Paley Center for Media to honor Participant’s Jeff Skoll

October 27, 2011 by Barry Walsh

Jeff Skoll

Participant Media and its founder, Jeffrey Skoll, will be honored as part of the Paley Center for Media’s “Salute to Excellence” in December, for the company’s “unique use of media to accelerate social change.”

“Jeff Skoll founded Participant Media with the belief that a story well told has the power to inspire and compel social change,” said Paley Center for Media president and CEO Pat Mitchell. “It’s a privilege to honor the creativity and leadership that Jeff Skoll and Participant Media bring to the media landscape.”

Since its founding in 2004, Participant has released 36 films including the documentaries An Inconvenient Truth, The Cove, Waiting for “Superman” and Food, Inc. The company has also made social media and educational outreach an integral part of various film campaigns.

Prior to founding Participant Media, Skoll was the first full-time employee and first president of eBay, where he developed the company’s inaugural business plan and led its successful IPO. From there he pioneered the creation of the eBay Foundation and in 1999 founded the Skoll Foundation. In 2006, he founded the Skoll Global Threats Fund, which placed its initial focus on five threats that, if ignored, could have major negative ramifications for the world as we know it: climate change, water scarcity, pandemics, nuclear proliferation and Middle East conflict.

The Paley Center for Media has offices in Los Angeles and New York City and is geared towards driving the discussion around the cultural, creative, and social significance of television, radio, and emerging platforms for the professional community and media-interested public.

Tags: An Inconvenient Truth, Food Inc., Jeff Skoll, Paley Center for Media, Participant Media, The Cove, Waiting for "Superman"