One of the pioneers of public education and advocacy in the cable industry, Meredith Wagner has been instrumental in developing Lifetime Television’s unique commitment to using the power of the media to make a positive difference in the lives of women. In her 19 years at Lifetime, Wagner has led the way for the network’s award-winning “Our Lifetime Commitment” public outreach campaigns, establishing the network as a trusted advocate for a range of women’s issues including breast cancer, heart disease, violence against women, and girls’ self esteem.
In the past two years, Wagner has led Lifetime and its partners to successfully lobby for legislation to protect women through its “Stop Violence Against Women” campaign. Inspired by the story of rape survivor Debbie Smith, the network collected and delivered more than 110,000 petition signatures to Congress, leading to the passage of legislation that will eliminate the backlog of untested DNA evidence and put tens of thousands of rapists in jail. Its second legislative victory was the “Video Voyeurism Protection Act of 2004,” signed into law after Lifetime’s advocacy efforts and an Original Movie Video Voyeur: The Susan Wilson Story, highlighted this crime to lawmakers.
Wagner led the network to continued success in 2005, celebrating legislative victories including the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, and bringing national attention to the problem of sex trafficking through its first miniseries, Human Trafficking. The network’s campaign helped lead to the passage of the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act 2005.
Wagner’s work on the Stop Violence Against Women campaign helped the network win the 2005 Golden Beacon, CTPAA’s highest honor. Lifetime Television also won the 1999 Golden Beacon for “Fighting Breast Cancer: Our Lifetime Commitment.” Under her watch the network has received many prestigious awards, and Wagner herself has been honored by numerous groups including the American Women in Radio & Television, the National Organization for Women, and HELP USA. Wagner serves on the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government Women’s Leadership Board, as well as numerous advisory boards including the National Domestic Violence Hotline, Rock the Vote, and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Media Task Force. Wagner is a past president of CTPAA.
