Nischelle Turner is joining CBS Television Distribution’s Entertainment Tonight this fall, sources confirmed. Turner, a CNN entertainment correspondent, has been with CNN since December 2011. Other changes at ET and its sister program The Insider include new anchors Kevin Frazier, Nancy O’Dell and Louis Aguirre.
The board of directors for C-SPAN has re-elected Pat Esser to a second term as executive committee chairman. The president of Cox Communications, Esser took over after the death of Time Warner Cable chairman Glenn Britt.
Fox Broadcasting is accepting nominations for its fourth annual Fox Writer’s Intensive, a four-month mentoring program geared toward writers of diverse backgrounds. Applicants must be nominated by a partner organization, talent agent or management company, and apply by Oct. 10.
WFTS Tampa has selected Nick Nicholson as its new VP and general manager. Nicholson, who spent 27 years with Belo Corp., most recently as president and GM of KTVK-KASW Phoenix, begins at the Scripps-owned Tampa station on Sept. 22, succeeding Rich Pegram.
The NATPE has announced the theme and more details of the 2015 NATPE Content First Market & Conference. The theme is “content without borders,” president and CEO Rod Perth announced Sept. 16. The conference, which will take place Jan. 20-22 at Miami’s Fontainebleau Resort, will see more than 5,000 people in all sectors of the media business.
Fox International Channels (FIC) announced on Sept. 16 that its new executive VP of affiliate distribution, Europe and Africa, will be Caleb Weinstein. Based in London and reporting to FIC president of Europe and Africa Jan Koeppen, Weinstein will be responsible for distribution in Europe and Africa of FIC’s channels.
Ovation has welcomed Jodi Lipe to the arts network as senior VP, marketing. Formerly the executive VP of marketing for global women’s lifestyle brands POPSUGAR and ShopStyle, Lipe will supervise branding efforts, consumer marketing, partnerships and social media from Ovation’s Santa Monica offices.
Simulmedia announced Sept. 16 the appointment of Ari Osur as VP, product marketing. Osur, a former eBay and Forrester Research senior manager, will be based in the New York headquarters of the company, which specializes in bringing audience targeting to TV advertising.
Carlsen Resources Inc. has upped Terri Thompson to executive VP of search management and strategy, the company announced Sept. 15. Before spending 10 years with Carlsen, Thompson spent 16 at Cox Communications, where she managed corporate teams in advertising, marketing, sales and more.
Grant Gish has been upped to VP, animation, of 20th Century Fox Television, the studio announced Sept. 15. At 20th Century Fox TV, Gish has helped develop Bob’s Burgers and Bordertown and worked on American Dad.
CNN Newsource has welcomed Ryan Nobles as a national correspondent, based on Washington. An anchor-reporter at WWBT in Richmond, Va., Nobles has been ranked as one of the country’s top state political reporters by The Washington Post, according to CNN.
Langley Productions and Spike TV will air a tribute episode to honor the memory of Cops audio technician Bryce Dion, who was tragically killed during production on Aug. 26. The one-hour special, set to air Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, will feature clips of his work from his seven years with the show.
The Madison Square Garden Company announced Sept. 15 that David Goodman will be its new president of productions and live entertainment, starting Sept. 22. Goodman, formerly president of Live Experiences, has more than 25 years of experience in advertising, original programming, new media, distribution and business development.
Brand response ad agency Hawthorne Direct has appointed Steve D’Amico as its new VP/account director, announced CEO Jessica Hawthorne-Castro on Sept. 15. D’Amico will work with the company’s creative, data science and media departments, and report to George Leon, senior VP of media/account management.
NBCUniversal’s executive VP for network entertainment sales and marketing Jim Hoffman is departing the company after 26 years. No replacement has been named. NBCU ad sales president Linda Yaccarino notified the staff in an internal memo that Hoffman would leave at the next month’s end.
Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead spoke with Eglon Simons, president of the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications. After three months in the position, Simons is starting to leave his mark on the organization.
NECN, the New England cable network, has chosen Kenny Plotnik to be its VP of news. Previously the VP of news at WABC New York, Plotnik begins Oct. 6 at NECN, which is part of NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations.
