video i Host: Blanche Shaheen
You might know Blanche Araj - Shaheen best for her humor and warm personality as the host of KTEH's video i, but here's a little history on how she got there.
As soon as Blanche learned how to talk she knew she wanted a career in television. She would interview folks around her San Francisco neighborhood as a preschooler, piecing together "stories" about earthquakes, street construction, and local events. Yielding a spatula as a microphone, she would then set up a podium made of cardboard and read her "newscasts" in front of friends and family. Years later, after graduating from UC Berkeley in Political Economy, she hit the ground running to gain on-the-job television experience.
Blanche began her television track working behind the camera in 1994, doing production work for ABC, CNN, and PBS while pursuing her master's degree in Broadcast Journalism at San Francisco State University. In 1998, she auditioned for and landed the part of host for video i, and her on-camera career has taken off ever since.
Not wanting to miss out on the high-tech boom, Blanche also began hosting audio and video streaming webcasts for a multitude of companies, including Akamai Technologies, Hewlitt Packard, Siebel and Agilent. Blanche was also a reporter and fill-in anchor for TECH TV's daily news program TECH-LIVE, where she reported live every hour on high-tech and other news stories, from the Compaq-HP merger to the September 11 attacks. She has also hosted special programs for Link TV, a satellite channel that features global news, music, and documentaries.
Throughout the years, Blanche has remained passionate about video i, and has been the host since 1998. She especially enjoys documentaries--especially ones that inspire activism. Of course, she also enjoys interviewing the filmmakers and celebrities, from Alec Baldwin to Ben Kingsley.
Blanche was also a correspondent for the entertainment daily program on ABC, View From the Bay, where she scouts out fun and unique things to do around the Bay Area as well as review smaller, more artistic films. Off camera, Blanche is passionate about environmental and child protection, cooking, traveling, and spending quality time with family. For more on Blanche check out http://www.blanchestudio.com