PBS Beth Hoppe

PBS has a new head of programming.

Beth Hoppe, who joined PBS in August 2011 as a vice president in the programming department, has been promoted to the top programming job, according to an internal memo distributed Tuesday.

Ms. Hoppe previously worked at Discovery Studios, the production arm of cable’s Discovery network, and at WNET, the New York public television station. Her new title will be chief programming executive and general manager, general audience programming.

She replaces John Wilson, who is moving to a new job as senior vice president, pledge strategy and special projects, where, according to the memo, his role will be to “reinvigorate pledge programming,” those shows that PBS stations use to solicit viewer donations. Mr. Wilson has worked in the PBS programming department since 1994.

In a statement, Michael Jones, chief operating officer at PBS, said, “As we continue to execute on our strategic plan to revitalize our content, strengthen stations and encourage innovation, we are evolving our structure to better enable us to execute against our priorities and capitalize on opportunities.”

Article source: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/pbs-names-beth-hoppe-as-programming-chief/?partner=rss&emc=rss