NPR President/CEO Jarl Mohn has announced that he will transition to the new position of president emeritus, NPR Foundation board member, and co-chair of NPR’s 50th anniversary capital campaign upon the expiration of his five year contract on June 30, 2019.
Mohn and his wife Pamela will also donate $10 million as a Personal Gift to NPR. Prior to joining NPR, Mohn began his career as a DJ under the name ‘Lee Masters’ and worked at 660 WNBC New York in the 1970’s before segueing to media management as GM of MTV/VH1 in the 1980’s, founder/CEO of E! Entertainment Television in 1990 and President/CEO of Liberty Media Digital. Mohn also previously served on the Board of Directors of XM Satellite Radio and Board of Trustees of Southern California Public Radio.
In his new position, Mohn will focus on building relationships with donors who believe in the importance of NPR’s fact-based journalism and want to invest in the next chapter in the network’s history according to the press release below.
NPR President and CEO Jarl Mohn announced today that he will transition to a new role when his five-year contract ends June 30, 2019. Mohn will be staying at NPR in a new capacity: as president emeritus, NPR Foundation board member, and co-chair of NPR’s 50th anniversary capital campaign.
As president emeritus, he will focus on building relationships with donors who believe in the importance of NPR’s fact-based journalism and want to invest in the next chapter in the network’s history.
Mohn became president and CEO of NPR in 2014. He led NPR through more than four consecutive years of audience growth and budget surpluses. During his tenure, NPR’s news magazines attained their highest ratings in the network’s history and NPR is reaching new audiences as the top podcast publisher and through platforms like smart-speakers and connected cars. Under Mohn’s leadership, NPR and Member stations have come together in a renewed spirit of partnership, creating new, high-quality content for all the ways audiences are consuming media. Today, NPR and Member stations are developing new and better ways of collaborating in newsgathering and presentation.
In a note to staff, Mohn said: “My wife Pam and I are more committed than ever to helping NPR and public radio achieve long term financial stability, particularly at a time when journalism is under economic and political pressures. We are so confident in the future of this organization that we are announcing our personal donation of $10 million to NPR as well as our long term personal commitment to the organization. We invite others who care about quality journalism and public service to join us in investing in this remarkable institution and its journalists.”
The NPR Board of Directors will conduct a national search for NPR’s next president and CEO. Mohn will remain in his current role through the end of his term and beyond as necessary to ensure a smooth transition.
Prior to joining NPR, Mohn served on the board of trustees of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) for more than a decade, including two years as chairman. In addition to his service to public radio, Mohn was the founding President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Digital (NASDAQ: LDIG), a public company that invested in interactive television, cable networks and internet enterprises. Prior to Liberty Digital, he created E! Entertainment Television and served as President and Chief Executive Officer from January 1990 to December 1998. He was Executive Vice President and General Manager of MTV and VH1, from 1986 to 1990. He began his career as a disc jockey in 1967 and was on the air on WNBC-AM in New York in the 1970s. Prior to coming to NPR, he divided his time between being a corporate director and advisor to a number of media companies, making direct early stage angel and seed investments in digital media/technology ventures. He and his wife Pamela created The Mohn Family Foundation in 2000.
