KCRW Music Announcement, New Hires, Station Announcement

KCRW Announces Anne Litt as Next Program Director of Music

KCRW Announces Anne Litt as Next
Program Director of Music 

Search for Host of Morning Becomes Eclectic Intensifies

Santa Monica, CA (January 23, 2020) – KCRW announces today Anne Litt as Program Director of Music – the fifth for the station – with past Music Directors being Jason Bentley, Nic Harcourt, Chris Douridas, and Tom Schnabel. 

Litt joins two additional, key executive hires at the influential NPR affiliate with Paul Bennun recently tapped as Chief Content Officer, and Drew Tewksbury as Director of Digital Content.

“I’m thrilled to have Anne Litt as the new Program Director of Music. Anne has been finding and cultivating talent inside and outside KCRW for years. She’s primed to move KCRW and our signature music programming into the next era,” says KCRW President, Jennifer Ferro. “Anne joins Paul and Drew to round out KCRW’s new content leadership team. Along with our incredible staff, we are positioned to focus squarely on the station’s future and deliver excellence across all of our platforms – in music and talk programming – through a wide range of personalities that have made KCRW such a beloved institution.”

“After 20 years on the air at KCRW, having the opportunity to map out our future in this leadership role, at the station I’ve known, respected and valued above all others, is the honor of a lifetime,” stated Litt. “This is a pivotal moment for KCRW to redefine the meaning of ‘radio’ in the 21st century.”

The search for the next host of the station’s flagship music show, Morning Becomes Eclectic will now intensify. Details of the MBE host position will be posted here in the coming days. Litt will host MBE until the position is filled.

ANNE LITT
Growing up in Richmond, VA, Anne Litt became a lifelong radio fan. Her first on-air experience was in 1986, at the forefront of the alt-rock revolution, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill’s award-winning radio station, WXYC. After graduating from UNC in 1988, she joined the pioneering independent label, Mammoth Records, and was instrumental in guiding the careers of such seminal alternative stars as Juliana Hatfield, the Blake Babies, and The Sidewinders. In 1991, Litt moved to Los Angeles to explore her obsession with the SoCal music scene, and continue her career in – and be at the epicenter of – the music industry. In 1996, she started her dream job as a DJ for KCRW working various shifts until 2000 when she was tapped to host the weekend afternoon show. Litt’s signature mix of progressive pop, global rhythms and modern sounds fit right into the KCRW aesthetic, which was nationally recognized as one of the most eclectic, adventurous radio stations in the country. During her KCRW tenure, Litt has hosted countless music events including KCRW’s World Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, First Fridays at the Museum of Natural History and KCRW’s Summer Nights. She has emceed showcases at SXSW and Sundance Film Festivals and interviewed dozens (if not hundreds) of musicians including: Beck, Yola, Nick Waterhouse, Gary Clark Jr., Patti Smith, Ty Segall, The National, Margo Price, Norah Jones, Tom Jones, Trombone Shorty, and Spoon, to name a few. In addition to helping launch the careers of countless developing artists, Litt has also been instrumental in ushering in the next generation of stellar DJs. Litt is also an accomplished music supervisor with credits that include the Grammy-nominated soundtrack for the Oscar-winning film “Little Miss Sunshine,” and campaigns for Apple, Volkswagen, and Acura. Notably, Litt placed the music in all six spots of the NBA’s legendary “There’s Only One” split-screen campaign featuring ahead-of-the-curve artists, and the unprecedented commercial use of a song by Radiohead. Litt lives in Hollywood with her husband and son. She serves on the Board of Directors for The Pablove Foundation, an organization that helps kids with cancer live a love-filled life today, and a cancer-free life tomorrow. She knows of no activity more satisfying, in this world, than discovering and sharing new music — unless it’s sailing or skiing with her son… or perhaps that time Josh Groban wrote a song about her

PAUL BENNUN
Paul Bennun is an executive with several decades experience working creatively and strategically at the junction of content and technology. Throughout his professional life, he has been a leading practitioner and thinker in radio, audio, and interactive entertainment. Co-founder of the UK’s largest radio production company, Somethin’ Else, as Chief Creative Officer he led the organization to become the BBC’s primary supplier of independently-made radio, including many of the Corporation’s most important properties across spoken word and music. Somethin’ Else was also the leading provider of outsourced social media, interactive content and video games to the BBC. In 2013 and 2015, Somethin’ Else received BAFTA’s “Production Company of the Year” award for its work across radio, TV and games. Paul started working in radio at the age of 13 in his hometown of Exeter, eventually presenting shows, and acting as the weekend traffic reporter at age 15 on Devonair, the local independent radio station. He then became a producer on various London radio stations while completing his undergraduate degree. On founding Somethin’ Else, Paul immediately started exploring the junction of sound and interactive media, directing the UK version of a legendary game called You Don’t Know Jack, which received two BAFTA nominations in 1998, the same year he received a Sony Radio Academy Award for his first series for the BBC (a two-part show about the history of funk music). During this period he co-authored a UK government report on the future of music and podcasting, became a board advisor to the BBC and the UK’s advertising industry, and presented radio shows for the BBC. On moving to the U.S.A. in 2016, Paul founded a data-driven social storytelling company, Storyblaster. He is also on the board of the Metabrainz Foundation, the music industry’s leading provider of open-sourced music metadata, powering Spotify, Amazon and most other major streaming music providers. Paul lives in Los Feliz, is a bread baker, loves to cook and owns two Shiba Inus.

