Current Media Names Matthew Frankel to its Executive Team as Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications

SAN FRANCISCO, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Current Media today announced that it has appointed Matthew Frankel to the newly created position of Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications.  Mr. Frankel will serve as the chief spokesperson and provide the company with a senior communications strategist to aggressively expand its global brand.  He will also be charged with planning, developing and implementing the company's internal and external public relations, building expansive campaigns for Current's multi-platform content initiatives, developing key messaging and strategies to extend the company's narrative and brand position and effectively addressing core constituency groups within the cable, entertainment and investor communities.   Mr. Frankel will serve as a member of the Company's senior management team and report directly to CEO Mark Rosenthal.  He will be based at Current's New York office.  Today's announcement comes on the heels of the addition of Courtney Menzel, EVP for Distribution, with additional senior management announcements expected in the near future.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100505/SF99291)

"We are proud to welcome Matthew to Current Media and look forward to the contributions he will make across our entire organization as a key member of the executive team," said Mark Rosenthal, CEO of Current Media. "Matt is a brand builder, recognized industry leader and strategist who brings a valuable combination of senior level experience in cable and digital media, entertainment and public affairs – which makes him distinctively well-suited for Current. Creating this new role is part of our commitment to elevate global awareness and attention for our growing multi-platform network and award-winning programming."

Mr. Frankel brings a unique cross-section of media experience, leading communications departments within the cable, digital and entertainment industries.  He most recently served at AOL as Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications, where he managed communication strategy from its New York City headquarters and served on the senior staff of each of the company's three corporate divisions: social networking, digital publishing and display advertising.   In addition to his digital experience, he served as Vice President for Corporate Communications for seven years at Rainbow Media, the cable programming subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation.  At Rainbow, Mr. Frankel played a valuable strategic role in helping launch national cable brands, developing strategies to enhance global content sales, communicating to the ad sales community, addressing local and national affiliate priorities and overseeing programming publicity.  Mr. Frankel has also served at The Weinstein Company as Chief Communications Officer and Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs.  

Prior to his corporate experience, Mr. Frankel was a veteran of various Democratic political campaigns and worked on Capitol Hill as Communications Director for the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), Press Secretary for Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and as press aide for House Democratic Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-MO).  He is a graduate of The College of Wooster with a Bachelor of Arts in History.

About Current Media

Current Media is an award-winning media company committed to exploring the world's most important, interesting, and entertaining stories. With a fully integrated television and online platform, Current connects its audience with what's going on in their world through its blend of bold and unique original and acquired productions. Current has also been at the forefront of user-generated advertising, engaging its creative community to create authentic and effective ads, called VCAMs.  It has offices in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, London, Rome and Milan.

Current TV is now viewed in the U.S., U.K., Italy and Ireland in 70 million households through distribution partners Comcast (channel 107 nationwide), Time Warner (nationwide), DirecTV (channel 358 nationwide), Dish Network (channel 196 nationwide), Verizon, AT&T, BSkyB (channel 183), Virgin Media (channel 155) and Sky Italia (channel 130).  Current.com also reaches more than 10 million people per month via its online and mobile platforms. 

More information is available at www.current.com.

SOURCE Current Media