Jarl Mohn, a member of the USC Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism's Board of Councilors, was today named CEO and President of NPR.
Mohn joined the USC Annenberg Board of Councilors in 2004 and was Chair until this past October. William Elkus, Founder and Managing Director of Clearstone Venture Partners, is now Chair. (For a complete list of the USC Annenberg Board of Councilors, please visit this page.)
NPRs breaking news blog, The Two-Way, featured a quote today from Kit Jensen, chair of NPRs board of directors. Jensen said that Mohn has "an ability to find nuanced and new ideas."
"Jarl Mohn is a shining example of the innovation and the digital media leadership that we live, work and teach here at USC Annenberg," said USC Annenberg Dean Ernest J. Wilson III. "He's a great and inspired friend to the school's students, alumni, faculty and staff."
Mohn delivered a Commencement address at USC Annenberg in 2009. "I love the Annenberg School," he said, "and I'm proud to be on the Board of Councilors." Video of that speech is embedded below.
Mohn sits on the boards of a number of organizations - including analytics provider ComScore and Scripps Networks Interactive. His lengthy media CV boasts high-level stints at MTV, E! Entertainment Television (where he was president and CEO) and Liberty Digital, Inc., where Mohn was founding President.
Media reports on the announcement have characterized the appointment as a return, and, indeed, Mohn began his professional life as a radio DJ.
The current Chairman of Southern California Public Radio, Mohn replaces Gary Knell, who left NPR unexpectedly in August to lead the National Geographic Society.
Mohn is Chairman of Southern California Public Radio, and is also President of the Mohn Family Foundation, a key funder of KPCC. Mohn has also been a strong supporter of the arts in Southern California.
Mohn's most recent visit to USC Annenberg was less than two weeks ago, when he joined a hard-hat tour of the under construction Wallis Annenberg Hall.
This technologically transformative, 88,000-square-foot building located in the heart of the USC campus will feature a three-story media wall as well as professional-quality video, radio and vodcast studios and a digitally converged media center for the school's award-winning, student-run, online, broadcast television, documentary and radio news outlets and PR agency. USC Annenberg's current home, the modernist marvel designed by famed architect A. Quincy Jones, will remain an active academic building as well.
Related Video:
1 - May 15, 2009: Jarl Mohn, president of The Mohn Family Foundation and member of the USC Annenberg Board of Councilors, addresses 2009 graduates in communication, communication management, global communication and public diplomacy.
2 - December 4, 2009: Jarl Mohn at Entrepreneurship and the Community Web, held at USC Annenberg.
About the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Located in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism is a national leader in education and scholarship in the fields of communication, journalism, public diplomacy and public relations. With an enrollment of more than 2,200 students, USC Annenberg offers doctoral, graduate and undergraduate degree programs, as well as continuing development programs for working professionals, across a broad scope of academic inquiry. The school's comprehensive curriculum emphasizes the core skills of leadership, innovation, service and entrepreneurship and draws upon the resources of a networked university in a global urban environment.
