ARLINGTON, VA; MAY 30, 2023 – PBS announced the hiring of Christopher Farley as Senior Director, Arts Programming & Development. In this role, Farley will oversee the development and production of a multiplatform strategy focused on arts, performance, culture, and lifestyle content.
Prior to this role, Farley worked as an executive editor at Amazon Inc’s Audible, where he executive produced projects featuring a wide range of talent, including Kerry Washington, Steph Curry, and Natasha Lyonne. Before that, he served as a senior editor for The Wall Street Journal and is a former music critic for Time magazine. Farley also served as a consulting producer on the Peabody-winning HBO documentary “Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown.” As a consulting producer for “Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures” at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, Farley was part of a team that aimed to help show how science fiction and imaginative storytelling can serve as the inspiration for real cultural change.
“We are excited to welcome Christopher to PBS. His proven ability to bring important, powerful stories to life will complement PBS’s mission to create programming, particularly Arts, that reflects a range of audiences and lived experiences,” said Sylvia Bugg, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming at PBS. “With a long career in media as a writer, editor, and producer, Christopher is a valuable addition to our team.”
“PBS has a rich heritage of great arts and culture shows that for many years have helped audiences connect with different perspectives, learn about history and tradition, and celebrate human experiences,” said Farley. “As PBS continues to bring stories to life in fresh ways, with innovative storytelling and new technology, now is an exciting time to be a part of public media, and I’m looking forward to helping to lead our programming into the future.”
Among Farley’s many notable achievements, his novel “Around Harvard Square” won an NAACP Image Award in 2020. He authored “Aaliyah: More Than a Woman,” a national bestseller that was later adapted into a hit movie for Lifetime television. Farley’s biography “Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley,” was a finalist for a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. He co-wrote and co-edited the book “The Blues,” the companion volume to Martin Scorsese’s PBS documentary series. Farley is a graduate of Harvard University and a former editor of the Harvard Lampoon.
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