CNN Exec Sam Feist Named Next CEO of C-SPAN

CNN Washington bureau chief Sam Feist will become the next CEO of C-SPAN, the nonprofit public-affairs network said Tuesday.

Co-CEOs Rob Kennedy and Susan Swain said in March they planned to retire, having held the network reins since 2012. They had succeeded founding CEO Brian Lamb, who still serves on the C-SPAN board. Kennedy is leaving on May 17; Swain will be sole CEO until Feist takes over during the summer. Feist is staying at CNN, where is a senior VP, through June to help with the transition there.

Lamb, Kennedy, Swain and C-SPAN chairman Pat Esser had formed a search committee to find the next CEO. Ann Carlsen of Carlsen Resources led the search, vetting nearly 100 candidates for the job, C-SPAN said.

Esser, the retired Cox Communications CEO, in a release called Feist "an outstanding leader who is trusted and respected by both sides of the aisle and who has a deep respect for C-SPAN's nonpartisan mission."

Feist in the release said: “Our democracy needs C-SPAN now more than ever. I look forward to working with C-SPAN’s extraordinary and dedicated team to expand the network’s reach and meet new audiences where they are.”

“C-SPAN is an American treasure and I could not be more excited to lead this essential institution,” Feist said.

C-SPAN described Feist as an editorial leader and a digital and television innovator, with deep relationships throughout the Washington media and politics community. Feist heads CNN’s largest newsgathering operation and leads the digital and editorial transformation of CNN en Español, CNN’s Spanish-language network.

He graduated from Vanderbilt University and later earned a law degree from Georgetown University. He is an active member of the D.C. Bar, C-SPAN said.

C-SPAN said that, along with executive management experience in media, the priorities for the next CEO were preserving C-SPAN’s nonpartisan mission while also finding new distribution and funding opportunities as linear cable distribution declines.

Kennedy and Swain in the release said: “Out of a small group of excellent finalists, Sam Feist stood out for his deep respect for C-SPAN, his leadership skills, his knowledge of Washington, and his digital transformation bona fides. We are confident that we are leaving C-SPAN in good hands.”

C-SPAN, founded by the cable industry in 1979, operates three TV networks available in 50 million cable and satellite households, an FM radio station in Washington, D.C., and numerous digital offerings. Its archives contain nearly 300,000 hours of contemporary public affairs programming, per the network.