Calderone Pres./CEO, Buffalo Toronto Public Media
• The Board Of Trustees of Buffalo Toronto Public Media, home of PBS affiliate WNED-TV, Classical WNED-FM and NPR affiliate WBFO-FM announced former MTV, VH1, Spotify and radio executive Tom Calderone as its new President & CEO, effective August 2. Calderone, a Buffalo native, will succeed Donald K. Boswell, who last fall announced his intention to retire.
“We are confident that Tom Calderone is the right leader for Buffalo Toronto Public Media because of his vast experience creating content from different perspectives,” said Board Chair Alphonso O’Neil-White. “Tom loves Buffalo and Southern Ontario and is excited to bring his experience as an innovator in radio, TV, and music to serve our communities on both sides of the border.”
“Buffalo is home for me, and being able to lead its public media stations with their rich history and long community partnerships, is an honor,” said Calderone, who has been a media consultant since 2018, advising media companies, startups, cable television, and investment firms on the future of streaming services and multi-platform consumption.” He added, “I’m looking forward to working with the talented and experienced staff to continue to create high-touch documentaries and immersive storytelling series, to broadcast fun and accessible classical music on WNED Classical, and to champion WBFO, which is continuously the voice of news and stellar reporting in Buffalo. And I cannot wait for the border to open so I can meet the producers, funders, and organizations we partner with in Canada.”
Calderone continued, “I believe in following the audience, studying their video and audio likes and habits, asking them what they want from all our platforms, and delivering that to them. But just as important, leading them to new content and new ideas, especially ‘snackable,’ short-form content that will keep them in our video and audio ecosystem no matter how it is distributed. Our audience expects that from us. Plus, we are coming from a position of strength.”
Calderone earned his B.A. in Broadcasting & Communication from SUNY Buffalo State and went to work in radio, notably working at WDRE/Long Island and Jacobs Media before making the jump to MTV Networks in 1998, serving as EVP of Music & Talent Programming until 2005, when he was elevated to President of VH1 before his departure in July 2015. More recently he served as the Global Head of Content Partnership/Global Head of Studios for Spotify. Calderone was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
