Bell Named CEO, Chicago Public Media
• The Board of Directors of Chicago Public Media (CPM), the parent company of local NPR affiliate WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, announced the selection of Melissa Bell, former publisher of Vox Media and co-founder of Vox.com, as its next CEO, effective Sept. 3. She will succeed Matt Moog, who has served as CEO for the past four years.
“Melissa brings an incredible depth of experience as a media executive and publisher, a product leader and as a reporter,” said CPM Board Chair Robert Pasin. “With her proven, visionary leadership and collaborative approach, Melissa will bring tremendous expertise and a strong track record of success to help Chicago Public Media develop a sustainable model for high-quality local journalism in the digital age.”
Bell co-founded Vox.com in 2014 and played a key role in developing Vox’s distinctive content style. In 2016, Bell became Publisher of Vox’s parent company Vox Media, overseeing the company’s editorial publications, including Eater, The Verge and SB Nation. She played a critical role in shepherding Vox Media’s merger with New York Magazine and its premium brands, including Vulture, The Cut and The Strategist. Prior to founding Vox, Bell worked as the Director of Platforms for The Washington Post, and she got her start in journalism and building news organizations as a founding Features Editor for Mint, which rose to become the second-largest business paper in India.
“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,” said Bell, who received her master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. “There is a declining trust, and more worrisome, a declining interest in news at a critical time in Chicago and for our country,” she said. “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.” [Photo credit: James Bareham]
