Jonathan C. Abbott is an American media executive who was the president and CEO of

WGBH Educational Foundation The WGBH Educational Foundation, doing business as GBH since August 2020, is an American public broadcasting group based in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1951, it holds the licenses to all of the PBS member stations in Massachusetts, a ...

from 2007 until his resignation in 2022.

Biography

Abbott grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where his father, Forrest Abbott, was the treasurer and controller of

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

. His uncle, Edward C. Melby Jr., was the dean of the

New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University The New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University is a statutory college of veterinary medicine at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Founded in 1894, it is the first statutory college of the State University of New Yo ...

. He attended The Cathedral School of St. John the Divine and received his B.A. from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and M.B.A. from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. He began his career in broadcasting in Columbia University's student-run radio station

WKCR-FM WKCR-FM (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station licensed to New York, New York. The station is owned by Columbia University and serves the New York metropolitan area. Founded in 1941, the station traces its history back to 1908 with the fi ...

. He joined KQED in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

after graduating from Stanford, running the station's marketing and development, before moving to PBS in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

as senior vice president of development and corporate relations. Abbot joined

WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS List of PBS member stations, member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Affiliated stations and facilities WGBH-TV is the Flagship (broadcasting), ...

as vice president and General Manager in 1998 and was named president and CEO in 2007. During his 15 years in the position, he oversaw the development of new channels, expanded the station's presence over digital platforms, and helped GBH raise $215 million in the largest capital campaign by a public media outlet, and increased its endowment more than eightfold to nearly $525 million. He also merged GBH's western Massachusetts TV affiliate

WGBY WGBY-TV (channel 57) is a PBS member television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Owned by the Boston-based WGBH Educational Foundation, it is a sister station to that organization's flagship and namesake, WGBH-TV, channel ...

with

New England Public Radio WFCR (88.5 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Amherst, Massachusetts. It serves as the National Public Radio (NPR) member station for Western Massachusetts, including Springfield. The station operates at 13,000 watts ERP from ...

to form the multiplatform

New England Public Media New England Public Media is a non-profit organization that operates the public broadcasting outlets in Western Massachusetts, including the Springfield area. It operates the region's NPR member, Amherst-licensed WFCR (New England Public Radio) ...

. In 2013, Abbott was elected a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

. He is a / She is a recipient of the

John Jay Award The John Jay Award is presented annually by Columbia College of Columbia University to its alumni for distinguished professional achievement. It is named for Founding Father of the United States John Jay, Columbia College Class of 1764. The first ...

from Columbia College. Abbot lives in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located roughly west of Downtown Boston, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders Boston to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of ...

with his family. In February 2022, Abbott announced plans to step down at the end of the year and was replaced in December by Susan Goldberg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Jon Living people 20th-century births Mass media people from New York City Columbia College (New York) alumni Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni American chief executives in the mass media industry American television executives