PBS has promoted Jim Dunford to SVP, station services, starting Monday.
The new position will centralize development services, station services and the digital station products and innovation team into a single organization, PBS said in an announcement.
Dunford, who joined PBS in 2016, is currently VP of programming and operations. Earlier in his career he spent 27 years at WGBH in Boston, including as managing director for American Experience.
Management
Media executive Paul Nelson is the new CFO at the Public Media Group of Southern California, the organization formed last year by the merger of PBS SoCal and KCETLink Media Group in Los Angeles. Nelson was previously SVP of finance at Tribune Publishing, where he helped shape digital media strategies. He also worked as VP, finance, and as controller for Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
KQED in San Francisco has hired Lesley Grossblatt for the new position of chief product officer. She will oversee product management, user experience and design, software engineering and KQED Lab, the in-house innovation incubator. Grossblatt most recently served as COO and VP for product for Boardlist, a digital marketplace that matches female CEOs with job opportunities. Previously she held senior product management positions at firms including Netflix and Intuit.
Kelly Burley, station director of KOSU in Tulsa, Okla., has retired. Burley first joined the station in 1990 as a reporter, rising to news director and program director. He took over his leadership post in 2007. During his tenure Burley oversaw the station’s transition from classical to news and music and helped create StateImpact Oklahoma, a statewide news collaboration of NPR member stations.
Content
Rebecca Feldhaus Adams will be the first news director at WHRV-FM in Norfolk, Va., when she starts work there next month. Since 2016 Feldhaus has been an editor at WAMU in Washington, D.C. She also previously worked at NPR and the Association of Independents in Radio.
Cynthia Canty, host of Michigan Radio’s Stateside talk show, will retire at the end of the year after a career of more than four decades in metro Detroit. Canty has hosted the weekday interview program for seven years. “The nearly 7,000 interviews I’ve done for Stateside will always be a source of pride,” she said in an announcement. “It’s a wonderful way to cap off a career. Now it’s time to turn my attention to family, grandkids and our cottage in West Cork, Ireland.”
Stephanie C. Montaño, associate director of station services at PBS, has accepted a job at the Aspen Institute to run a leadership program for college presidents. She joined PBS in 2014.
WFPK in Louisville, Ky., is making a few schedule changes. Next week it premieres Kyle Meredith With …, a weekday interview show hosted by the station’s music director. Meredith has hosted the show as a podcast with guests including Robert Plant, David Byrne and Sheryl Crow. Also, Mel Fisher will take over as afternoon weekday host, and local musician Otis Junior will be on air from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
Carl Lisciandrello is the new digital news editor at WUSF in Tampa, Fla. He previously held that title at the Tampa Bay Times and the Tampa Tribune. Lisciandrello has worked in local media for nearly 40 years, starting as a clerk and part-time reporter in the Clearwater Sun sports department.
Judy Fahys, former reporter for KUER-FM in Salt Lake City, is now reporting for InsideClimate News. She covers climate, energy and the environment in the Mountain West.
The Association of Independents in Radio promoted Ava Fields from operations associate to operations manager. She joined AIR in 2017.
National Geographic has hired producer Jinae West. She previously worked on NPR’s TED Radio Hour and All Things Considered.
Education reporter Kalyn Belsha has joined Chalkbeat, a nonprofit newsroom covering efforts to improve schools nationwide. Previously Belsha covered education for the Chicago Reporter. She also taught digital audio and video storytelling as an adjunct at Loyola University in Chicago.
Elyse Dempsey, program assistant with Native Public Media, has left her job after nearly three years with the organization in Flagstaff, Ariz. “She successfully restructured the station support program as well as our website so she leaves behind a legacy of achievements we are proud of,” said NPM President Loris Taylor in an announcement.
Governance
Cheryl Thompson, investigative correspondent at NPR, was reelected board president of Investigative Reporters and Editors at its national conference this month in Houston.
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