DREW TEWKSBURY
Drew Tewksbury is a L.A.-based journalist, editor, and multimedia producer. As an editor at the Los Angeles Times, Tewksbury helmed coverage in the arts and books sections, where he spearheaded literary criticism and steered coverage of L.A.’s diverse creative communities. In 2018, Tewksbury was the contributing editor at GOOD Media, where he built a team of international freelancers to highlight innovators, report on global culture, and showcase inspiring people who are working to improve the world. Previously, Tewksbury was the managing editor of LA Weekly before the publication’s sale in 2017, where he oversaw the section editors, edited long-form cover stories, developed special issues, and spearheaded video production, which earned him and his team an Association of Alternative Newsmedia award for Documentary Profiles. From 2012-2016, Tewksbury was the managing editor/producer for KCETLink’s Artbound, an online arts journalism publication and Emmy-winning television show providing in-depth arts & culture coverage across Southern California. He also assisted in the development of article-based documentary videos, as part of Artbound’s Emmy-winning TV show which aired on KCETLink public media. In addition, he helped produce the live music performance show Artbound Presents: Studio A. An accomplished journalist, Tewksbury has written and reported feature articles or radio pieces for: National Public Radio (NPR), Time, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine, L.A Weekly, KPCC, NME (U.K), Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Flaunt, and SWINDLE Magazine, among other publications. Tewksbury wrote and voiced regular on-air music review segments, “New Music Tuesday,” for Southern California Public Radio’s Take Two and the Madeleine Brand Show. As an educator, Tewksbury has taught Entertainment Journalism at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, where he went to graduate school. He has also taught Cultural Journalism at Loyola Marymount University. Tewksbury lives in the foothills of Echo Park — where ghostly coyotes roam at dusk and fireworks light up the summer sky — and spends too much time at the Cactus Store. He is a Gemini.

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About KCRW
KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. We are driven by the spirit of LA and deliver in innovative ways — on the radio, digitally and in person — to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world. A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in LA, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, Berlin, Germany, and worldwide via the KCRW-developed smart phone app, or online at kcrw.com.

Twitter | twitter.com/kcrw
Facebook | facebook.com/kcrwradio
Instagram | instagram.com/kcrw
YouTube | youtube.com/user/kcrw

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Station Announcement

Monica Shilling Named Board Chair of KCRW Foundation Saree Kayne Joins Lee Rierson as Vice Chair

Monica Shilling Named Board Chair of KCRW Foundation

Saree Kayne Joins Lee Rierson as Vice Chair

 

Shilling-Monica_Official---Cropped
 

(Santa Monica, CA—December 19, 2019)The KCRW Foundation is pleased to announce that the KCRW Foundation’s Board of Directors elected Monica Shilling as the new board chair effective December 9, 2019. She succeeds Matt Kline who served as Board Chair since 2017, and will continue to remain on the full Board of Directors. Additionally, the KCRW Foundation’s Board of Directors re-elected Lee Rierson as Vice Chair, elected Saree Kayne as an additional Vice Chair, Karyn Williams as Treasurer and Emily Gold Mears as Secretary.

The KCRW Foundation provides financial support and other resources to ensure that KCRW can maintain and expand its mission consistent with economic, social and technological developments. The KCRW Foundation Board of Directors is comprised of committed business and community leaders who place KCRW at the top of their philanthropic agenda and help the station fulfill its mission.

“KCRW is lucky to have a board of passionate fans and strategic thinkers,” said KCRW President Jennifer Ferro. “I couldn’t be more inspired to have Monica Shilling take on the leadership role as Chair of the KCRW Foundation. We have relied on her expertise and guidance for a number of years. She is a powerhouse.  She is the perfect person to take the baton from the extraordinary Matt Kline and from Michael Fleming before him.”

“I’ve loved KCRW since 1995, when I arrived in Los Angeles and found this incredible station that has inspired me and so many others over the years,” said Monica Shilling. “This is a tremendous honor and I’m humbled by my fellow board members’ confidence in me.  I look forward to working with our dynamic President, Jennifer Ferro, and fantastic staff, my board colleagues, including Vice Chairs Lee Rierson and Saree Kayne, and our friends at Santa Monica College to continue to deliver KCRW’s unique mix of content.”

