Jonathan Goldberg, VPM, VP, Director Of Creative Services

WHAT WOULD THIS ROLE ENCOMPASS?

Oversee all aesthetic and design output and manage design staff of the greater Virginia VPM / PBS / NPR organization, including:

  1. Oversight and enhancement of show branding, titles, supers, VFX, grading, websites, social channels, marketing materials, and all associated collateral.

  2. Oversight and enhancement of all station / channel aesthetics and graphics. Creative, conceptual, and execution oversight and enhancement of fundraising and sales campaigns and associated materials, including on-air promotions, audio, digital, social, presentation decks, and swag.

  3. Serve as acting art director of Style Weekly print, web, and social channels.

WHY DO WE NEED
THIS ROLE?

The function of this role would be to coalesce and focus the incredible and talented existing design staff under a passionate, visionary, proven creative leader, devoted and focused on raising all creative bars and benchmarks of the organization, including its revenue-generating creative content output, establishing and enforcing design systems and standards, motivating and inspiring both design staff as well as the organization as whole by consistently creating and maintaining organizational output and communications at the highest aesthetic levels and standards.

WHAT ELSE?

Jonathan expects to attack and enhance all methods of fundraising by applying his experience as an agency creative, developing and executing internal campaigns utilizing storytelling and compelling emotional rationales that connect and resonate with viewer/listeners, deepening their overall affinity and passion for the brand as well as motivating them to action in the form of advocacy and membership.

WHY ME?

Aside from being an exceptionally talented conceptual creative, passionate aesthetic and design craftsperson, and a committed and empathetic manager/leader, I am a life-long fan, ambassador, and zealous believer in public media. PBS and NPR have played critical and pivotal roles in and throughout my life, shaped my view of the world, and guided me in my emotional and spiritual life’s journey.

I believe in and am committed to the powerful necessity of sharing, amplifying, and advocating for the incredible variety of stories and voices of all Americans. It would be an honor and privilege to employ my skills as a communicator and leader in service of this mission.

SHAKESPEAR IN THE PARK vs THE PUBLIC THEATER

“…people thought that The Public Theater was about education and therefore not really great. It was like the way people perceived educational TV: good for you but boring.”

— Paula Scher

In the early / mid 90s, free public theater in New York City was suffering from an identity crisis – average people weren’t attending performances or donating to theater companies. The public’s perception of public theater was one of stuffy, outdated productions performed primarily for the upper class.

Amidst a series of leadership changes, designer Paula Scher was tapped to rename, rebrand, and reenergize public theater. Scher, then primarily known as an award-winning album cover designer for Columbia Records, presented a design she had completed for Elvis Costello which was purely typographic. The idea of breaking from the convention of using illustration or photography of the leading actors felt exciting and refreshing.

The work Scher went on to execute for the renamed Public Theater would revolutionize theater in New York and win nearly every design and advertising award in existence.

Generally, the output of the theater community remained the same, but the way it communicated to its intended audience was radically enhanced.

Using little more than good intentions and phenomenal, contemporary graphic design, The Public Theater and Scher transformed theater in NYC forever.

I see some parallels for what I would hope to accomplish at VPM – use design and storytelling to shine an invigorating and enthusiastic light on the great work and great storytelling being produced there, and in doing so help to engage with and inspire as many Virginians – as many viewers – as possible.

Great design is communication – it telegraphs who we intend to speak to, what our motivations and values are, and what we might be asking of those who we are speaking to.

Great design is an invitation – many people don’t feel invited to participate in the arts, to tell their stories, and to some extent, to public media.

I hope to work towards inviting the largest audience possible to engage with the work VPM is creating.