Jon Siskel

Jon Siskel  is co-founder of Siskel/Jacobs Productions (SJP), a Chicago-based television and documentary production company founded in 2005 with Greg Jacobs. 

Siskel and Jacobs produced and directed the documentary feature Louder Than a Bomb, which follows four Chicago-area high school poetry teams as they prepare for and compete in the world’s largest youth slam. Since its premiere at the Cleveland International Film Festival in March 2010, the film has won several festival prizes. It was also selected for the 2011 American Documentary Showcase, a program created by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs “to cultivate greater understanding among people around the world.” As part of the Showcase, the film has traveled to Angola, Burma, Jordan, Malawi, the United Arab Emirates, and Zambia.

Prior to Louder Than a Bomb, SJP produced the Emmy-winning History Channel program 102 Minutes That Changed America, which reconstructs—in real time—the events of 9/11 in New York City, using only sound and video from that morning. More than five million viewers tuned in to the premiere, making it the second most-watched telecast in the network’s history and won numerous awards including three Primetime Emmys and named the Best Nonfiction TV Episode of 2008 by iTunes. Most importantly, 102 Minutes has become standard viewing in high school and college classrooms across the country, a way for teachers to introduce their students to the emotional and historical impact of 9/11. 

Siskel was executive producer and co-creator of the series Fake Out, which ran for two seasons on Court TV. He has also produced shows for the A&E series American Justice, Investigative Reports, and Biography, and his work has been shown on The Travel Channel, Discovery, and History. Siskel served as president of the board of Free Spirit Media, a Chicago-based youth media organization.