Starcom and Spark announced new staff promotions on Sept. 11. At Starcom, Jackie Kulesza is now an executive VP, while Beth Bradley, Maureen E. Glure, Adam Kruse and Bryan Simkins are senior VPs. New VPs are Roberto Brillembourg, Emily Dunsmore, Lauren Young Fitzgerald, Osman Kubilay Gursel, Preeti Nadgar, Mercedes Ritchey, Jason Shalaveyus and Ashley Mays. At Spark, Shaun Killeen is now senior VP while the new VPs are Lindsay DelMedico, Allison Shaffron, Kate Galecki and Stephen Paez.
Tim Tebow, the former star quarterback for Florida, will help launch a new series at Good Morning America. He will appear in the studio as well as in towns across the country to report on motivating and inspiring individuals and stories. He will continue to work as an analyst for ESPN and the ESPN-owned SEC Network.
The Senate approved the three nominations to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s board of directors on Sept. 11. They nominees are Scripps Network Interactive senior VP David Arroyo, Sheridan Broadcasting Corp. co-founder Dr. Judith Davenport and returning member Elizabeth Sembler.
CBS Television Distribution (CTD) has elevated Joe Ferullo to executive VP of current programming, announced Hilary Estey McLoughlin, president of creative affairs, on Sept. 11. In addition, producer Becky Brooks has joined CTD as VP of current programming and will report to Ferullo.
National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) announced on Sept. 11 that Mark Francis will serve as VP, commissioning and regional programming, Maggie Rhodes has moved up to VP, global acquisitions and co-productions, and Emanuele Madeddu is the new senior VP, marketing and creative.
Deluxe has added Jay Chicoy as VP and head of sales for Deluxe MediaRecall, the enterprise solution for organizing, digitizing and monetizing content. Chicoy, who has 20 years of product sales and client management experience, spent the last 12 years with Getty Images.
Richard Goldsmith’s role at The Jim Henson Company has increased to include international consumer products business as executive VP of global distribution and international consumer products. He reports to Peter Schube, president and COO, who made the announcement Sept. 11
Entertainment Studios has named JD Black as senior VP, global digital marketing. Black, with 19 years of marketing experience including at Sony, will supervise digital marketing, social media, creative strategy, research and more at the independent producer and distributor of first-run TV programming.
Discovery Studios has inked a production deal with Shauna Thomas to develop and produce original programming. Thomas has executive produced three straight seasons of TLC’s Gypsy Sister and Queen of Bling among other shows.
Cameryn Beck has been tapped as senior director of news strategy for E.W. Scripps’ TV division. Beck, news director at KTVK Phoenix, will stay in Phoenix and work closely with fellow senior director of news strategy Lana Durban. Beck will help oversee strategy implementation at the 16 Scripps stations that run news.
The Hollywood Radio and Television Society announced the panelists for its annual State of the Industry Newsmaker Luncheon. They are Kevin Beggs, chairman, Lionsgate Television Group; Gail Berman, chairman and CEO, The Jackal Group; John Landgraf, CEO, FX Networks and FX Productions; Kathy Savitt, CMO and head of media, Yahoo; and Chris Silbermann, founding partner, ICM Partners.
Jay Carney, former White House press secretary, has joined CNN as a political commentator. Carney, whose first appearance was Sept 10 as President Obama addressed the nation regarding ISIS, will contribute to various CNN programs and special political programming.
Shotoku Broadcast Systems has added Trevor Sword as its new technical sales manager, announced sales director James Eddershaw. Sword, who has 19 years of broadcast industry experience, will help advance sales for the company’s robotic camera systems.
Discovery Networks International announced Sept. 9 its appointment of Omar Garcia as director, Eurosports U.S. advertising sales. Garcia, who will continue his role representing Discovery’s international ad sales out of the U.S., will help with representing and selling broadcast and digital to U.S.-based advertisers.
Jerald Fritz is the new executive VP for strategic and legal affairs for One Media LLC. He was previously senior VP for legal and strategic affairs for Allbritton Communications. One Media, founded to build a next-generation broadcast platform for TV stations to compete in mobile broadband video world, is a co-venture between Coherent Logix and Sinclair.