Monica Shilling first joined the KCRW Foundation board in 2012, and is a transactional partner in the Los Angeles office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. She has a broad corporate and securities law practice that focuses on advising asset managers, private equity funds, and their portfolio companies on the full lifecycle of transactions. She also represents public companies, financial advisors, investment banks and issuers. She is experienced with mergers and acquisitions, capital markets offerings, leveraged buyouts, general corporate law and corporate governance, securities laws, and NYSE/Nasdaq compliance. She also advises companies on the establishment of business development companies (BDCs) and other private and public equity vehicles. Monica is among a relatively limited number of attorneys in the country who actively represent BDCs.

Monica was honored by Chambers USA at its 2012 Women in Law Awards as the Up & Coming Corporate/M&A Lawyer of the Year and was recognized by the Daily Journal as one of the top 25 transactional women lawyers in California in its 2011 and 2014 TopWomen Lawyers issues.

KCRW, licensed to Santa Monica College, is a publicly funded non-profit media organization whose goal is to create and disseminate news and cultural programming that informs, inspires, and stimulates.  By creating an ongoing dialogue with its audience, KCRW strives to make an impact not only on the cultural conversation of Southern California, but of the United States and the world.

The KCRW Foundation Board includes:
Monica Shilling, Chair
Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Lee Rierson, Vice Chair
Head of Business & Operations, wiip

Saree Kayne, Vice Chair
Doctoral Candidate, Stanford University

Karyn L. Williams, Treasurer
CEO, Hightree Group

Emily Gold Mears, Secretary
President, North Star Drive Investments, LLC

Jennifer Ferro, President
President, KCRW

Norris Bishton, Jr.
President, NOARUS Auto Group/Partner, Bishton Gubernick

Jay Borzi
Senior Managing Director, Eastdil Secured

Donald de Brier
Former Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Occidental Petroleum Corporation

Shahram Delijani
Partner, Delson Investment Company/Partner, Broadway Theater Group

Michael Fleming
Executive Director, David Bohnett Foundation

Susan Genco
Co-President, Azoff MSG

Donald Girard
Senior Director, Government Relations and Institutional Communications, Santa Monica College

Paul Haas
Agent/Partner, WME Entertainment

Mike Harmon
Managing Partner, Gaviota Advisors, LLC

Julia Huang
CEO, Group Intertrend

Matt Kline
Partner, O’Melveny & Myers LLP

Heather Mingst
Philanthropist and Community Volunteer

Silas Myers
CEO, Mar Vista Investment Partners

Rob Rader
General Counsel, OVATION

Deborah S. Ramo
Senior Communications Advisor

Karen Roth
President, NPR Berlin

George Strompolos
Founder and CEO, Fullscreen

Kevin Systrom
Co-Founder of Instagram

Akio Tagawa
Principal, Linea Solutions

Tom Wertheimer
Media Consultant

Edward A. Woods
Partner Emeritus, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Dylan Yolles
Partner, Capital Group Companies

Emeritus Members:
Stuart Bloomberg
Television Producer

Rod Perth
President and Chief Executive Officer, NATPE

Adele Yellin
President, The Yellin Company

KCRW Foundation Santa Barbara Advisory Board:
Geoff Green
Chair CEO, Santa Barbara City College Foundation

Tricia Backelin
Executive Coach, Consultant to KCRW

Carolyn Butcher
English Professor, Santa Barbara City College

Lou Cannon
Journalist & Author

Vanessa Decker
Entrepreneur

Neil DiPaola
CEO & Managing Partner, Mesa Lane Partners

Mark Funk
Board Member and Financial Consultant

Frederick Janka
Executive Director of Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation

Cassandra Jones-Jorgensen
Contemporary Artist

Mikael Jorgensen
Musician

Alixe Mattingly
Communications Strategist

Joe Medjuck
Film Producer

Graciela Montgomery
HR Consultant to NPR

Tim Owens
Journalist, Educator

Marianne Partridge
Co-Founder & Editor in Chief, The Independent

Phil Pollok
Co-Founder, Anacapa Micro

Scott Reed
President, Music Academy of the West

Starshine Roshell
Journalist & Author

Ken Saxon
Founder & President, Leading From Within

Jarrod Schwartz
Executive Director, Just Communities

Rob Skinner
Chief Innovation Officer, Montecito Bank & Trust

Rachel Kaganoff Stern
Interim CEO at the Junior State of America Foundation

Anne Towbes
Community Leader & Philanthropist

Jonathan Wang
Financial Planner & President, Adsum Foundation

 

About KCRW

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Facebook | facebook.com/kcrwradio
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Google+ | plus.google.com/+kcrw


Press Contact:
 Jeremy Weinstein
424.538.8878
jeremy.weinstein@kcrw.org

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