In January, the Public Press board of directors elected nationally recognized journalism innovator David Cohn as its chair. David replaces independent filmmaker Marc Smolowitz, who stepped down after having expertly guided the board through its incorporation in 2009. Both David and Marc helped start planning for the Public Press in 2007.
David, who lives in Berkeley, has dedicated his career to journalism in unconventional ways. He founded Spot.Us and Circa, which pioneered crowdfunding and mobile journalism respectively. Later he became an “intrapreneur” for Al Jazeera, helping to launch AJ+. Currently he directs the R&D team of Advance Digital.
“I’ve been involved with the Public Press since it was just an idea,” he said. “I’ve always been impressed with the determination, ethics and quality that permeate the entire organization, from top to bottom. I’m humbled to be the chair of the board, and I expect great things in the coming year for the organization. The Public Press has a ton under its belt already, and the current media environment demands more from the journalism community.”
