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PAUL (PJ) Christopher Johnson (born August 30, 1964 in San Francisco) is a European media and entertainment executive and independent consultant who has spearheaded a number of initiatives aimed at expanding the role of television and film content in the media world and amplifying global trade in programming rights.

Overview

As director of television for Reed MIDEM [1] for six years, he was involved in the drive to successfully reposition Reed MIDEM TV markets, among the largest in the world, as multimedia multi-platform events relevant to new generations of media professionals.

He also oversaw the launch of several groundbreaking initiatives linking the media world with larger issues of social and environmental responsibility. Among them was the Green MIDEM initiative and the Green World Award, and the second summit of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI). Held in Cannes during MIPTV in April 2005, with some two dozen global media leaders and more than 10 United Nations organisations in attendance, the meeting signified the first large-scale global media commitment to stopping the AIDS pandemic.

He is a board member with the International Academy of Arts and Sciences[2], as well as a member of the British Academy of Television Arts BAFTA and a former board member of BAFTA’s commercial committee. He is also a long-standing member of the Alumni Association of the University of California at Berkeley.

Early life

Paul (PJ) Christopher Johnson was born in San Francisco on August 30, 1964 to an Irish mother and an American father. At the age of eight, the family relocated back to Ireland, where he graduated from St. Andrews College in Dublin. He returned to the US to take a degree in mass communications and film from the University of California at Berkeley in 1986.

Career

Johnson began his career with the News Corporation in the US in 1987. In 1989, he was appointed by Nielsen Business Media as European sales and marketing director for The Hollywood Reporter (THR). In the next 14 years, THR’s European market share increased by double digits annually. Internationally, THR’s print and online circulation grew six fold.

In April 2003, he was appointed television division director at Paris-based Reed MIDEM, a subsidiary of the global media organisation Reed Elsevier. His brief was to oversee the production, management, and development of the company’s two main television markets and screening events, MIPTV and MIPCOM, alongside the mini-markets MIPDoc and MIP Junior, and MIPCOM Telenovela/Drama screenings. In the next six years, attendance at Reed MIDEM TV events doubled, worldwide trading in global programming rights rose from $1 billion to $10 billion and transactional business for the Reed MIDEM TV division skyrocketed.

In the same period, Johnson, as head of the Reed MIDEM TV board, was integrally involved in the launch of many entertainment industry firsts, including The International Interactive Emmy Awards[3], MIPTV’s Content 360[4], the MIPCOM Mobile TV and Internet Awards in partnership with the Cannes Film Festival, and the Digital Emmys (IDEAS).

He also worked to bring the world’s major advertising players, including Publicis, WPP, and Omnicom, and major ad buyers, including P&G, Coca Cola, and American Express, among others, closer to TV content-makers and distributors.

The launch of the Green MIDEM initiative and the Green World Award, under Johnson’s remit, helped recast the Reed MIDEM content markets as environmentally pro-active. In that capacity, MIPTV brought in such top environmental and media activists as David de Rothschild and Yann Arthus-Bertrand to receive the award. He also was involved at the early development stage in working with 20th Century Fox Television to bring about The Simpsons’ Day in Cannes in October of 2009 and the inaugural Creative Icon Award. That honour was presented to The Simpsons creator and executive producer Matt Groening at MIPCOM in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the longest running US prime time show in history.

The second GMAI summit being held at MIPTV in April of 2005 was considered a major coup for the television industry. The initiative itself called on broadcasters and producers across the globe to join together in stepping up the production and distribution of content aimed at helping stem the AIDS pandemic. At that summit, the responsibility for the handling of the GMAI was passed on to Bill Roedy, now chairman and chief executive of MTV Networks International, who accepted the mission on behalf of media leaders around the globe.

In 2009, Johnson was appointed global head of marketing and brand partnerships for Endemol. During that time he was involved in the successful launch of Endemol Worldwide Distribution and helped broker Endemol’s partnership with Jerry Seinfeld for the new format, “The Marriage Ref.” He also oversaw the successful re-branding of Endemol, including the re-launch of 28 global and local websites. 22

Johnson is credited by many in the industry with having the vision and clarity to explore the boundaries of content as the industry was poised to tackle some of the more difficult challenges posed by the digital age, and to take content and entertainment to the next level. He is presently an independent consultant to the film, television, multimedia and advertising industries, with clients including World Archipelago Internet, P&G, and Endemol, among others.

