As a young boy who spent years in a group home while growing up in Pennsylvania, Jarl Mohn always found comfort in the radio.
By the time he was 12, he says he knew he wanted to be a radio disc jockey. And by just 15 years old, Mohn received his engineering license and got a job at a radio station running religious tapes on Sunday.
When Mohn told people that he was going to be a disc jockey in New York by the age of 25, they laughed.
“Everyone thought it was hilarious,” he said. “The general manager of the radio station at the time said, ‘You might want to think about a different career’... So that was a great motivator.”
In the latest episode of “LA Stories with Giselle Fernandez,” Mohn shares about how he became a disc jockey in New York by the age of 25, working at WNBC. By 26, he owned his first radio station and eventually was hired to help revitalize VH1 and MTV networks.
Under Mohn’s leadership, there was a ratings surge at the channels, solidifying their positions as cultural influencers in the entertainment landscape.
When MTV fired him for hiring Andrew Dice Clay to host their awards show, Mohn was quickly hired by HBO, where he created E! Entertainment— a billion-dollar hit. His strategic investments in cable, digital, and online media ventures earned him a reputation as a maverick in the industry.
“Looking at it now, it looks kind of wild,” he said. “I did not have a big grand strategic plan of any sort… I was given opportunities along the way and took advantage of them.”
Mohn invested considerably in Riot Games, Priceline, TiVo, Oxygen Media and many more. When NPR asked him to step in as CEO, he agreed and helped turn the company around to create revenue the company hadn’t seen in years.
Throughout all his successes, Mohn quickly credits the people around him for helping him succeed. Today, he chooses to give back to his community through the Mohn Family Foundation, supporting philanthropic missions in social justice, public radio and the arts.
An avid art collector, Mohn has successfully created one of the most prestigious art collections in the world while also ensuring up-and-coming artists find support.
Mohn’s legacy in media and commitment to giving back exemplifies a life driven by innovation, resilience, and dedication to making a difference.
“It’s really finding great people, putting them together… and not being afraid to fail because you have to fail a lot,” he said. “I’ve had many failures… But it’s a matter of resilience, working our way through it, not being traumatized by failure.”