Before joining NBC, Wurtzel spent 21 years at ABC in a variety of managerial positions, most recently as Senior Vice President, Media Development, Brand Management and Research. In that role, he was responsible for the management and integration of all research activities for ABC, including the ABC Television Network, the ESPN and Disney cable channels, and Buena Vista syndication.

Prior to this role, Wurtzel served for more than five years as senior vice president of newsmagazine and long-form programming for ABC News, where he was responsible for the newsmagazines 20/20 and "PrimeTime Live," the "Barbara Walters Specials," and the periodic series "Peter Jennings Reporting." He was also responsible for the development of the anthology series "Turning Point" and for the "John Stossel Specials." In addition, he served as executive-in-charge of "Good Morning America" when the program was moved from the entertainment division to ABC News.

Wurtzel joined ABC in June 1978 as Supervisor, Developmental and Social Research, and worked in a series of positions with increasing responsibility within the research department. In 1983 he was promoted to Vice President, Standards and Practices, and in 1988 was promoted to Senior Vice President, Marketing and Research Services.

Before joining ABC, Wurtzel taught at the University of Georgia and at Queens College, City University of New York. He has written many articles for both academic journals and consumer publications and is the author of the textbook Television Production, which has been a standard in the field for over twenty years.

Wurtzel holds a Ph.D. in mass communications from New York University. He lives in New York with his wife, Susan, and their two daughters, Joanna and Caroline.

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