SAN DIEGO - KPBS General Manager Tom Karlo has been elected to the 2012/2013 PBS Board of Directors. The official announcement came today from PBS Board Chair Geoffrey Sands.
Leaders and representatives from the 360 PBS member stations voted in August. The new members will begin their three year term on October 26 at the fall meeting of the PBS Board.
“I am honored and excited about this opportunity,” said Karlo. “KPBS has accomplished a lot in the last few years. We’ve expanded our news operations and fully converged our news and content teams across all three media platforms. Our success is considered a model when it comes to multimedia journalism. Now we can help shape the future of PBS and member stations throughout the country.”
Under Karlo’s leadership, the station has advanced its news efforts to a growing audience. Recent Arbitron data ranks KPBS Radio as the number one station in morning drive. The addition of KPBS Evening Edition to the evening TV schedule and the ongoing collaboration with Investigative Newsource underscores the station’s commitment to quality journalism.
KPBS also has enjoyed major support for its commitment to quality programming. Joan and Irwin Jacobs recently funded a major renovation of the KPBS building, resulting in the state- of-the-art Joan and Irwin Jacobs KPBS News Center. A collaborative fundraising effort resulted in last spring’s unprecedented support for KPBS and Masterpiece from two San Diego philanthropists: Darlene Shiley and Conrad Prebys.
With a career spanning almost 40 years, Karlo is a passionate leader for public media and its role in the American media landscape. In addition to his involvement in local organizations such as Sharp Grossmont Hospital, SDSU Alumni Association, the Pacific South Coast Chapter of the MS Society, and San Diego Downtown Rotary, he has served a variety of public media organizations including:
• Vice Chair of the California Public Television - Board of Directors
• PBS National Datacast Inc. - Board of Directors
• Pacific Mountain Network - Board of Directors
• Public TV Major Market Group - Board of Directors
During his term on the PBS Board, Karlo will continue to work as KPBS’ General Manager and will maintain associations with many local organizations and non-profits in the region.
Karlo joins five other station leaders who were elected as professional board members: Jon Abbott, President & CEO, WGBH, Boston, MA; Jack Galmiche, President & CEO, Nine Network of Public Media, St. Louis, MO; Linda O’Bryon, President & CEO, South Carolina Educational Television, Columbia, SC; Brian Sickora, President & CEO, WSKG, Binghamton, NY; Lloyd Wright, President & CEO, WFYI, Indianapolis, IN.
KPBS is a public service of San Diego State University, serving the region with TV, Radio and Internet content that is educational as well as entertaining—and free of commercial interruption.
About Tom Karlo
Tom Karlo began his career at KPBS in 1973 as a part time assistant while attending San Diego State University. Tom is the 5th general manager in station history, taking the leadership role in February 2009. Since then, the station created KPBS Evening Edition, shifted KPBS’ online content to focus on news, and expanded the radio schedule to feature news and information 24 hours a day. His vision for KPBS is to be the premiere source of news in San Diego.
PBS, with its nearly 360 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches nearly 123 million people through television and more than 21 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances.
About the PBS Board
The PBS Board includes both professional directors, who lead public television stations, and general directors, who represent the general public. The membership of PBS elects the professional directors. The general directors are elected by the Board, which also appoints the PBS president and CEO.
The directors are responsible for governing and setting policy for PBS. In total, the Board is made up of 27 members: 14 professional directors; 12 general directors; and the PBS president. All PBS Board members serve three-year terms without pay.
