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Herb Scannell, president and chief government of Southern California Public Radio, introduced Tuesday his plans to retire, capping off a four-decade profession for the trailblazing media government.
Scannell took the helm of the nonprofit native media group in 2019; its portfolio contains the area’s hottest NPR affiliate station, LAist 89.3 — previously generally known as KPCC-FM — together with the information web site LAist and its podcast manufacturing firm, LAist Studios.
Scannell, 66, informed LAist he determined to retire for private causes, noting the deaths of his brother and his greatest pal, in addition to working throughout the nation from his spouse and daughter, who stay in New York.
“It’s actually a matter of desirous to have one other chapter of life the place you’re with those you’re keen on,” Scannell mentioned, “and doing issues that you just’ve at all times needed to do.”
Scannell succeeded founding President Invoice Davis to steer Southern California Public Radio, the place he spearheaded the model integration of LAist, which the corporate acquired in 2018. He navigated the group by the COVID-19 pandemic and generated a 38% enhance in income throughout his tenure.
A longtime champion of variety, Scannell additionally pushed for extra numerous hires and content material, particularly within the aftermath of George Floyd’s homicide in 2020.
On his watch, the corporate additionally noticed the most important spherical of layoffs in its historical past. In June it minimize 21 positions, citing a income shortfall. LAist reported that the cuts caught employees unexpectedly approaching the heels of “a profitable on-air fundraising marketing campaign and the discharge of public disclosures on government compensation from a yr earlier.”
Scannell got here to SCPR after a number of stints main different media organizations, most just lately the English-language Latino media firm Mitú. He spent most of his profession at Viacom (now Paramount World), the place he was president of the youngsters’s tv community Nickelodeon from 1996 till 2006 and later oversaw a number of of the corporate’s different cable channels, together with Spike TV and TV Land. He additionally spent 5 years because the president of BBC North America.
“I need to do what’s not being carried out,” he informed The Instances in 2019. “If I’m doing one thing that everyone else is doing, then I higher do it in a different way.”
A seek for Scannell’s successor will start quickly, in accordance with the Southern California Public Radio board, with a call anticipated to be introduced someday subsequent yr.
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