Press Release
Free Press President Josh Silver Stepping Down; Craig Aaron to Take the Helm
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
WASHINGTON -- On Tuesday, Free Press announced that President and CEO Josh Silver will be stepping down from his role leading the national, nonpartisan, nonprofit media reform group. Craig Aaron, currently the managing director, will become the new president and CEO in mid-April. Silver, a co-founder of Free Press, has led the organization since its creation in 2002, and will remain a member of the board of directors.
“I'm deeply indebted to Josh Silver for his vision, for his leadership, and for being a friend and mentor to me for the past seven years,” Aaron said. “And I'm honored and excited to be taking the reins of Free Press, an organization that I believe, pound-for-pound, is the most effective of its kind. We will continue to be honest and aggressive advocates in Washington and will redouble our efforts to build broad, diverse popular support for better media and the open Internet everywhere."
Free Press — with more than half-a-million active members, a staff of 40, and offices in Washington and Northampton, Mass. — has grown to become the largest public interest organization devoted to better media. Its many activities include the FreePress.net website, the SavetheInternet.com and SavetheNews.org campaigns, and the National Conference for Media Reform – which takes place this year on April 8-10 in Boston.
Silver is departing Free Press to become founding CEO of the Democracy Fund, a new operating foundation that will challenge the influence of corporate lobbyists over government policymaking.
“I’ve been here for nearly a decade, and I am confident that Free Press is on solid footing with Craig Aaron at the helm, an extraordinarily talented and dedicated staff, and a smart new strategy going forward,” Silver said. “I’m not so much leaving media and technology issues, as I’m taking on a new front in the struggle for the heart and soul of our democracy. Indeed, the success of the public interest on these two fundamental issues – reforming the media and reducing the influence of the K Street lobbying juggernaut – may well determine whether our democracy flourishes or fails.”
“I'm deeply indebted to Josh Silver for his vision, for his leadership, and for being a friend and mentor to me for the past seven years,” Aaron said. “And I'm honored and excited to be taking the reins of Free Press, an organization that I believe, pound-for-pound, is the most effective of its kind. We will continue to be honest and aggressive advocates in Washington and will redouble our efforts to build broad, diverse popular support for better media and the open Internet everywhere."
Free Press — with more than half-a-million active members, a staff of 40, and offices in Washington and Northampton, Mass. — has grown to become the largest public interest organization devoted to better media. Its many activities include the FreePress.net website, the SavetheInternet.com and SavetheNews.org campaigns, and the National Conference for Media Reform – which takes place this year on April 8-10 in Boston.
Silver is departing Free Press to become founding CEO of the Democracy Fund, a new operating foundation that will challenge the influence of corporate lobbyists over government policymaking.
“I’ve been here for nearly a decade, and I am confident that Free Press is on solid footing with Craig Aaron at the helm, an extraordinarily talented and dedicated staff, and a smart new strategy going forward,” Silver said. “I’m not so much leaving media and technology issues, as I’m taking on a new front in the struggle for the heart and soul of our democracy. Indeed, the success of the public interest on these two fundamental issues – reforming the media and reducing the influence of the K Street lobbying juggernaut – may well determine whether our democracy flourishes or fails.”
