MTV Hires Ronnie Cho As VP Public Affairs

MTV has hired former White House staffer Ronnie Cho as its vice president of public affairs, the network said Wednesday.

Cho, who formerly served as the Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, will oversee the strategic direction of all pro-social campaigns across MTV, MTV2 and mtvU’s television, digital and social properties.

Cho will also work with recently hired Rich Ferraro, senior director of public affairs for Logo TV, to build new LGBTQ pro-social initiatives. Cho will report to MTV and Logo TV president Stephen Friedman.

“Ronnie has dedicated himself to being an advocate for young people,” said Stephen Friedman, President of MTV and Logo TV. “He’s the perfect person to expand MTV’s role as the megaphone for the Millennial generation – and to provide our audience new tools to take action on the issues they care about most.”

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.