Former Head of AOL Parenting to Oversee PBS Parents Site
ALEXANDRIA, Va., October 6, 2003 -- PBS has appointed Jean Crawford as the new Director of PBS Parents, a resource-rich Web site for parents and caregivers at pbsparents.org. Ms. Crawford joins PBS from America Online, where she served as Programming Director, Parenting Channel. She will begin work at PBS corporate headquarters October 6.
In her new role, Ms. Crawford will oversee the overall editorial and strategic direction of PBS Parents and help direct all parenting-related projects throughout PBS. Ms. Crawford will supervise new PBS Parents content features, manage weekly content updates, plan and administer annual budget and expenditures for the site and related projects, and collaborate across departments to launch new projects and continually improve the site.
"Kids learn with PBS and adults who care for children turn to PBS as a trusted, quality resource," noted Cindy Johanson, Senior Vice President of Interactive and Education. "Jean's years of experience, understanding of online audiences and commitment to advancing education through new media, are a perfect combination to lead PBS Parents through its next stage of development."
For the past three years, Ms. Crawford has served as Programming Director, Parenting Channel at America Online where she directed the day-to-day programming operations and the long-term programming strategy for online resources and services dedicated to parents and caregivers. Prior to that, she was Editorial Director from 1990-2000 for Time-Life Education, part of Time-Life, Inc. In this role she conceptualized and managed the development and editorial production of multiple book series, including an illustrated children's encyclopedia and a math series for kids aged 6 to 9; CD-ROMs and education products in the Children's Publishing Division. From 1981-1989 she held a succession of increasingly responsible positions at Time-Life, including Editor for New Products, Corporate Development Division; Picture Editor, Editorial Division; and Associate Editor Research/Writer, Editorial Division.
Ms. Crawford holds a B.S. degree in Biology and Journalism from American University and a Web Publisher Certification from the Graduate School, USDA.
PBS Parents, funded in part by PBS Ready To Learn, combines the significant resources of PBS and local public television stations across the country to offer features, advice and thousands of educational activities dedicated to helping both parents and caregivers raise children who are ready to learn. The site features expert counseling from trusted PBS personalities and national leaders in child development, a comprehensive activity search tool as well as localized, real-time television schedules and much more.
PBS Interactive Learning is the division of PBS that includes pbs.org, the most popular dot-org site on the Internet; PBS TeacherSource, an online neighborhood for preK-12 educators that helps teachers learn effective ways to incorporate video and the Web in the classroom; and PBS TeacherLine, which provides educators with innovative online professional development in mathematics and technology integration.
PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 349 public television stations. Serving nearly 90 million people each week, PBS enriches the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services on noncommercial television, the Internet and other media. More information about PBS is available at pbs.org, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet.
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