John Robbins Kosner (born October 20, 1960) is an American digital media executive. He is currently the president of Kosner Media, a digital and sports consulting company. He is also an advisor to the 890 Fifth Avenue Partners SPAC and an investor and advisor in sports technology startups as part of Micromanagement Ventures, a portfolio he created with the late NBA Commissioner Emeritus
David Stern in 2018. He served as executive vice president, digital and print media for
ESPN from January 2012 through June 2017. He had overseen
ESPN.com since 2003 and was an employee with
ESPN for over 20 years.
Prior to
ESPN, Kosner was vice president, TV programming and development for ''
Sports Illustrated''. Before joining ''
Sports Illustrated'', Kosner was vice president, broadcasting for the
National Basketball Association. Kosner started his career at
CBS Sports in September 1982 and progressed to Manager, Programming. While at
ESPN, Kosner oversaw recruitment and talent development of content teams, including
Wright Thompson,
Bill Simmons
William John Simmons III (born September 25, 1969) is an American sports analyst, author, podcaster, and former sports writer who is the founder and CEO of the sports and pop culture website '' The Ringer''. Simmons first gained attention with ...
,
Zach Lowe Zachary Curtis Lowe (born August 24, 1977
,
Ramona Shelburne,
Bill Barnwell
William Jerome Barnwell Jr. is an American sportswriter and staff writer for ESPN.com. He has written about a wide range of sports including football, basketball, baseball, soccer, golf and mixed martial arts.
Career
Barnwell began his sports ...
and
Sambit Bal
Sambit Bal is an Indian journalist who was born and brought up in Bhubaneswar, India. He spent 15 years in mainstream journalism working in some of India's leading publishing houses before joining Wisden in 2001. He was the first editor of ''Wisde ...
as well as specialists like
Adrian Wojnarowski,
Matthew Berry
Matthew J. Berry (born December 29, 1969) is an American writer, columnist, fantasy sports analyst, and television personality. Berry started his career by writing for television and film and creating a few pilots and film scripts with his writin ...
and
Darren Rovell
Darren Rovell (born June 30, 1978) is a sports business analyst who works for The Action Network. He previously worked for ESPN.
Early life and education
He attended and graduated cum laude from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, i ...
. Kosner has received several honors. In 2008, he was named the most influential person in sports digital media
by the ''
Sports Business Journal
American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...
''.
Personal life
Kosner's father,
Edward Kosner
Edward Kosner (born July 26, 1937)Marquis Who's Who is an American journalist and author who served as the top editor of ''Newsweek'', ''New York'' and ''Esquire'' magazines and the ''New York Daily News''. He is the author of a memoir, ''It's Ne ...
, is a noted journalist who writes non-fiction book reviews for the ''
Wall Street Journal'' and previously served as the editor in chief at ''
Newsweek'' (where he led the magazine's coverage of the
Watergate scandal), ''
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
'' and ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'' magazines, and at the ''
New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'' (where he led the newspaper's coverage during 9/11).
In November 2005, Kosner married Diane Burstein, then Director, Marketing for ''
Best Life'' magazine. Kosner and Burstein have a son, Luke Kosner, born in 2007. Kosner also has two children from his first marriage, Walter, born in 1991 and Grace, born in 1995. Walter is currently the lead guitarist of the
indie rock band
The Walters
The Walters are an American indie pop band formed in 2014, from Chicago, Illinois, composed of lead vocalist Luke Olson, lead guitarist Walter Kosner, rhythm guitarist/vocalist MJ Tirabassi, bassist Danny Wells, and drummer Charlie Ekhaus. They ...
.
Awards
SportsBusiness Journal awarded ESPN its annual award for Best in Digital Sports Media five times in 10 years and named Kosner the Most Influential in Online Media in 2008;
ESPN.com also won eight Sports Emmy's and two Online Journalism Awards, including the prestigious Award for General Excellence. He has also appeared on lists of powerful and influential figures in sports media in Business Week Magazine, Daily Variety, Cynopsis, and Cablefax.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosner, John
1960 births
Living people
Sports Illustrated
Paramount Global people
ESPN people
Stanford University alumni