Shirley Powell is senior vice president of corporate communications for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.). In this capacity, Powell oversees the public relations groups supporting the CNN News Group, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, truTV, Boomerang and GameTap, as well as Turner Sports. In addition, Powell heads advertising sales and cable sales media relations; government affairs, corporate contributions and community relations; and all internal communications.
Formerly senior vice president of network communications for Turner Entertainment Networks, Powell returned to the company in July 2001 from NBC Entertainment, where as senior vice president of media relations she oversaw publicity, corporate communications and talent relations for NBC Entertainment, NBC Studios and NBC Enterprises in Burbank, Calif.
Earlier, she served as vice president of media relations for the Disney Channel and Toon Disney, responsible for developing and leading all public relations and publicity strategies for the Disney/ABC networks. In 1992, Powell joined Turner Broadcasting’s Cartoon Network in Atlanta, where she led publicity for the launch of the network and spent five years helping position and establish its global brand.
Before signing on at Cartoon Network, Powell was with Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, overseeing the studio’s grand opening and subsequent press and special events. She started her career in Orlando at an affiliate agency of Manning, Selvage and Lee Public Relations.
Powell earned a bachelor of arts degree in journalism at Temple University. She serves on the boards of directors of Girls Incorporated of Greater Atlanta and Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), and is a member of the Board of Visitors of Temple University’s School of Communications and Theater and its Hall of Fame, having received the Lew Klein Alumni in the Media Award in 2005. She is a Betsy Magness Leadership Institute fellow, a member of the 2005-2006 class of Leadership Atlanta, a member of the Arthur Page Society, among the Business to Business magazine 2007 “Women of Excellence” and the recipient of WICT Atlanta’s 2007 Red Letter “Horizon Award for Woman to Watch.”
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.