Jarl Mohn

Jarl Mohn is an American venture capital investor, art collector, and philanthropist, who focuses primarily on startups in the Los Angeles area. He served as the president and CEO of NPR from 2014 to 2019 and now serves as its president emeritus.[1][2][3][4]

Jarl Mohn
Born
Trenton, New Jersey
Occupation(s)Venture capital investor, art collector, philanthropist
OrganizationNPR
SpousePamela (m. 1983)
Children2

Education

Mohn was born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He studied Mathematics and Philosophy at Temple University.[1]

Early radio career

Mohn spent almost 20 years in radio, working mostly as a disc jockey under the name Lee Masters, including two years at WNBC in New York City.[5] In addition to on-air work in radio,Mohn served as a programmer (WLRS Louisville), general manager and owner of a group of radio stations; (KLOZ and KISO in El Paso, TX, and WAVG in Louisville, Kentucky).[6]

Cable career

From 1986 until 1990 Mohn served as executive vice president and general manager at MTV and VH1. Mohn led the team that transitioned MTV from a 24-hour music-video service to a teen and young adult lifestyle channel, reversing a dramatic ratings decline and resulting in increases in audience and revenue.[7]

He created E! Entertainment Television by transforming Movietime, a movie trailer service with 8 million subscribers,[8] into a fully distributed, profitable enterprise worth over $1 billion covering all aspects of the entertainment industry.[9] Mohn served as its president and CEO from 1990 to 1998. He was also founding president and CEO of Liberty Digital (1998-2001), a public company that invested in cable networks, the Internet and online businesses.

Angel investor and board member

In the early 2000s, Mohn served on the board of trustees of Southern California Public Radio for more than a decade, including two years as chairman.[10][11]

He has also been a corporate director and advisor to a number of media companies, making direct early-stage angel and seed investments in digital media/technology ventures. Mohn made over 60 early-stage venture investments, including in StubHub, App Annie, Red Car Wine, FreshPet, Oxygen Media, Bitium and Riot Games. He was a board member of the EW Scripps Company and Scripps Networks (HGTV, Food Network and Travel Channel) between 2002 and 2018 (until the sale to Discovery Networks). He also served as a director on the boards of XM Satellite Radio until it merged with Sirius in 2008, Comscore between 2008 and 2014, Riot Games until its sale to Tencent in 2011, and board chair of CNET until the sale to CBS in 2008. He spent 12 years on the board of The USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism,[12] including six as its chair.

NPR tenure

[1][5][13] Mohn joined NPR as CEO on July 1, 2014,[14] the seventh CEO in eight years. He came into an organization that had five years of net losses over the prior six years. Under his watch, NPR focused on rebuilding trust with member stations, investing in tentpole newsmagazines Morning Edition, All Things Considered and the burgeoning medium of podcasting.[15]  Reversing years of losses, the management team delivered five years in a row of record ratings, revenues and surpluses. In 2019 he stepped down becoming president emeritus, NPR Foundation board member and co-chair of NPR's 50th-anniversary capital campaign.[16]

Sexual harassment controversy at NPR

During Mohn's time as CEO of NPR, the organization's senior vice president for news, Michael Oreskes, was accused of sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct by multiple women, including current NPR employees.[17] Mohn received widespread criticism for his handling of sexual harassment complaints at the company.[18][19][20][21][22][23]

Mohn had hired Oreskes for that position in 2015. The allegations were first reported on Oct. 31, 2017 by the Washington Post.[24] Two women said that in the 1990s, when Oreskes worked for the New York Times, he made unwanted sexual advances during meetings about job opportunities. Oreskes resigned from NPR on Nov. 1, 2017 and said in a statement, "I am deeply sorry to the people I hurt. My behavior was wrong and inexcusable, and I accept full responsibility."[25] More NPR employees subsequently reported inappropriate interactions with Oreskes.[26]

Mohn was aware of at least some of the sexual misconduct allegations against Oreskes prior to the publication of the Washington Post story.[25] At a staff meeting, the Washington Post later reported, "Mohn was pelted with angry comments about his failure to act in the face of multiple allegations that Oreskes had acted inappropriately toward women for years." On Nov. 7, 2017, Mohn wrote in an email to NPR's staff, "In retrospect, I did not see the bigger pattern of poor judgment and unacceptable behavior." He added, "I am sorry, and I have learned from this."[27]

NPR and its board hired an outside law firm, Morgan Lewis, to conduct a review of the organization's handling of the harassment allegations against Oreskes.[28] That report found staff had a high level of distrust for NPR management under Mohn's leadership. The Morgan Lewis investigation found that Mohn was aware of complaints regarding Oreskes in 2015, 2016, and 2017, but that his and NPR management's actions failed to correct Oreskes's behavior. Mohn pledged to make improvements following the release of the investigation.

