ANNE BENTLEY NAMED PBS VICE PRESIDENT, CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS

ARLINGTON, VA, July 21, 2010 – PBS announced today that Anne Bentley has been appointed Vice President, Corporate Communications. Ms. Bentley will lead PBS’ Corporate Communications function and develop and implement external and internal strategies to support PBS’ strategic vision to re-imagine children’s media, re-invent journalism, and help Americans re-engage with the arts. She will serve as PBS’ chief corporate spokesperson and work closely with PBS President and CEO Paula A. Kerger and the executive team to create additional opportunities to reach important stakeholders and the media, and empower employees, parents, teachers, and viewers to be strong evangelists for PBS. 

“We are delighted to welcome Anne to the PBS family and look forward to the contributions she will make as we chart the future of public media,” said Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications. “Anne offers unparalleled experience as an award-winning communications strategist for global consumer brands. Her deep understanding of corporate brand building and the digital landscape make her uniquely well-suited for PBS as we continue to re-define how Americans use media to reach their full potential.” 

Most recently, Ms. Bentley was Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications at AOL, where she developed communications strategies and advised senior executives during AOL’s transformation from a subscription business to a global web-services company. 

During her 13-year tenure at AOL, Ms. Bentley developed the plan and directed the execution of strategies to ensure global media coverage for major company initiatives including corporate strategy and reputation, international expansion, AOL’s advertising business, major deals and acquisitions, innovation, citizenship and other areas of strategic significance. Ms. Bentley also provided leadership for the company’s flagship brand and consumer software and products, programming publicity, and press campaigns across numerous categories, including news, kids, video, entertainment, mobile, music, travel and more. 

Prior to AOL, Ms. Bentley worked in the publishing industry, where she created publicity campaigns for best-selling fiction and non-fiction titles, including the Nan A. Talese imprint at Doubleday Publishing, Simon & Schuster, Levi Strauss & Co., Time-Life Books, and Viking/Penguin publishers. She is a graduate of the University of Richmond with a Bachelor of Arts in English. 

About PBS
PBS, with its nearly 360 member stations, offers all Americans - from every walk of life - the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches more than 118 million people through television and nearly 21 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS' broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry's most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS' premier children's TV programming and its Web site, pbskids.org, are parents' and teachers' most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org web sites on the Internet. 

CONTACT:
Jan McNamara
jmcnamara@pbs.org
703-739-5028