When NPR President and CEO Jarl Mohn’s contract ends in June, Mohn says he will end his leadership role at the public media company but will continue the relationship “in a new capacity,” according to an announcement from NPR.
After June 30, Mohn will serve NPR as president emeritus, NPR Foundation board member, and co-chair of NPR’s 50th anniversary capital campaign. In this new role, he will concentrate on strengthening donor relationships.
However, Mohn will continue to serve in the role until a successor is named to ensure a “smooth transition.“
[Read: Jarl Mohn Is New NPR Leader]
Mohn also used the occasion to announce a $10 million donation to NPR in a note to the organization’s staff; he and his wife Pamela created The Mohn Family Foundation in 2000.
He wrote, “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.”
Mohn joined NPR in 2014 as president and CEO. Prior to that, his public media experience included serving on the board of trustees of Southern California Public Radio for more than a decade while also working as “corporate director and advisor to a number of media companies, making direct early stage angel and seed investments in digital media/technology ventures.”
Mohn’s bona fides in the larger media world are extensive. Mohn was the founding president and chief executive officer of Liberty Digital, which invested in “interactive television, cable networks and internet enterprises.” Before that he was a creator of E! Entertainment Television and served as president and CEO for eight years. He also served as executive vice president and general manager of MTV and VH1 from 1986 to 1990.
However his media roots are in radio. Mohn began his career as a disc jockey in 1967 and was on the air on New York’s WNBC(AM) in the 1970s.
