Foti
Mike Foti, a public TV engineering director who worked at WGBH and Oregon Public Broadcasting, died June 12 after a brief illness. He was 63.
Foti joined OPB in July 2013 as the statewide licensee’s v.p. of engineering after 14 years as WGBH’s engineering director. At OPB, he had begun work merging the network onto a centralized server-based vide- editing system. His accomplishments at WGBH included overseeing the systems design and technical aspects of the station’s new facilities in 2007 and managing the launch of a centralcasting hub between the station and New Hampshire Public TV. WGBH began collaborating with NHPTV in 2012.
“Mike was a quiet and unassuming man,” OPB President Steve Bass wrote in an email. “But he knew his stuff and had a way of appropriately communicating it, and wasn’t afraid to tackle issues head on.”
Foti is survived by his wife Debbie; children Ben, Stuart and Sophie; and stepdaughter Robin. A memorial service will be held in the Boston area in August.
I am very sorry to hear of Mike’s passing. He was a great friend to the New England broadcast community. He was also an unselfish resource, giving of his time and advice. My thoughts and prayers to his family.