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SOPTV names its new CEO By JOHN DARLING Southern Oregon Public Television has picked a career public television veteran, Mark Stanislawski, as its new chief executive officer. He will replace Bill Campbell, who is retiring after eight years as head of SOPTV, which broadcasts on KSYS Channel 8. Stanislawski, 46, has been associate general manager of KNME-TV in Albuquerque, N.M., for the past six years. In that post, he managed the conversion of the three New Mexico public TV stations to digital technology, a task that awaits him at SOPTV as it meets the federal digital deadline of 2003. A San Francisco native, Stanislawski comes from a long background in education, fund raising, programming and administration, said SOPTV board chair Ellis Feinstein. And he was "by far the best candidate in terms of experience, knowledge and skills that matter most to us," Feinstein said. Stanislawski has good contacts in the industry and put together a consortium of state and private interests to raise $25 million (including federal funding) needed for digitization in New Mexico, Feinstein said. Stanislawski, his wife and two teenage daughters are attracted to the quality of life in the Northwest, and this move represents his first opportunity to manage an entire operation, Feinstein added. Stanislawski began his career in public broadcasting at KQED in San Francisco in 1978 while studying for his bachelor's degree in broadcast communication arts at San Francisco State University. He held managerial positions at KSPS in Spokane, PBS in Washington, D.C., WPTD in Dayton, Ohio, and WMHT in Albany, N.Y. At SOPTV, Stanislawski will direct development, production, outreach, educational services and programming for noncommercial shows that reach 180,000 households. Stanislawski has extensive experience using public TV in education, as KNME is licensed by the University of New Mexico, Feinstein said. "We intend to foster a more extensive relationship with educational institutions here - Southern Oregon University, Rogue Community College, school districts and community colleges in Douglas, Klamath and Coos counties," Feinstein said. Digital technology will allow SOPTV to expand its carrying capacity up to five channels, making room for more educational and specialized programming, he said. SOPTV is community-based and is not associated with any educational institution. Stanislawski said he's "very excited" to start work. He takes over Sept. 4. He and Campbell will be honored at a reception at 5 p.m. Aug. 16 at Rogue Valley Manor's Skyline Room. John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.