The Columbia Journalism Review argued that Mohn's handling of the allegations showed that he was more concerned with the appearance of impropriety than the possible harm caused to employees. "NPR sullied its reputation in its very attempts to protect it," author Bill Grueskin wrote.[21]

Political activity

Mohn has contributed to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Gephardt for president, Gore 2000, John Kerry for president, Obama Victory Fund 2012, the Progressive Patriots Fund, and Biden/Harris 2020.

Charitable activities and foundations

Mohn was the chair of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California for 15 years.[29]

He manages The Mohn Family Foundation, which supports philanthropic missions in Los Angeles for social justice, civil liberties (ACLU of Southern California), public radio (NPR, KPCC, KCRW, KPCW in Park City, Utah, and WNYC New York) and the arts[30] (The Hammer Museum and Made In LA Biennial; LA County Museum of Art (Michael Heizer's Levitated Mass), MOCA, LAXART, ICA-LA, and The Getty’s Pacific Standard Time exhibit). Since 2002, Mohn also has been a trustee of The Mohn Family Trust, which is an early-stage investor in startups primarily in the Los Angeles area.

He and his wife fund the "Made in LA" exhibits and the Mohn Award for artistic excellence at The Hammer Museum.[31]

Personal life

Mohn and his wife Pamela Mohn married in 1983. They have two grown daughters.[2][29]

References
  1. "Jarl Mohn". NPR. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
  2. Paul Farhi (2014-05-09). "NPR taps Jarl Mohn as eighth CEO in eight years". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
  3. Hannah Karp (2014-05-09). "NPR Names Media Industry Veteran Jarl Mohn as CEO". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
  4. Deborah Vankin and Ryan Faughnder (2014-05-10). "NPR picks L.A. media veteran Jarl Mohn as its new chief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
  5. Sallie Hofmeister (2005-06-20). "Builder of E! Shifts Focus to Wireless". LA Times. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
  6. Wolfson, Andrew. "Former Louisville DJ now CEO of NPR". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  7. Service, Peter J. Boyer, New York Times News (19 May 1988). "MTV CHANGES IMAGE-BUT GAME SHOWS?". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-10-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. "E!--the Entertainment Channel Debuts Today : Television: Former MTV exec Lee Masters revamps Movietime". Los Angeles Times. 1990-06-01. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  9. "Chief of E! Entertainment Quits". AP NEWS. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  10. Lauren Raab (2014-06-18). "Russ Stanton departing KPCC/Southern California Public Radio". LA Times. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
  11. "Southern California Public Radio Board Of Trustees". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
  12. "Jarl Mohn | USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy". communicationleadership.usc.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  13. "Jarl Mohn, CNet Chairman And Former E! Entertainment And MTV Executive, Appointed To Rubicon Project". Rubicon Project. 2008-06-03. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  14. Elizabeth Jensen (2014-05-09). "NPR Picks a New Leader With Lots of Commercial Experience". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
  15. Mullin, Benjamin (2018-12-04). "NPR Chief Jarl Mohn to Step Down in June". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  16. "NPR's Jarl Mohn to Become President Emeritus & Co-Chair 50th Anniversary Campaign". NPR.org. 4 December 2018.
  17. "NPR's Head Of News Placed On Leave After Past Harassment Allegations Surface". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  18. Ember, Sydney (2017-11-08). "NPR C.E.O. Jarl Mohn Apologizes to Staff, Goes on Leave". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  19. Collins, Bob (November 2017). "NPR reporter grills boss over sexual harassment allegations". NewsCut. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  20. "NPR CEO Jarl Mohn Takes Medical Leave Of Absence Amid Harassment Scandal". HuffPost. 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  21. "In quest to protect image, NPR tarnished it". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  22. Stelter, Brian (2017-11-03). "NPR boss under pressure over Oreskes sexual harassment scandal". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  23. Kennedy, Merrit; Folkenflik, David (2017-11-28). "NPR Chief News Editor Departs After Harassment Allegations". NPR. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  24. Farhi, Paul (2017-10-31). "NPR's top editor placed on leave after accusations of sexual harassment". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  25. "Top NPR News Executive Mike Oreskes Resigns Amid Allegations Of Sexual Harassment". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  26. "Tensions Build In NPR Newsroom Over Handling Of Sexual Harassment Allegations". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  27. "Report Detailing Harassment At NPR Cites 'High Level Of Distrust' Of Management". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  28. Simpson, April; Editor, Former Associate (21 February 2018). "Investigators' report finds first warnings about Oreskes came from NPR hiring committee". Current. Retrieved 2021-08-10. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  29. Hanson, Sarah P. (2014-08-11). "Jarl and Pamela Mohn Shine a Light on a New Generation of California Artists". blouinartinfo.com. BlouinArtInfo. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  30. Adam, Georgina (2019-02-08). "Collector Jarl Mohn: 'Anyone who buys any art is a hero!'". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  31. Vankin, Deborah (2021-07-15). "Hammer Museum's $100,000 Mohn Award goes to Kandis Williams". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
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