Poynter announces appointments to National Advisory Board, board of trustees

The Poynter Institute on Friday announced a spate of appointments to its National Advisory Board, a body of media luminaries that consults with the nonprofit to help determine its strategy.

Poynter also announced an appointment to its board of trustees, a collection of journalists, executives and academics that govern the institute.

Rob King, the senior vice president for “SportsCenter” and news at ESPN, will join Poynter’s board of trustees in January. He replaces Owen Roberts, chairman and CEO of Capital Formation Counselors, Inc., whose term is coming to a close.

In addition, four journalists will join Poynter’s 15-member National Advisory Board: Melissa Bell, the co-founder of Vox.com and vice president of growth and analytics of Vox Media; Byron Pitts, the co-anchor of ABC News’ “Nightline”; Callie Schweitzer, the editorial director of audience strategy for Time Inc. and Karen Andreas, the publisher of North of Boston Media Group.

Tim Franklin, the president of The Poynter Institute, hailed King’s appointment in a prepared statement, praising his multi-platform media savvy:

Rob King is one of the smartest and most innovative leaders that I’ve met in the media industry. And he understands every aspect of the business, because he has experience working in print, digital and broadcast platforms. Best all of all, he’s been a real friend to the institute.

The appointees will be responsible for helping Poynter fulfill its mission of educating journalists around the world as the institute seeks to close the gap between its revenues and operating expenses.