Merrill Brown
Born
Philadelphia, PA
Alma materWashington University in St. Louis
Occupation(s)The News Project
Founder[1]
Known for
•MSNBC.com
Founding Editor-in-Chief
•Court TV

•Montclair State University
Former Director, School of Communication and Media
[2][3]

Merrill Brown is a media executive and journalist. In addition to writing for The Washington Post, he launched MSNBC.com and was the website’s founding editor-in-chief.[4][5] He is the former Director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University.[6] Brown is founder of The News Project.[1]

Career

Journalist

Brown was associated with The Washington Post from 1979 to 1985, serving as a financial reporter (1979–1982), New York City financial correspondent (1982–1984) and director of business development, Washington Post Company (1984–1985).[7] Prior to that, Brown wrote for the Washington Star (1978–1979), Media General Newspapers (1975–1978), the Winston-Salem Sentinel (1974–1975) and the St. Louis Post Dispatch (1973–1974).[8]

Brown was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from 1988 to 1991.[9][10]

On January 10, 2023, it was announced that Brown was appointed as the editorial director for G/O Media.[11] On June 30, he announced a decision to test AI-generated content on the company's portfolio of media websites, and was met with opposition from the different editorial teams across the portfolio.[12]

Launching Court TV, MSNBC.com

Brown was a member of the 1991 launch team for the cable network Court TV. From 1990-1994, he oversaw public relations and the development of the network's day-to-day management structure.[13]

In 1996, Brown helped launch MSNBC.com, and was the website’s first editor-in-chief. He was responsible for connecting Microsoft’s “technology wizards” and NBC’s “news hounds,” developing the relationships between MSNBC on the Internet, based in Redmond, Washington, and MSNBC Cable, based in New Jersey.[4] He went on to become senior vice president in August 2000 and during his tenure, the company grew to become one of the most visited news offerings on the Internet.[14]

Media consultant

In the spring of 2005, he prepared a report for the Carnegie Corporation of New York, which examined young peoples' changing media consumption habits.[15] The report was referenced later that year in a speech to the American Society of Magazine Editors.[16] In 2012, Brown co-authored a report with Larry Kramer, publisher of USA Today, about the future of the PBS NewsHour. The report, commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, called on the program to “modernize news-gathering production.”[17]

Montclair State University

In 2012, Brown was appointed as the inaugural Director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University.[2][3]

Board work

Brown has served on the boards of directors for GoLocal24,[18] Revenue.com and MedCity News. He is also an advisor to Capture Media Inc., Dstillery, Mixpo and is a member of the advisory board of the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism.[19]

Previously Brown was chairman of the board at NowPublic.[20] Brown has also served on the board of Smashing Ideas Inc.[21]

The News Project

In 2018 Brown formed The News Project with founding partners Charming Robot, 10up, Mark Walsh and other investors supporting the platform, which includes technology from Piano.[22]

References

  1. 1 2 "Team Information". The News Project.
  2. 1 2 "Journalist Named Inaugural Director of MSU's School of Communication". Montclair, NJ Patch. 2012-08-28. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  3. 1 2 "Merrill Brown - Story in a Bottle". Story in a Bottle. 2017-01-11. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  4. 1 2 Mifflin, Lawrie (8 July 1996). "Journalist as Broker in Mixed Marriage Next Week of Microsoft and NBC News". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ "Merrill Brown - Riptide". Riptide.
  6. ↑ "University News Center". Montclair.
  7. ↑ "Merrill Brown on Interactive Reporting, Newspaper Web Sites, and Integrating Blogs into the Mainstream". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2018-12-20. Merrill Brown on Interactive Reporting, Newspaper Web Sites, and Integrating Blogs into the Mainstream
  8. ↑ "Merrill Brown - Riptide". Riptide. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  9. ↑ "George Foster Peabody Awards Board Members". www.peabodyawards.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  10. ↑ "PressThink: Special to PressThink: Interview with Merrill Brown". archive.pressthink.org. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  11. ↑ Spangler, Todd (2023-01-10). "G/O Media Taps Veteran Journalist Merrill Brown as Editorial Director Overseeing Gizmodo, Deadspin, The Onion and Other Sites (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  12. ↑ "Gizmodo and Kotaku Staff Furious After Owner Announces Move to AI Content". Futurism. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  13. ↑ "Merrill Brown". MediaStorm. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  14. ↑ Mifflin, Lawrie (8 July 1996). "Journalist as Broker in Mixed Marriage Next Week of Microsoft and NBC News". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  15. ↑ "Carnegie Publications". Archived from the original on 2014-02-03. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  16. ↑ "News Corporation Announces Intent to Pursue Separation of Businesses to Enhance Strategic Alignment and Increase Operational Flexibility". newscorp.com. 28 June 2012.
  17. ↑ "NewsHour at a crossroads". Columbia Journalism Review.
  18. ↑ "Merrill Brown Joins GoLocal24 Board Of Directors". www.netnewscheck.com. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  19. ↑ "Merrill Brown, Virurl Inc: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  20. ↑ Stelter, Brian. "Examiner.com Buys NowPublic, a Citizen-Media Web Site". Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  21. ↑ "Board of Directors". Archived from the original on 2015-06-01. Retrieved 2015-05-17.
  22. ↑ Fuller, Melynda (1 May 2018). "The News Project Launches, Helps Publishers Build Sustainable Models". www.mediapost.com.
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