Digital innovator Michael Skoler joins PRI as vice president, Interactive Media

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MINNEAPOLIS, May 24, 2010 — Public Radio International (PRI) announces the appointment of Michael Skoler to the position of vice president of Interactive Media. In this capacity, Skoler will identify, develop and implement interactive strategies for the creation, distribution and engagement of PRI content. He will, among other things, expand PRI's impact by spearheading content initiatives in the digital realm, partnering with key interactive content providers and public radio stations, broadening distribution via online platforms, and developing associated communities. Skoler assumes his duties on June 1.

Senior Vice President of PRI Content Melinda Ward says, "It's a rare serendipity to discover the ideal alignment of our strategic vision with a candidate's unique skill set, but that's exactly what happened here. Michael is a true innovator, and his pioneering approach to interactive media and global journalism will thrive at PRI. I look forward to seeing the impact his vision will have on PRI's future."

Of his new role at PRI, Skoler says, "I've learned that culture is even more important than strategy for success in today's networked media world. PRI has both — a creative, risk-taking culture and a clear-eyed strategy for creating value. It is a terrific group of people and a very exciting platform for leadership in digital media."

Michael Skoler brings a wealth of award-winning experience in public media and journalism to PRI. Most recently, he was the founder and executive director of the Center for Innovation in Journalism at American Public Media located in St. Paul. The center was created to advance a new journalism of partnership with the public. He also established the Public Insight Journalism™ model, a set of software tools and processes that allow news organizations to tap the public's insight and create stronger, more relevant coverage.

Skoler advised media and technology companies and managed consultant teams at the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company. He served as Africa Bureau Chief for National Public Radio in Nairobi, Kenya, and as a science correspondent and science editor/producer in Washington, DC. Skoler has been a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, a Frank Batten Fellow at the University of Virginia and, last year, a Donald W. Reynolds Fellow studying new business models for media at the Missouri School of Journalism.

His work has won many awards: International Dialogues for Thought Leaders in Media/Journalism, Images and Voices of Hope; Inaugural Knight News Innovation EPpy for Public Insight Journalism; Batten Award for Innovations in Journalism for Public Insight Journalism; Joe Alex Morris Memorial Lecturer, Nieman Foundation, Harvard University; duPont-Columbia Silver Baton for coverage of the Rwandan genocide; Robert F. Kennedy Award for international reporting; and others. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Harvard University, Skoler went on to earn an MBA from the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business. He resides in St. Paul.

About Public Radio International®
Celebrated as a driver of innovation in public media, PRI was founded in 1983 to diversify and expand the content available on public platforms, enabling U.S. listeners to "hear a different voice™" and to connect with one another and the larger world. PRI leads by identifying critical but unmet content needs and partnering with producers, stations, digital networks and funders to develop multi-platform resources to meet those needs. By creating an environment in which innovation can thrive, PRI supports the creation and distribution of content that would otherwise be unavailable and that brings new voices, global journalism and cultural perspectives to the American public. PRI content is available on pri.org and via podcasts, and is broadcast on broadcast on 837 public radio stations. More than 13 million people access PRI content each week through these sources.

PRI's newest production is "The Takeaway," a groundbreaking morning-drive news show co-produced with WNYC Radio. Its best known programming includes "This American Life," produced by Chicago Public Radio; PRI's "The World," a co-production of BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH Radio Boston; "Living on Earth," produced by World Media Foundation Inc.; "Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?," produced by Wisconsin Public Radio; "The Tavis Smiley Show," produced by Smiley Radio Properties Inc.; and "Studio 360 from PRI and WNYC®," produced by PRI and WNYC; as well as 24-hour program services — "Classical 24®," produced by American Public Media; and BBC World Service, produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation. For more information, visit www.pri.org.

CONTACT: Julia Yager, PRI, 612.330.9231, jyager@pri.org

###