Jarl Mohn

Mohn spent almost 20 years in radio, many as a disc jockey under the name Lee Masters, including two years at WNBC in New York City.[6] 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, El Paso, TX, and WAVG Louisville, KY).[7]

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.[8]

He created E! Entertainment Television by transforming Movietime, a movie trailer service with 8 million subscribers,[9] to a fully distributed, profitable enterprise worth over $1 billion covering all aspects of the entertainment industry.[10] 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.

He was the chair of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California for 15 years.[11]

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.[12][13]

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 also spent 12 years on the board of The USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism,[14] including six as its chair.

[2][6][15] Mohn joined NPR as CEO on July 1, 2014,[16] the 7th 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.[17]  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.[18]

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.[1]

Mohn 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[19] (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.[1]

Mohn and his wife Pamela Mohn married in 1983. They have two grown daughters.[3][11]

Mohn was born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He studied Mathematics and Philosophy at Temple University.[2]

• Jarl Mohn at NPR.org.