NPR Taps Veteran Radio and TV Executive as New CEO

NPR announced Friday that Jarl Mohn has been named the national public radio network’s new chief executive officer.

Mr. Mohn, 62, is a former disc jockey and a veteran broadcasting executive who has held high-ranking posts at MTV, E! Entertainment Television, and Liberty Digital Inc., where he was involved in cable-TV and Internet efforts.

More recently he has been an angel investor in young digital-media and mobile companies, and he sits on the board of directors at several media and media-related organizations, including Scripps Networks Interactive, KPCC Southern California Public Radio, and the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Kit Jensen, who chairs NPR’s board of directors, said Mr. Mohn has “an ability to find nuanced and new ideas.” The new CEO will join the network on July 1, replacing Paul Haaga Jr., who has served as interim leader since Gary Knell resigned abruptly in August to take a similar post at National Geographic. Mr. Knell had served less than two years after replacing Vivian Schiller, who left NPR after a series of scandals in 2011.