John Lawson Joins ION Media Networks as Executive Vice President, Policy and Strategic Initiatives
February 11 2008 - 3:30PM
Business Wire
ION Media Networks, Inc. (AMEX:ION) announced today that John
Lawson, President and CEO of the Association of Public Television
Stations (APTS), will join ION as Executive Vice President, Policy
and Strategic Initiatives. In this new position, which will be
based in Washington, D.C., Mr. Lawson will establish and lead the
company�s multi-issue policy agenda in support of its operations
and business strategy. �John is a key addition to our management
team, and his appointment is a crucial milestone in the evolution
of our company to the next level,� said Brandon Burgess, Chairman
and CEO, ION Media Networks. �He has a tremendous pedigree and
successful track record in broadcast policy and carriage agendas
for the digital age. John has also played a valuable role in
developing the Open Mobile Video Coalition. We are very fortunate
that he will be putting his unique skill set to work for ION and
helping us achieve key public policy and business goals.� In his
position, which reports to Mr. Burgess, Mr. Lawson will lead ION�s
Washington-based regulatory and policy operation, developing and
implementing strategy on multiple issues affecting the company�s
divisions and goals. He is charged with driving policy strategy for
ION�s broadcast, digital and mobile television initiatives, as well
as developing proposals for key public interest issues. He will
play a leading role in business development around digital
technologies, including deployment of a commercial mobile video
service by the first quarter of 2009, and new content alliances.
His role will touch on every aspect of ION�s business plan,
including advertising and subscription revenue issues. �I am very
pleased to be joining ION at this critical juncture in its growth,�
said Mr. Lawson. �I�ve often said that the television broadcasting
industry was poised for a new era of growth as �wireless TV.�
Brandon Burgess and ION are leading the way in unlocking the real
value of digital television. I look forward to helping develop the
policies and strategies that will take ION to the next level.� Mr.
Lawson comes to ION from his role as President and C.E.O. of APTS,
the national advocacy organization for U.S. Public Television.
Under his leadership, Public Television pursued a successful
legislative and regulatory agenda that included persuading Congress
to invest over $500 million in the digital conversion of public
television infrastructure. He secured favorable language for public
television in education and rural development legislation and, with
the Department of Homeland Security, guided the deployment of the
Digital Emergency Alert System for the nation, based on the
transmission capacity of public television stations. In 2005, he
negotiated the most extensive agreement ever for the carriage of
multiple digital programming streams on America�s cable networks,
followed by digital carriage agreements with Verizon and DIRECTV.
Prior to his work with APTS, Mr. Lawson founded and managed
Convergence Services, Inc., a consulting and lobbying firm that
focused on educational technology. Before his time with
Convergence, he was the national award-winning director of public
information at the South Carolina ETV network. A sought-after
advisor on television-related policy, Mr. Lawson was a founding
Board member of the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), and has
been elected to its Executive Committee. He also served on the
FCC�s Commercial Mobile Service Alert Advisory Committee. He was
appointed to the FCC�s Media Security and Reliability Council, and
served on the board of the National Coalition for Technology in
Education and Training. Mr. Lawson holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from
the University of South Carolina, and received the University�s
Distinguished Alumnus Achievement Award in 2006. About ION Media
Networks ION Media Networks, Inc. owns and operates the nation's
largest broadcast television station group and ION Television,
reaching over 94 million U.S. television households via its
nationwide broadcast television, cable and satellite distribution
systems. ION Television currently features popular TV series and
movies from the award-winning libraries of Warner Bros., Sony
Pictures Television and CBS Television, among others. ION Media has
also partnered with RHI Entertainment, which owns over 4,000 hours
of acclaimed television content, to provide weekend primetime
programming consisting of exclusive original programming and
quality library titles. Utilizing its digital multicasting
capability, the company has launched several digital TV brands,
including qubo, a television and multimedia network for children
formed in partnership with several leading media and entertainment
companies, and ION Life, a television and multimedia network
dedicated to health and wellness for consumers and families. For
more information, visit www.ionmedia.tv.
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