Personal life

Johnson credits his mentor and cousin Bruce Johnson[5], a prolific Hollywood producer and writer for more than four decades, for his early interest in entertainment. He is a qualified pilot and served with the US Air Force Reserve for two years. He is an avid sports fan, as well as former captain of his Rugby team and a former member of an Irish Leicester cup-winning cricket team. He is also a keen scuba diver, water-skier, and skier.

Johnson holds Irish and American citizenship and currently lives with his wife Angela Johnson and their daughter in London.

References

1.

2. Edmunds, Marlene. “MIPTV’s Environmental Initiative Gets Serious”. [2008-04-03] The Hollywood Reporter.

3. Leffler, Rebecca. “Trio To Talk Environment At MIPTV”. [2008-02-22] The Hollywood Reporter.

4. Turner, Mimi and Roxborough, Scott. “Green Programming In Bloom At MIPTV”. [2007-04-17] The Hollywood Reporter.

5. Guider, Elizabeth. “Newbies Fuel A Hip MIP”. [2007-04-20]. Variety.

6. James, Alison. “Besson Creates Free Boomerang”. [2007-04.17] Variety.

7. James, Alison. “Black Cloud Hangs Over Mipdoc”. [2007-04.15]

8. Global Media Leaders Urged To Expand Their Response To UN’s Call To Fight AIDS. [2005-04-12]. UN News Centre, UN News Service. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=13944&Cr=hiv&Cr1=aids

9. Press Release: AIDS 93: “Media Executives Join Forces To Fight Aids At MIPTV”. [2005-02-28] http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/aids93.doc.htm

10.. Tasca, Eileen “UN Programmes To Tackle Aids, Poverty”. [2005-04.12] Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117921024.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1&query=Bill+Clinton+MIPTV

11. O’Boyle, Michael. “Mexico: Telenovela Sales To Put Coin In Nets’ Pockets.” [2005-10-05] Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117930298.html?categoryid=2075&cs=1

12. Feuilherade, Peter. “Global TV Industry On A Roll”. [2006-10-13]. BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6048552.stm

13. Whiteman, Bobbie. “MIP Names Finalists”. (Content 360) http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117940101.html?categoryid=19&cs=1

14. Paul Johnson, Director TV Division, Reed MIDEM, “Trends At MIPTV”. [2007-04-30] YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOJ_H4hMAXI

15. Otlacan, Otilla. “Advertising Director/Blue Agency co-founder Christophe Lambert Keynotes At MIPTV 2009”.[2009-01-06] Ad Ops Online. http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:OIbq5VZNfpcJ:www.adoperationsonline.com/2009/01/06/advertising-directorblue-agency-co-founder-christophe-lambert-keynotes-at-miptv-2009/+Paul+Johnson+Publicis+MIPTV&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=fr

16. The Simpsons Paint Cannes Yellow For 2oth Birthday Award [2009-10-20] AFP/The Independent www.independent.co.uk/.../the-simpsons-paint-cannes-yellow-for-20th-birthday-award-1799118.html -

17. Launch of The Marriage Ref: http://www.endemol.com/search/?q=The+Marriage+Ref&x=32&y=7

18. Launch of The Marriage Ref: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUZoQlRA5CM

19. Launch of The Marriage Ref: http://www.nbc.com/the-marriage-ref/

20. Launch of The Marriage Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marriage_Ref

21. Launch of The Marriage Ref: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWhf1NGsURk&feature=channel

22. Cannes Lions Daily Speaks To Endemol Group’s Paul Johnson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oe9Ke5UgbA&feature=related.

23. .

Additional Comments

Paul Zilk, president/CEO, Reed MIDEM: He has the ability to “look over the horizon to see its evolution and opportunities. …It is rare to know managers and leaders who are consistently constructive and creative.”

Steven Ekstraact, Group Publisher, License! : “PJ is a visionary.”

Michael Carrington, Controller, CBeebies, BBC: “One of those rare characters who has so much energy and life that you just love being around him …He's smart, forward thinking and not frightened of making tough decisions when the business calls for it.”

Paul Romer, Chief Creative Officer, Endemol: “One of those rare entertainment executives who understands both the creative and business side of the global television business… …”Builds up a quick sense of trust and confidence from the very beginning of any relationship, like he did with Jerry Seinfeld at MIPCOM 2009.”