Oprah network president resigns
One of the first executives hired at OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network is not going to live her best life with Winfrey after all.
The network announced that Robin Schwartz, president of OWN, resigned Monday. Schwartz joined OWN in July as programming chief after wowing the media maven/taste-maker during her job interview. Schwartz, the former president of Regency Television, helped open the channel’s offices in Los Angeles and set up its program development process.
The cable TV network is slated to launch in the first quarter of 2010 on what is now the Discovery Health Channel. A joint venture of Winfrey and Discovery Communications, OWN’s theme is to “inspire people to live their best lives.”
Schwartz’s resignation comes two months after Christina Norman, a former MTV executive, was hired as chief executive of OWN. A longtime TV executive with a background in program development and marketing, Norman’s role overshadowed Schwartz, two people with knowledge of the matter said. There are no plans to fill the position.
“I want to thank Robin for her hard work, dedication and passion over the past several months,” Norman said in a statement. “She grew the vision for OWN out of its infancy.” Schwartz did not respond to a call for comment to her office.
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