Clarence Copeland, a television engineer who has worked at Louisiana Public Broadcasting for 25 years, was named CEO of the Baton Rouge–based state network.
Copeland succeeds Beth Courtney, who retired earlier this year after working for LPB for more than 45 years. Copeland stepped up from his role as deputy director to become acting director during the search for Courtney’s successor.
“There’s no better person to lead LPB than C.C.,” said Courtney in a news release. “He has a tremendous wealth of experience and expertise, and a diverse background in the broadcasting arena at the national level. He has already done amazing things for the betterment of Louisiana and now will have the opportunity to do even more.”
In the release, Copeland said it is a “tremendous honor” to “build upon Beth’s legacy.”
Copeland joined LPB in 1997 as a television engineer. He has also been director of engineering and was promoted to deputy director in March 2021. Before LPB, he was an operations manager and satellite coordinator for WVLA, an NBC affiliate in Baton Rouge.
In 2015, Copeland joined the PBS Engineering Technical Advisory Committee and served as vice chair in 2020.