Longtime Viacom exec Steve Raizes, head of podcasting and audio at Paramount (formerly ViacomCBS), is now overseeing all audio initiatives for CBS News in addition to his previous duties.
Raizes gets a new title — executive VP, podcasting and audio at Paramount — after serving as SVP of podcasts at the media conglomerate. In the expanded role, Raizes will formally head all audio initiatives for CBS News, in addition to continuing leading Paramount’s centralized podcasting group. Effective immediately, Raizes will dual-report to both Domenic DiMeglio, executive VP and chief marketing officer for Paramount Streaming, and Neeraj Khemlani, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations.
Under the new organizational structure, Craig Swagler, VP and GM of CBS News Radio, will report to Raizes. Swagler will continue day-to-day oversight of CBS News Radio, a position he’s held since 2017. During Swagler’s tenure, the organization has been honored with several awards, including the Best in Newscast for the last eight years and the Overall Excellence Award for 14 of the last 19 years from the Edward R. Murrow Awards, given out by the Radio Television Digital News Association.
Raizes, in leading podcasting for Paramount, has oversee numerous podcast partnerships for the company, including production and ad-sales deals iHeartMedia, PRX, Spotify, Sirius and Amazon’s Wondery.
“Steve brings the experience and relationships with streaming platforms to take our podcasting strategy to the next level,” Khemlani said in a statement. “Engaging journalism and storytelling are core to CBS News’ mission and translate exceptionally well to podcasting.”
Before assuming the podcast job at ViacomCBS in December 2019, Raizes served as senior VP, podcasts and live, at Viacom. In that role, he launched more than 35 new properties and was one of the key architects behind Comedy Central’s Clusterfest, a three-day immersive music festival. Before that, Raizes spent nearly 13 years at Comedy Central, rising from an assistant to VP of home entertainment and licensing. Raizes holds bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and an MBA in entertainment, media and technology from NYU’s Stern School of Business.