Producer biographies: Western Prisons

Producer Biographies

Jim Peck (IdahoPTV, Host and lead producer). Jim, producer, writer and host, is relatively new to Idaho Public Television, joining the staff in January 2001. A veteran of both PBS and commercial news, Peck has created a wide range of local and national programs. The long-running "TECHNO" received numerous national and regional awards including several Emmys, Tellys and the prestigious Golden Apple from the National Educational Media Association. His documentary work has also been rewarded with honors. Recently Peck was awarded two 2003 Midwest Regional Emmys. "Guitar Notes" won Best Documentary and he won Best Director for "Cuba, before," an award he also picked up in 1999 for "Frank Lloyd Wright's Wingspread." Peck's work has been recognized for excellence in film festivals and television competitions in Houston, Chicago, Idaho and New York among others. As a producer for Idaho Public Television, he works on "Outdoor Idaho" and "Idaho Reports," as well as documentaries and special projects.

Erin Meehan Breen (KNPB) has degrees in both Journalism and Music from the University of Washington in Seattle. After 20 years in commercial television in California and Nevada, she joined the Public Television family in Reno. For the past 2 and a half years she has been hosting the public affairs program, "In-Depth with Erin Breen," for Channel 5, as well as producing for FocusWest and other special projects. Erin writes a weekly column for the Reno Gazette Journal focusing on family life and is a single mom raising 3 young children.

Colleen Casto (KUED) specializes in public affairs/community affairs programs and documentaries related to social issues.

Casto oversees the production of the weekly program "Civic Dialogue" and "KUED Special Report," a monthly, in-depth public affairs program. These programs examine issues pertinent to the lives of Utah viewers, including social issues, crime, politics, the environment, state and local legislation, election coverage, and more.

Casto's latest documentary "Copper Canyon, American Dream" is the first comprehensive portrait of Bingham Canyon, which became home to one of Utah's first immigrant communities. The documentary profiles the rich history of the people who created the world's largest open pit copper mine. Other recent documentaries include "Teenage Sex and Fatherhood: Nathan's Story," which follows the incredible personal journey of a young man whose dreams of becoming a filmmaker are interrupted when his girlfriend becomes pregnant. This documentary received a Rocky Mountain Emmy Award. The film "Friends and Neighbors: A Community Divided," an examination of the division in the community over homosexuality, received a Rocky Mountain Emmy award as well as a Utah Broadcasters Association Gold Award. Her 1996 documentary film "No Safe Place: Violence Against Women," an examination of the causes and solutions of violence against women was broadcast nationally on PBS. It received the Worldfest Houston Gold Award, and was nominated for an Iris (NATPE) Award, Utah Society of Professional Journalists, Utah Broadcasters Association, and Rocky Mountain Emmy awards.

Casto received a B.S. in Journalism Mass Communication, TV/Film from the University of Utah in 1982. She is a 1993 WGBH/CPB Fellow in Public Affairs and was selected to attend the Poynter Institute for Media Studies seminar "About Race." She was honored as a 1 Utah Y.W.C.A. Woman of the Year. She is a member of Society of Professional Journalists Utah Chapter and the Utah Hispanic Women's Association.