Byron Allen's Allen Media Group issued the following announcement on June 2.
Byron Allen's Allen Media Group (AMG) proudly announces the hiring of Geraldine Moriba as Senior Vice President of News & Entertainment for The Grio. Moriba will focus on development, brand sponsorships, and editorial partnerships for all of The Grio's web content on digital, mobile, streaming, podcasts, social media, events and also television programming for the newly-rebranded TheGrio.TV television network. Moriba reports directly to AMG Founder/Chairman/CEO Byron Allen, and is based at the AMG offices in New York City.
The Grio covers stories of Black people from Kampala to Atlanta, and the recently launched TheGrio.TV television network features African American-focused content--movies, sitcoms, dramas, concerts, talk shows, variety shows, game shows, news, and lifestyle content--reaching over 100 million U.S. households via over-the-air broadcast television stations, cable/telco/satellite platforms, and free digital streaming. With over 5.8 million unique visits/visitors in the most recent ratings period, The Grio website was number one amongst its competitors. In 2020, The Grio website achieved its highest monthly unique visitor total (10.5 million) since it was acquired by Byron Allen in 2016.
Geraldine Moriba is a veteran media executive, filmmaker and journalist who has worked in senior leadership roles at CNN, NBC, PBS and ABC. Moriba developed television news programs, launched news sites, executive produced documentary teams, covered live elections and major news events, produced award winning documentaries, provided standards and practices coverage, and more. Moriba is the host and executive producer of SOUNDS LIKE HATE, a podcast series funded by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Moriba is also a recent Stanford University Brown Institute research scientist and a John S. Knight Journalism fellow. Moriba is adept at developing social, experiential, and digital initiatives to spark audience engagement. Her work has earned her many industry accolades including five Emmy Awards, an Alfred I. DuPont Award, two Peabody Awards, the distinguished Princeton University Ferris Professorship of Journalism Fellowship, the Anita Hill Gender Justice Award, two RTNDA-Unity Awards, four New York Film Festival Awards, two NABJ First Place Documentary Awards, and more.
"The Grio is a leading brand in the African American community. It is also a crucial component of our global media company, and Geraldine Moriba is best suited to expand its editorial and audience reach," said Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group. "Geraldine is an exceptional addition to our Allen Media Group family. Her editorial, programming and business development experience makes her an ideal choice as we continue to hire the best executives in the industry to lead our brands."
"This opportunity to lead The Grio is like coming home. I was part of the original executive team that launched The Grio at NBC News in 2009," says Geraldine Moriba, Senior Vice President of News & Entertainment for The Grio. "The difference is today we're more than a digital news organization. We're also available on streaming platforms, podcasts, television, and a mobile app coming this summer. In 2022, we'll launch the first Grio Music, Comedy, Film and Empowerment Festival. It's an exciting time to be leading this already amazing team."
About Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios
Chairman and CEO Byron Allen founded Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios in 1993. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it has offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Raleigh. Allen Media Group owns 23 ABC-NBC-CBS-FOX network affiliate broadcast television stations in 19 U.S. markets and ten 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly 180 million subscribers: THE WEATHER CHANNEL, PETS.TV, COMEDY.TV, RECIPE.TV, CARS.TV, ES.TV, MYDESTINATION.TV, JUSTICE CENTRAL.TV, THEGRIO.TV, and THIS TV. Allen Media Group will add its eleventh network, THE WEATHER CHANNEL EN ESPANOL in 2021. Allen Media Group also owns LOCAL NOW and THE GRIO free-streaming AVOD services, powered by THE WEATHER CHANNEL and content partners, which delivers real-time, hyper-local news, weather, traffic, sports, and lifestyle information. Allen Media Group also produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 67 television programs, making it one of the largest independent producers/distributors of first-run syndicated television programming for broadcast television stations. Allen Media Group International Television continues to extend its corporate branding and content around the globe. It currently has active license agreements and programming in South Africa, The United Arab Emirates, Australia, The Bahamas, Canada, and New Zealand. With a library of over 5,000 hours of owned content across multiple genres, Allen Media Group provides video content to broadcast television stations, cable television networks, mobile devices, multimedia platforms, and the World Wide Web. Our mission is to provide excellent programming to our viewers, online users, and Fortune 500 advertising partners.
Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures is a full-service, theatrical motion picture distribution company specializing in wide release commercial content. ESMP released 2017's highest-grossing independent movie, the shark thriller 47 METERS DOWN, which grossed over $44.3 million. In 2018, ESMP also released the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Western HOSTILES, the historic mystery-thriller CHAPPAQUIDDICK and the sequel to 47 METERS DOWN, 47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED. The digital distribution unit of Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures, Freestyle Digital Media, is a premiere multi-platform distributor with direct partnerships across all major cable, digital and streaming platforms. Capitalizing on a robust infrastructure, proven track record and a veteran sales team, Freestyle Digital Media is a true home for independent films.
In 2016, Allen Media Group purchased The Grio, a highly rated digital video-centric news community platform devoted to providing African Americans with compelling stories and perspectives currently underrepresented in existing national news outlets. The Grio features aggregated and original video packages, news articles and opinion pieces on topics that include breaking news, politics, health, business, and entertainment. Originally launched in 2009, the platform was then purchased by NBC News in 2010. The digital platform remains focused on curating exciting digital content and currently has more than 100 million annual visitors.
For more information, visit:
www.entertainmentstudios.com
Original source can be found here.