PBS Names Paula Kerger New President and CEO

PBS Names Paula Kerger New President and CEO

Public Television Leader Becomes Sixth PBS President

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Paula A. Kerger, a top executive at New York's Educational Broadcasting Corporation, licensee of Thirteen/WNET and WLIW New York -- two of the nation's largest public television stations -- will become the Public Broadcasting Service's sixth president and chief executive officer on March 13, the PBS Board of Directors announced today. Ms. Kerger will direct the operations of the nation's largest public broadcasting service, comprised of 348 member stations that reach more than 99 percent of U.S. television households. She will succeed Pat Mitchell, who announced her plan to step down as PBS' president and CEO in February 2005.

"I am honored and thrilled to become the next president and CEO of PBS," Ms. Kerger said. "I firmly believe that public television's greatest days lie ahead, and I am truly excited to be working with this wonderful organization and all the public television stations across America to realize the full promise of this medium. Now more than ever, Americans need a strong public television system. I am committed to doing all I can to ensure that they have it."

"Paula is an irrepressible champion of public television -- proud of its mission and confident of its future," said Mary Bitterman, Chairman of the PBS Board of Directors. "Her demonstrated leadership, outstanding operational capabilities, and proven development skills will allow her to move into this very challenging role well prepared and well equipped to be the leader that PBS needs now and for the years ahead."

Since 2004, Ms. Kerger has been executive vice president and chief operating officer of EBC and a member of the office of the President, a position carrying both internal and external responsibilities. She manages the overall operations of the corporation, oversees the editorial content of the local station and educational outreach, and directs government affairs, development and communications as well as works closely with the President and Chairman on board issues.

Ms. Kerger jointed EBC in 1993 as vice president and director of development and government affairs for Thirteen/WNET. Under her stewardship, the station's Campaign for Thirteen -- completed in 1997 -- raised $79 million, the largest endowment campaign ever undertaken by a public television station.

In 2002, Ms. Kerger was promoted to vice president and station manager of Thirteen/WNET. In this role, Ms. Kerger oversaw local program acquisition, broadcast scheduling, communications, on-air promotion, and pledge production. In addition, she supervised individual giving, as well as Thirteen's volunteer program, viewer and member services, and government affairs. Ms. Kerger also directed the launch of four digital channels: ThirteenHD, Kids Thirteen, World and Create. The latter, launched in January 2006 through a partnership with WGBH/Boston and American Public Television, is public television's first 24-hour lifestyle channel.

Before joining EBC, Ms. Kerger was the director of principal gifts for the Metropolitan Opera. She also served as director of development and alumni affairs for International House in New York, and as program development officer for the U.S. Committee for UNICEF.

Ms. Kerger is vice chairman of American Public Television and vice chairman of the Association of Public Broadcasting Stations of New York. She is a founding trustee of the PBS Foundation and former chairman of the PBS Development Advisory Committee. She serves on the Eighth Congressional District Advisory Committee on Culture and the Arts and serves as a professional delegate of the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS), from which she received the 1997 Outstanding Grassroots Advocate Award. In 2000, she received the Frances P. Schuman Award from the National Friends of Public Broadcasting and in 2001 was named PBS Development Professional of the Year. In 2005, Ms. Kerger was named to the Women's Forum, an organization of 300 leading women in the professions, arts and business life of New York.

Upon Ms. Mitchell's announcement in February of 2005 that she would not seek a third term as PBS' president and CEO, the PBS Board of Directors named an 11-member committee to conduct a nationwide search for her successor. The committee, chaired by Ms. Bitterman, conducted stakeholder interviews across the country and retained the search firm Spencer Stuart. The committee voted unanimously to recommend Ms. Kerger to the full board, and the board affirmed that decision in a special January 22 meeting.

PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Va., is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 348 public television stations. A trusted community resource, PBS uses the power of noncommercial television, the Internet and other media to enrich the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services that inform and inspire. Available to 99 percent of American homes with televisions and to an increasing number of digital multimedia households, PBS serves nearly 100 million people each week. More information about PBS is available at pbs.org.

CONTACT: Lea Sloan, +1-703-739-5021, lsloan@pbs.org, or Jan McNamara, +1-703-739-5028, jmcnamara@pbs.org, both of PBS.

Source: PBS

CONTACT: Lea Sloan, +1-703-739-5021, lsloan@pbs.org, or Jan McNamara,
+1-703-739-5028, jmcnamara@pbs.org, both of PBS

Web site: http://www.pbs.org/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Photo of Paula A. Kerger is available upon request.

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