Paramount has announced the promotion of Steve Raizes to EVP/Podcasting & Audio.
Raizes, who had been the company’s SVP/Podcasting, now adds oversight of all audio initiatives at the company including CBS News Radio. Current CBS News Radio VP/General Manager Craig Swagler will continue in that role, but now reporting to Raizes. The national news platform was one of the few broadcast audio platforms that was not included in the 2017 sale of CBS Radio to Entercom.
Steve Raizes, a leader in the audio field and long-time Viacom executive, has been named executive vice president, podcasting and audio at Paramount. Raizes has most recently served as senior vice president of podcasts, helping define the company’s podcasting strategy across several areas. In this expanded role, Raizes will formally head all audio initiatives for CBS News, in addition to continuing his oversight across Paramount’s centralized podcasting unit. Effective immediately, Raizes will report to both Domenic DiMeglio, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Paramount Streaming, and Neeraj Khemlani, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations.
Raizes has risen through the executive ranks since joining the company. In leading podcasting for Paramount, he has worked with a number of stakeholders across each brand in the Paramount Global portfolio, to define the strategy, marketing, operations and creative needed to develop successful podcasting slates. Raizes has also been integral to numerous podcast partnerships, overseeing production and ad sales deals with companies that include iHeart, PRX, Spotify, Sirius and Wondery, among others.
“Steve brings the experience and relationships with streaming platforms to take our podcasting strategy to the next level,” said Khemlani. “Engaging journalism and storytelling are core to CBS News’ mission and translate exceptionally well to podcasting.”
Under the new organizational structure, Craig Swagler, vice president and general manager of CBS News Radio, will report to Raizes. Swagler will continue day-to-day oversight of CBS News Radio, a position he has held since 2017. During his tenure, the organization has been honored with several journalism awards, including the Best in Newscast for the last eight years, the Best in Breaking News for the last four years, and the Overall Excellence Award for 14 of the last 19 years from the Edward R. Murrow Awards, given by the Radio Television Digital News Association.
Earlier, Raizes served as senior vice president, podcasts and live, at Viacom, where he supported the evolution of the business from radio and records to podcasts. In this role, he launched more than 35 new properties and served as one of the key architects behind Comedy Central’s Clusterfest, a three-day immersive music festival. Before that, Raizes spent nearly 13 years at Comedy Central, rising from an assistant to vice president of home entertainment and licensing.
Steve Raizes earned an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a BA from Harvard University.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com