Alejandra Santamaria, who most recently served as interim President, General Manager, and VP, Director of sales for Univision Los Angeles, has been selected as new President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) by the Board of Trustees.

Santamaria will join SCPR and LAist in July and succeeds CEO Herb Scannell, who recently retired from the role. 

SCPR operates Los Angeles’ award-winning multi-platform local journalism leader LAist, which includes LAist 89.3, LAist.com and the podcast arm, LAist Studios. The organization also has found success creating community-facing experiential events.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Santamaria brings a deep knowledge of the local media landscape and a strong track record of leading revenue generating initiatives across multiple news platforms including television, radio and digital properties.

“Los Angeles is my home and I am thrilled to lead one of the premier mission driven organizations serving my community. My career has been aligned with a media organization that has meant a lot to me because of their mission to empower, educate, and inform Latinos like my own family,” said Santamaria. 

“I am ready to bring this skills and passion to LAist. The reporting is doing some of the best in the world. Now, it’s our job to shine a brighter light on great reporting and continue to be a resource for Angelenos.”

Added Drew Murphy, SCPR Board Chair, “Alex is the leader LAist needs today and for the future. Public radio remains a vital, important part of the Los Angeles media ecosystem and we are confident that her experience and talent is ideal to shepherd us forward, helping us to deliver on our mission, while remaining financially sound, in order to continue our role as an essential resource for our community.”

In her role at Univision, Santamaria ran sales and operations for Univision’s flagship local television station KMEX, UniMas KFTR, KLIVE-FM, KSCA-FM, KRCD/V-FM and KTNQ-AM radio stations and a suite of digital properties in the Los Angeles market.

Santamaria has three decades of experience in the media industry. She also served as the President and General Manager of Univision Arizona where she led all stations operations, and sales initiatives and digital marketing solutions for the companies local TV, radio and digital properties based in Phoenix for the entire state of Arizona.

Santamaria is the founding member of Univision’s Women’s Leadership Council (WLC), an employee resource group designed to prepare the next generation of women leaders. She was also part of the group’s steering committee.

She most recently served on the boars of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the L.A. County Economic Development Corporation. Previous boards she served on include the Arizona-Mexico Commission, Arizona Broadcasters Association and the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) announced that President and CEO Herb Scannell, 66, is retiring after a 40-year career in media. He has agreed to remain in his role until a successor is named. The board plans to immediately begin the search for a replacement.

“Herb has helped accomplish precisely what we hoped when he joined us four years ago,” said Drew Murphy, chair of the Board of Trustees of SCPR, “including building platforms to reach new audiences, aligning the organizations to be more diverse in its staffing and its journalism, and creating a unified and more visible brand position in Los Angeles and the region. He has laid the foundation for the next era of contributions SCPR can make in the community as a reliable news source for everyone, even while managing effectively through the pandemic. SCPR is well positioned for the changing future we face that is fact-based and with a mind always on diversity, equity, and inclusion to reflect the Los Angeles community it serves. We are grateful to Herb and wish him well as he moves into retirement.”

“I’m immensely appreciative of being a part of SCPR and to have helped enhance our role as an essential voice of and for Los Angeles,” said Scannell. “I will retire with confidence that the extraordinary team at SCPR can continue to bring a multiplicity of compelling voice and programming to an ever-more diverse audience within Los Angeles and beyond.”

Scannell’s tenure focused on five key goals set forth with the Board of Trustees at the start of his tenure:

Becoming more multi-platform – SCPR established LAist Studios in 2019 to make more podcasts and compliment its internet (LAist.com) and radio (LAist 89.3) offering s to reach more Angelenos more readily. Recently, the organization restructured to dedicate more reporting resources for LAist.com to grow and sustain a daily readership. In September 2022, LAist.com received an Online News Association Award for best website.

Broadening its audience – LAist Studios championed diverse voices, with almost all of its podcasts featuring diverse talent and stories. This includes notable shows like How to LA, which is hosted by Brian De Los Santos and tells stories especially relevant to young Angelenos. More than two dozen podcasts were launched to tell “L.A. stories to the world” and convey the diverse voices of Los Angeles beyond the city limits, with a number receiving awards and “Best of” recognitions.

Focusing the brand – SCRP’s once numerous brands are now unified under the single consumer facing LAist name across its offering: LAist 89.3 for radio, LAist Studios for podcasts, LAist.com for digital news via rebrand implemented this year.

Continuing to advance excellent local broadcast news – Anchored by Larry Mantle’s flagship show AirTalk, new voices were added with hosts Austin Cross (mid-afternoon / Friday Air Talk) and Julia Paskin (weekends) to complement favorites Susanne Whatley (mornings) and Nick Roman (drive time) supported by a robust daily news team and outstanding local beat reporters. Raising visibility in Los Angeles – with the greater brand clarity, SCPR was able to launch its first marketing campaigns in 13 years.

Under Scannell, SCPR saw a 38% growth in revenue, including substantial contributions during the pandemic that enabled the preservation of jobs and initiatives.

Added Scannell, “SCPR’s employees are remarkable for their commitment to and accomplishments in public service. These past few years – with Covid-19, George Floyd’s death, the insurrection – have been the most difficult years of many of our lives and their journals was more essential than ever. Our journalists, fundraising teams, and general staff kept the organization centered in the community and made sure we could provide L.A. with the information, solutions, and support to meet the challenges we experienced. Our radio hosts – led by Larry Mantle – have been voices of reason and calm during it all. This level of excellence is the hallmark of the SCPR team, not just in challenging times, but in daily life here in Los Angeles – they bring a commitment that is unlike any I’ve seen in my long career in media.”

Southern California Public Radio has launched a new podcast division called LAist Studios. Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) is a member-supported public media network that operates across the region, reaching from Santa Barbara, down to Los Angeles and Orange Counties, and out to the Coachella Valley.

LAist Studios makes shows for the new mainstream. Our listeners are diverse and inclusive, people who crave stories and conversations from a multitude of voices. LAist Studios was created in 2019 in Pasadena, California. We’re part of Southern California Public Radio, which has run hundreds of regional and national awards for its audio storytelling.

LAist Studios says it won’t be limited by geography. “LA is a state of mind, not just a city, and our work will be made by and for people of all description around the country and the globe.” Right now, LAist is seeking your best and most creative ideas for new podcasts, new talents, and new brands.

Here are some criteria they want you to consider:

• We will serve and feature the New Mainstream, the diverse and inclusive populations of LA (and that LAs around America) – young, underrepresented and attracted to stories and conversations from a multitude of voices. This is the first priority.
• We will also make work for and about the LA-minded, those who look to the West for energy, inspiration, progress, and a sense of purpose.
• We love ideas and people with big ambitions. So bring us your best thinking about what to create for the large and hungry audiences listening to multiple podcasts every week.
• Don’t be afraid to break molds and invent new ones. Boom and busts define the California experience and we want to work with Angelenos who aren’t afraid to invent their own realities.
• We’re looking for talented people who embody LA. So bring ideas with texture and grit and a possibilities beyond one short series. Think ongoing series. Think multiple seasons.

Those who find this interesting can submit a pitch to LAist Studios by filling out a form on their website.