American Public Television EVP Shawn Halford to leave organization

Shawn Halford, EVP of content for American Public Television, a syndication and program exchange service for public TV, will leave the Boston-based organization this month.

Halford announced his departure on LinkedIn Wednesday. “After more than seven years, my time curating content at APT draws to a close this week,” he said. “I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish at APT, and what APT will continue to do: to serve public television stations with quality content for stations’ sustainability and relevance, and to connect producers with the public television marketplace.”

Halford added, “This past year has been the most challenging one yet for public media, but I have an abiding hope that the best is yet to come from a changed public media that focuses on its mission of informing, educating, and inspiring. Public media is needed now more than ever. While I am not certain where my next steps will take me, it has been a privilege to work with the truly talented APT team, and with colleagues across the spectrum of content creators and local public media partners. Onward!”

Halford joined APT in 2018 as VP of exchange and digital services, a role he retained after his 2021 promotion to EVP. During his tenure, he oversaw programs including Legacy List With Matt Paxton, Rick Steves Europe Awaits and the annual Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards.

He previously worked at PBS for more than 20 years and was senior director of programming and scheduling. He has also been senior scheduling coordinator for the Discovery Channel.