heart attack). Becuase it's very uncommon nowadays for anyone this young to pass away suddenly unless it was stress related. (And knowing Mrs. Davidson, she had a lot of stress on her shoulders (Considering that she was the Senior VP for Programming at Cartoon Network).

But now a new problem emerges for CN. and it's perhaps the biggest problem they're going to have to face.

Who are they going to choose to replace her? Granted maybe her thoughts about Live action might have been wrong for the company, but still you gotta respect her for trying to do her job.

But still it's a sad loss for not only CN, but her family as well. My condolences go out to her family. But then Like I said,

Who's going to replace her, and what path will CN now lead now that she's gone. I think that's going to be the bigger question here. Will CN stay on it's current track? or will it shift gears and go in a new direction..

I think that's the real quesiton here..

But yes it is sad to see such a talented person die so suddenly. But that's life folks..one day you are here, the next, *poof*...

You're gone.

:coyote:

[macattack]

Wow. I was stunned when I saw that on the front page. That was out of the blue.

Jennifer Davidson seemed like the first person in a long time who actually had a plan for Cartoon Network (whether you agreed or disagreed with it is out of the question) and seemed organized and ready to knock CN out of its doldrums. The interview also made her seem to be a likable and warm person.

It saddens me to see three kids lose their mother. Especially since her mother was an intelligent and probably nice person. My condolences for their loss and I hope they'll be all right.

R.I.P. and godspeed.

[ShadowStar]

This is absolutely horrific. :eek: I can't believe I just read that. I too thought that it was the interview again, or some kind of update on it. I normally don't read the interviews unless they're directly related to the shows I watch, but I read that one because her picture gave me the impression of an approachable, trustworthy person. From the interview, she seemed warm and down to earth, like most people have said. But this is truly terrible. :crying: I can only imagine the grief her immediate family are suffering from, and it must be absolutely devastating. I will pray for them all tomorrow, when the funeral is being held. What could have caused her to die so suddenly? :confused: This is just so shocking...

Rest In Peace.

[Martianinvader]

Put me down for everything everyone else has said.

[Meh]

She was only 38 years old, way too young to be leaving life and her family behind. So sad, especially for her children. :(

[Super Leviathan]

I just caught wind of this a couple of hours ago (and as unable to post a response until now).

But, that's atrocious news. As someone who had a friend who also died young (albeit younger than Davidson), it really is shocking to see the totally unexpected death of someone still in youth.

[Draft]

I bet some people might want to take some things back they said in the interview talkback

That's shocking to hear. 38 is so young, and she had just gotten that posistion too, and she had a lot of potential to go higher

condolences to the family

[creativerealms]

It is affecting the posters of Toon Zone so profoundly because that interview with her is still so fresh in our mind. Mere weeks ago we read about her plans for Cartoon network and now she's gone. We don't even know her, she was not even famous she was just fresh in the minds of the people here.

She was taken long before her time and "sudden illness" something mysterous about those words make it even worse.

[Movie06]

I bet some people might want to take some things back they said in the interview talkback

You're right, I'm betting they'll be sorry for what they said.

[Desensitized]

Wow. When I first went to the Toonzone homepage and saw her picture I thought they just left the interview on the homepage. Then I saw the date and I thought, there's no way she can be dead, she's too young. But, then, I clicked on the article and I was floored. You know, it's weird that I'm affected by this at all. I don't know her, and the only thing I know about her is what I read about in that interview. But, this is really freaking me out for some reason. Maybe it's just that fact that I'm receiving news about someone's death through the internet. Usually when I receive news about death it's done audibly. There's someone else there giving me the news. But, just reading the news on a webpage is just so lacking in emotion that it makes me feel cold on the inside.
Whoa, that was exactly what I did. Extra weird.

But yeah, this is pretty terrible. 38? Aw man. :(

[Conan-san]

It's slowly becoming the fact that it's never any good news for CN.

This is rock bottom, of course, but it's just one crushing defeat after another as of late.

My Thoughts go out to the given.

[Anthony C.]

Wow, this is just horrible. I'm so sorry for her family and my condolences goes out to them.

[Ojamajo_LimePie]

Wow, that's such a shock. My condolences to her family.

[John Dorian]

It sickens me when a strong, healthy person like Jennifer suddenly passes away. Truthfully, the "sudden illness" thing scared the heck out of me. How the heck can a healthy (and good looking) woman like her just pass like that? I don't know, could be the stress? Besides, she has 3 kids, especially a 2 year old. And she wasn't even 40. I'll pray for their loss.



Because of her death, I will no longer complain about Cartoon Network until something comes up. For Jennifer.




And Conan San, there ARE times when there's good news about CN. Lots of times, either we know about it or not.

[Conan-san]

And Conan San, there ARE times when there's good news about CN. Lots of times, either we know about it or not. In recent history, it has been pretty much one blow after another.

[John Dorian]

Well.....Jennifer died of a bad bacteriological infection. Wow.

[Silverstar]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Toon Overlord http://forums.toonzone.net/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?p=2725060#post2725060)
I bet some people might want to take some things back they said in the interview talkback

You're right, I'm betting they'll be sorry for what they said.

Call me what you will, but I apologize for nothing, and while I'm deeply saddened by this tragic turn of events, I will continue to voice my opinions on CN's downward spiral just as I have before.

While I didn't-and still don't-agree with CN's live-action movement, I never once indicted Mrs. Davidson herself. I had and consequently said nothing against her as a person. She was just doing her job and what she felt was right, regardless of whether I agreed with it or not. She seemed like a personable, approachable individual who actually seemed to care about American animation, which is a rare find these days, especially within Cartoon Network's current regime. It's sad that Mrs. Davidson will never get to see her vision for the network realized.

Mrs. Davidson's passing is a tragic loss indeed. However, that doesn't mean that we should all put on rose-colored glasses and start pretending that it's all gravy over at CN now, because we all know it isn't. CN is still on a slippery slope, as it has been before many of us here knew who Jennifer Davidson was. To me, trying to suddenly act like like CN is okie-dokie in the wake of Mrs. Davidson's passing or trying to put oneself on some moral high horse by biting our collective tongues over the matter is nothing short of hypocritical. Sorry, but I don't hold my tongue for anybody or anything. If something is BS in my eyes, then I'm going to call it BS. Tragic loss or no. Many of us here were not cool with CN's recent "innovations" when Jennifer Davidson was alive and well, so why should we suddenly act like we are now that's she's gone on to another plane?

That doesn't make me some sort of monster, just real; the Network isn't going to stop doing what they do just because of this recent event, so why should we? I grieve for the Davidson family, and will continue to do so, but that changes nothing about how I feel about CN's sorry state. It's not like CN is going to switch back to being an all-animation channel in the wake of Mrs. Davidson's death.

I respect those who choose to be quiet with their opinions for now; taking a moment of silence out of respect is certainly admirable. But I'm not going to do it myself. My views on the state of CN had nothing to do with the tragic passing of Jennifer Davidson, and I refuse to treat it as such. I also take offense to anyone who accuses me or anyone who chooses to remain vocal about their opinions of being disrespectful to her memory in advance. My feelings about CN are all based on business, never personal.

[danreyes1]

Agreed with Silverstar. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. Mrs. Davidson's passing was indeed sad, but it changes nothing about how I feel about the network. Certain individuals on this forum are already well aware, but I am not going to suddenly take back everything I ever said against the network and stop expressing my opinion of what I perceive to be a downward trend.