Demand Media Launches Editorial Advisory Board

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Demand Media™, one of the Internet’s largest publishers of original text and video content, announces the formation of its Editorial Advisory Board to provide counsel on the ongoing development of the company’s content and programming efforts. The company will leverage members’ insights, expertise and strategic guidance in all matters related to the ways the company’s content is created, experienced and shared by consumers. The Board will also work closely with company executives and Demand Media’s community of thousands of professional freelancers to further pioneer innovation in new media.

“I am delighted to work with Demand Media at this exciting intersection of innovative ideas and practices to forge new ground in the ever-changing new media landscape.”

Charter members of the company’s Editorial Advisory Board include: UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Dean Teri Schwartz; Society of Professional Journalists President Kevin Z. Smith; Walter Annenberg Chair in Communication and dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, Ernest James Wilson III, Ph.D.; and former President and CEO of Lifetime Networks, Andrea Wong. Guided by the Editorial Advisory Board, Demand Media will further harness and expand the intelligence gained over the last three years in creating content that is “unequivocally useful,” to consumers in its growing business online and beyond.

“Technology has now caught up to demand as more and more consumers are able to easily access the content that they crave online,” said Richard Rosenblatt, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Demand Media. “We believe we can break new ground in our mission to profoundly and positively change the shape of online media, and the expertise of Demand Media’s Editorial Advisory Board will help us get there.”

Demand Media’s content is distributed to an audience of more than 100 million via its network of distinctive, award-winning vertical properties which include LIVESTRONG.COM^SM, eHow.com, Golflink.com and others. Demand Media also creates content for major Internet destinations like YouTube (where the company’s 175,000 originally produced videos have already generated more than 1 billion streams) and traditional offline publishers such as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Hollywood producer-turned-educator, Teri Schwartz understands the value of compelling storytelling and how that can resonate with both audiences and advertisers. As a longtime Hollywood talent who developed and produced scores of feature films, Schwartz will help mentor Demand Media’s filmmaker community and contribute to the development of the new generation of filmmakers.

“The Internet has changed the way film and image-driven content is produced and consumed, and it’s clear that Demand Media understands how to help filmmakers navigate this new world and create opportunity,” said Schwartz. “I plan to call on my experience to explore exciting possibilities for processes that can benefit the entire Demand Media creator community.”

A pioneering author and researcher on the Internet and digital communication in the U.S. and abroad, Ernest James Wilson III’s distinct approach to studying and understanding the role that information plays in the convergence of technology and human initiatives makes Wilson a student, teacher and evangelist of “information champions” - the leaders of the information revolution around the world.

"I have an obligation to myself and the people that I counsel to know the cutting edge of media innovation and its implications in the real world,” said Wilson. “I am delighted to work with Demand Media at this exciting intersection of innovative ideas and practices to forge new ground in the ever-changing new media landscape."

Demand Media’s Editorial Advisory Board members include:

Teri Schwartz – Teri Schwartz was appointed dean of UCLA’s School of Theater Film and Television on July 1, 2009 after serving for six years as founding dean of Loyola Marymount University’s (LMU) School of Film and Television. Previously, she was an award-winning feature film producer having developed and produced successful films including the Golden Globe Best Picture nominee “Sister Act,” “Beaches,” “Nuts,” and many others. Her projects have garnered nominations in a variety of categories for Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, MTV and CLIO awards.

Kevin Z. Smith – Kevin Z. Smith is the president of the Society of Professional Journalists and a 30-year member of that organization, having been inducted in college. Smith served on the SPJ board for four years before taking over as president in August 2009. He served 18 years on that organization’s ethics committee, was chair for two years and is a contributing author to two SPJ books on journalism ethics.

Ernest J. Wilson III, Ph.D. – Ernest James Wilson III, Ph.D., is Walter Annenberg Chair in Communication and dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. He was elected the first African-American chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in September 2009, of which he had been a board member since 2000.

Andrea Wong – Andrea Wong is one of the entertainment industry’s leading executives. She is responsible for bringing some of television’s most successful and critically acclaimed series to viewers, including, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, as well as Lifetime’s comedic drama Drop Dead Diva and the Emmy^® Award-nominated original movies Prayers for Bobby and Coco Chanel.

About Demand Media

With a comScore Top 20 U.S. network of premium online brands, a breakthrough Internet content studio and an enterprise social media platform deployed on the world’s leading digital destinations, Demand Media^TM makes it possible for more than 100 million people each month to engage in conversations and form passionate communities around relevant content. The privately held company was founded in May 2006 and is based in Santa Monica, CA, with offices in Bellevue, WA, Austin, TX, New York, NY and London, UK. For more information about Demand Media, Inc., please visit: www.demandmedia.com.

LIVESTRONG is a trademark and/or registered trademark of the Lance Armstrong Foundation in the United States and/or other countries.

Demand Media, eHow.com, and GolfLink.com are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Demand Media, Inc in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners.