Jody Evans, CEO of
the Public Radio Program Directors Association (PRPD), announced three new
members have been appointed to the organization’s Board of Directors. They are Kristen
Muller of KPCC, Jacqueline Cincotta of WNYC and Fred Jacobs of Jacobs Media.
Also, Hawk
Mendenhall is now Chair of the board.
The appointments
fill board seats being vacated by Bill Anderson of KCUR, Michael Arnold of
Wisconsin Public Radio and Tamar Charney of NPR. Charney had been chair of the
board.
Other members
continuing their service on the board are: John Hoban (KJZZ), Bill Lueth
(KDFC), Matt Abramovitz (WQXR), Ben Adler (KXJZ), Lynne Clendenin (KOPB), Kerri
Hoffman (PRX) and Todd Mundt (NPR/WBUR).
Here is more about
each of the three new board members:
Kristen Muller, Head of
Content Innovation
Southern California Radio,
Los Angeles
Kristen Muller |
Muller oversees
content on the broadcast and digital platforms of KPCC. She is in charge of
innovation strategy and project.
Previously she was
Senior Managing Editor for KPCC News and producer of Take Two and the Madeleine
Brand Show. Before she joined KPCC, Muller spent over a decade with CBS News as
a producer for the CBS Evening News and 60 Minutes.
In 2016, Muller was
a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University where she examined
journalism in the age of the mega-platforms. Her work focuses on
entrepreneurship, digital innovation and management strategies.
Jacqueline Cincotta |
Jacqueline Cincotta,
Program Director
WNYC, New York
Cincotta has worked
at WNYC since 2002 and has been PD since May 2012. Prior to joining WNYC, she
worked for several New York advertising and marketing companies, specializing in
digital business solutions and graphic design.
Cincotta started
her career in radio while she was a student at SUNY, Oneonta. After graduating
she worked as an on-air host at Long Island commercial talk station WALK.
Cincotta still
occasionally is on the air on WNYC, something she apparently loves. In 2011 she
hosted an edition of WNYC’s Soundcheck about the impact of popular music on
life at the “tender age” of 14. She shared her music confessions with Dave
Gahan of Depeche Mode. You can listen to this delightful story here.
Fred Jacobs |
Fred Jacobs, Founder, Jacobs
Media
Detroit
Fred Jacobs
launched Jacobs Media in 1983 after several years as PD at WRIF, an influential
commercial Classic Rock station in Detroit. Some observers say that Jacobs
“invented” the Classic Rock format. Folks interested in Jacobs’ work with
Classic Rock should check out his blog here.
In the late 1980s
and early 1990s, Jacobs Media expanded into research and consulting for noncom
public radio stations, program producers and networks such as NPR and PRI.
Jacobs saw the
evolving digital media landscape and in 2004 conducted the first Tech Survey. The Tech Survey examines the ways audiences engage with new media like social media,
streaming audio and video, smartphones and other mobile media. Jacobs has conducted
over a dozen Tech Surveys
for commercial clients and eight Public Radio Tech Surveys for the PRPD.
In 2008, Jacobs
launched the mobile apps company jācapps. Jacobs and his associates
established the first DASH
Conference in 2013. DASH brings together radio folks and auto
industry leaders to examine the “connected car” space.
Check out his
company blog here.
KEN SAYS: Congratulations to the PRPD for choosing these three excellent new
board members. Each will bring important
new perspectives and skills to the organization.
Fred Jacobs in the mid 1980s |
I personally want
to thank Fred Jacobs for his efforts to help public radio become more
effective and sustainable. Fred knows how important public media is to our society and democracy.
It is true that Jacobs has made
decent bucks from consulting noncom clients.
However, he has returned far more value to public media.
He provides us wisdom and helps noncom folks focus on serving the greater good. This work makes me more confident about the future of public radio and public media. I don’t know Fred very well but I trust him – his aim is true.
He provides us wisdom and helps noncom folks focus on serving the greater good. This work makes me more confident about the future of public radio and public media. I don’t know Fred very well but I trust him – his aim is true.
I first heard of Fred back in the 1970s when I
was working in AOR radio. My friend Greg Ausham (who had
worked with Jacobs and competed against him in Detroit) told me:
Fred Jacobs is the real deal.
He has a further vision than most others in our biz. Fred intuitively knows where we are
heading. You will hear more about this guy in the future. Plus, he knows every
song ever recorded by Led Zeppelin.