ALEXANDRIA, Va., November 18, 2002 - Lea Sloan, a public relations and marketing executive with extensive experience in the broadcasting industry, has been named vice president, Media Relations, for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The announcement was made today by Lesli Rotenberg, senior vice president, Brand Management, Promotion, and Media Relations. Ms. Sloan will begin work at PBS's Virginia-based corporate headquarters on December 2, 2002; she will report directly to Ms. Rotenberg.
In this newly created position, Ms. Sloan will lead the strategic development and management of communications with the press, member stations, public officials and other key stakeholders. She will oversee the staff of the Corporate Communications, Education and Online Communications, as well as the Program Information and Special Events departments.
"I am so pleased that such an experienced, dynamic professional as Lea is joining the PBS team," stated Ms. Rotenberg. "She has won the respect and trust of colleagues, partners and journalists alike through her intelligence, integrity and skill."
Ms. Sloan comes to public television from Paxson Communications' PAX TV, where she has served as senior vice president, Cable Marketing and Public Relations, since February 2000. In this role she was responsible for all marketing and public relations strategies and initiatives for the network's cable division, especially those focused on building PAX's brand and its value to viewers, MSOs and cable operators. Previously, she served nearly two-and-a-half years as PAX TV's vice president, Marketing and Public Relations, and as such was part of the small team that launched the network in August of 1998.
Prior to joining PAX TV, Ms. Sloan was executive vice president/partner at Gordon Sloan Diaz-Balart beginning in 1994. During her tenure, she managed business development, marketing and public relations for clients such as The Box, Cinecanal, GEMS Television, Paxson Communications, Silver King Communications (Miami), Travel Channel Latin America, Weather Channel Latin American and others. She has also held the positions of senior vice president/managing director at Bender, Goldman & Helper; vice president, account management, at Shaw/Spelling Associates; and columnist at the Boston Globe.
A current resident of Hypoluxo, Florida, Ms. Sloan is a board member of the Palm Beach County Film Commission and of the World Trade Center, Palm Beach County. She is also a member of the marketing committee for the Montgomery Armory Arts Center. Ms. Sloan holds a B.A. from Connecticut College and has done graduate work in broadcast journalism at Boston University.
PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 349 public television stations. Serving nearly 100 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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Contact:
Jan McNamara, PBS
703-739-5028