American Documentary

Overview

Brooklyn, NY – February 3, 2025 – American Documentary (AmDoc), the nonprofit organization behind award-winning documentary series ‘POV’, ‘POV Shorts’ on PBS and ‘America ReFramed’ on WORLD, announced that Jon Abbott, a nationally recognized public media leader and former President and Chief Executive Officer of GBH (WGBH Educational Foundation) will return to serve on the board of directors. Abbott previously served on the organization’s board from 2008 through 2017 and officially rejoined in December of 2024, contributing his passion and expansive knowledge of public media to the roster of veteran leaders who comprise the board. Abbott was celebrated at the 2023 AmDoc Gala as the inaugural recipient of the Trailblazer Award which was presented to him during the centerpiece awards ceremony for his commitment to national public media service.

Known for his advocacy, and unifying strategies,Abbott has spent decades working in the public media field. His early beginnings include stints at KQED developing the launch plan for the format change to KQED-FM, the first full NPR news format station in the country; as a jazz programmer/producer at Columbia University’s WKCR from which he continued to foster experience in public radio and television. He continued to lead in executive roles and board positions at various public media entities including PBS, PBS Distribution and most recently, GBH. He is known for spearheading transformative innovations to expand public media services. Under Abbott’s leadership, at GBH he oversaw the largest capital campaign in public media history and led the launch of two national digital channels: Create, which focuses on lifestyle programming, and WORLD, a nonfiction documentary showcase which co-produces the series America ReFramed with American Documentary. In partnership with PBS, he led the launch of PBS LearningMedia, a free national online service pioneered by GBH that offers classroom-ready digital resources tied to curriculum standards; a service utilized by educators in 50 states. Abbott was instrumental in bringing public media leaders together to found and launch CDP, The Contributor Development Partnership, a Public Benefit Corporation that scales data management, analysis and fundraising for hundreds of non-profit organizations. Prior to coming to GBH, he served as Senior Vice President for Development and Corporate Relations at PBS.

“I’m looking forward to helping American Documentary again. The role of documentaries in examining our lives and the stories of those we share the world with is a vital one,” Abbott said. “AmDoc and public media play a unique and distinctive role supporting and amplifying the reach and resonance of these films.”

“On behalf of American Documentary staff and our board of directors, we are proud to welcomeJon Abbott back onto our team as an ally and steward of public media, a champion of nonfiction film and a respected industry leader who understands and cares deeply about the communities we serve. Jon’s expertise, insight and media savvy will help us move the needle forward as we continue to bring bold and visionary documentary films to the public,” said Erika Dilday, Executive Director of American Documentary and Executive Producer of POV and America ReFramed. “Jon has been a longtime colleague, friend and supporter of AmDoc and we are delighted that he will join us at this critical time in public media.”

Jon Abbott
Jon Abbott has served on the boards of PBS, PRX, PRI, the Public Television Major Market Group, PRI (Public Radio International), National Public Media (NPM), American Documentary/POV, American Public Television (APT), PBS Distribution, ArtsBoston, Los Angeles Children’s Chorus and Project Healthy Children. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He holds a BA from Columbia University and an MBA from Stanford University.

About

About American Documentary, Inc.

American Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) is a multimedia organization dedicated to creating, identifying and presenting contemporary stories that express opinions and perspectives rarely featured in mainstream media outlets. AmDoc is a catalyst for public culture, developing collaborative strategic engagement activities around socially relevant content on television, online and in community settings. These activities are designed to trigger action, from dialogue and feedback to educational opportunities and community participation.

Major funding for POV is provided by PBS, the Open Society Foundations, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation, Reva & David Logan Foundation, Park Foundation, and Perspective Fund. Additional funding comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Chris and Nancy Plaut, Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee, Acton Family Giving, and public television viewers. POV is presented by a consortium of public television stations, including KQED San Francisco, WGBH Boston and THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG.