It is the view that is most imposing when entering Mark Bracco's office in one of the ABC buildings on New York's Upper West Side. A 1992 Hofstra graduate and the newly named director of specials for ABC, Mark has a corner office that looks down on Lincoln Center and Columbus Avenue. He takes time to respond to questions during Upfront Week in New York, when the networks announce their fall prime-time lineup.

Mark Bracco '92, Director of Specials for ABC

Mark's journey to his new office has taken him through some of the television industry's most interesting trends, including the rise of reality television and the morning show wars. He has now landed a key position at a network on the rise. It is Mark's drive and determination – whether he was a St. Francis Prep student taking AP courses, a Hofstra student seeking real-world experience or a young professional looking for the next break – that guaranteed his success.

"I wanted to get a jump start on the job market. This business is all about getting a job, learning the business outside of the classroom," said Mark. An internship at "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" led to his first paid position in the publicity department at TV Guide, helping with the magazine's 40th anniversary events. "I graduated on a Friday and started work on a Monday."

Mark did well at TV Guide, rising to senior publicist in four short years. But he still yearned to work in television. "At TV Guide, I met a lot of people in the industry, I did segments with 'Good Morning America,' 'Entertainment Tonight' and got to know the producers."

When a new show called "Access Hollywood" came to pitch TV Guide prior to its premiere, it was Mark who pitched them, landing a position as a second producer out of New York, covering the television industry. He was on his way. "I was 25 years old, not married. I figured now is the time to take a chance. Over the years a dozen shows had come on to compete with 'Entertainment Tonight,' and all of them failed. But I figured, what the heck? Now, of course, 'Access Hollywood' is celebrating its 10th anniversary this fall."

After three years on the air, 'Access' experienced a leadership turnover. Rob Silverstein, its new executive producer, asked Mark to move to Los Angeles as senior producer in charge of the TV unit. Mark and his wife "moved out there, stayed for three years and loved it. We had our first child there. [In LA] you can walk around in shorts and take your kid to the park in February. It was great. It's the center of the entertainment universe. I met so many people, and the show found its voice under Rob. It was fun and competitive and just an exciting, great time."

Mark experienced the reality show phenomenon ahead of the curve, first hand. In March 2000 Jeff Probst, who had been the original New York reporter for Access Hollywood, e-mailed some former colleagues that he was "going to Borneo to shoot this new show called 'Survivor,' a cross between Robinson Crusoe and an Agatha Christie book."

"Access" ended up airing a segment on the "Survivor" auditions. Mark says, "A couple of us tried to convince Rob to go shoot 'Survivor' while it was in production. 'Access' had a small budget, and the reaction was 'this show is going to air over summer and no one is going to watch it.' But 'Access Hollywood' was doing focus groups, and one of the pieces was about the ('Survivor') auditions. That segment was one of the highest testing pieces in the show. So after we saw the tests, our crew spent a week in Borneo for one entire show of challenges."

After "Survivor" began airing, and it became a phenomenon, "Access Hollywood" was the only show with production footage. "CBS didn't even shoot an electronic press kit ? 'Access' went eight episodes in, when half the people had been eliminated," said Mark. "CBS called 'Access' a few weeks in and asked us to stop showing footage, because Web sites had started popping up saying 'if you watch 'Access Hollywood' you can figure out who's missing, and who's been eliminated.' I am very proud of the fact that we championed going to shoot this. Later when Mark Burnett wrote a book about his experience, he mentioned how 'Access Hollywood' supported the show."

It was soon after that Mark and his wife, Jamie, began talking about returning home to New York. "At the time there wasn't anywhere to move up on the show and I started to put out feelers. Then September 11th happened, and we really wanted to come home to our family." When offered the job of entertainment producer at "Good Morning America," Mark and the Bracco family returned to New York so Mark could begin "one of toughest jobs in the news business" as a morning show producer.

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