Following a staff vote of no-confidence in outgoing CEO Matt Moog, Chicago Public Media has appointed former Vox Media publisher Melissa Bell as its new CEO. She will begin her role on September 3, after being selected through a national search led by the CPM Board and Koya Partners.
CPM Board Chair Robert Pasin made the announcement on June 27. Pasin has been embroiled in a conflict with staff following the April dismissal of 14 employees, citing falling revenues. This led to a 96% vote of no confidence from 86% of staff, heavily supported by union members from WBEZ’s SAG-AFTRA local and the Chicago Newspaper Guild at the Chicago Sun-Times.
A co-founder of Vox.com, Bell helped develop the Today, Explained podcast, which enjoys a close relationship with public radio, and Netflix’s Explained series. As publisher, she managed editorial operations for several publications and worked in mergers and acquisitions. Before Vox, Bell served as the Director of Platforms at The Washington Post, while writing a consumer technology column. She also helped launch the business publication Mint in India.
Melissa Bell is coming off of a sabbatical at Oxford University’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, during which she studied news avoidance.
Bell enters an organization in flux, following the removal of Vocalo 91.1 (WBEW) from broadcast, as a broader shift toward digital content consumption occurs as sponsorships and advertising revenues decline, reflecting the current situation faced by too many public media outlets.
She said, “It is an honor to take on this role, where there is both a massive opportunity and an urgent necessity to strengthen the role of public media in our local communities. There is a declining trust, and more worrisome, a declining interest in news at a critical time in Chicago and for our country. There are challenges facing CPM, but they are not insurmountable.”
“In fact, there is so much potential that comes from the collaboration between WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times. I’m excited to return to Chicago to work alongside the many talented, passionate journalists and staff to build sustainable and scalable solutions for producing quality, accessible local news.”
Despite the new CEO, Moog has announced he will not step down until a successor is appointed, which will come about a month later than anticipated.
