TruTV taps MTV’s Chris Linn as president
Chris Linn, who as an executive vice president at MTV played a major role in making Snooki a household name, has been named president of TruTV, a cable channel owned by Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting System.
The hiring of Linn is a sign that TruTV -- best known for reality fare such as “Hardcore Pawn” and “South Beach Tow” -- is looking to get a little younger and hipper.
“With his proven ability to reach and understand the young-adult audience, Chris has successfully developed shows that evolve beyond the television screen to become full-fledged phenomena,” said Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks. “Chris has the strategic vision and energy to take truTV forward in the next phase of the network’s brand evolution as it continues to grow competitively in the unscripted arena.”
ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll
Linn succeeds Marc Juris, who exited from his role of executive vice president and chief operating officer of TruTV earlier this month.
At MTV, Linn helped develop “Jersey Shore” and its spinoff “Snooki & JWoww” as well as “Catfish.” Linn had been at MTV since 2004. Prior to that, he had a stint at Nickelodeon.
The departure of Linn from MTV comes as new programming chief Susanne Daniels takes the reins there and starts to put her stamp on the network.
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