Nickelodeon Executives Marjorie Cohn And Alison Dexter Leaving Nick

The entertainment industry news website Deadline Hollywood is reporting the Nickelodeon news that the longtime Nickelodeon executive Marjorie Cohn has decided to leave the network after 26 years.

Following a series of promotions, Marjorie Cohn, a very well liked TV executive, most recently served as President, Content Development, Nickelodeon. She added animation and digital to her existing portfolio of live-action programming in 2012, following the departure of Brown Johnson when Russell Hicks was elevated to President, Content Development and Production for the Nickelodeon Group. While at Nickelodeon, Marjorie Cohn has shepherded some of Nick's biggest hits, including "Rugrats", "iCarly" and "SpongeBob SquarePants". In the wake of her departure, Cohn's direct reports are now expected to report to Hicks as Nick's programming efforts have been shifting from New York (East Coast), where Cahn has been based, to Los Angeles (West Coast), where Hicks is.

In addition to Cohn, also departing is Alison Dexter, Executive Vice President, Nickelodeon Productions, as part of company restructuring that eliminates the position as the production groups will now report to the live-action and animation executives.

Deadline.com's Nick News article also features the internal Nickelodeon memo sent to Nickelodeon Staff from Cyma Zarghami, president of Nickelodeon and MTV Networks' Kids & Family Group, outlining the changes.

NickALive! would like to wish Marjorie Cohn and Alison Dexter all the best for future:

Nickelodeon’s Marjorie Cohn To Exit

EXCLUSIVE:Nickelodeon‘s top programming executive Marjorie Cohn is leaving. I hear that she has opted to depart the kids cable network after a 26-year tenure. Following a series of promotions, Cohn, a very well liked TV executive, most recently served as President, Content Development, Nickelodeon. She added animation and digital to her existing portfolio of live-action programming last year, following the departure of Brown Johnson when Russell Hicks was elevated to President, Content Development and Production for the Nickelodeon Group. Cohn has shepherded some of Nick’s biggest hits, including Rugrats, iCarly and SpongeBob. In the wake of her departure, Cohn’s direct reports are now expected to report to Hicks as Nick’s programming efforts have been shifting from New York, where Cahn has been based, to Los Angeles, where Hicks is. UPDATE: In addition to Cohn, also departing is EVP Nickelodeon Prods. Alison Dexter as part of a restructuring that eliminates the position as the production groups will now report to the live-action and animation executives. Here is the internal Nick memo from Cyma Zarghami, president of Nickelodeon and MTV Networks’ Kids & Family Group, outlining the changes:

Eight months ago, Russell Hicks took on his new role as our head of content development and production and relocated to Los Angeles. Since that time, we have focused our attention on serving the first generation of post-millennial viewers with exciting new content, introduced an innovative new brand experience through our App, and experienced new momentum in our ratings.

Also in that time, Russell has been evaluating our needs and our structure to ensure we are well-positioned to succeed now and in the future. He has injected new life and excitement into our animation studio, and has been developing new ways to attract the most creative people and give them the freedom to develop great content for all platforms.

Russell and Margie Cohn have spent the last few months creating an exciting development strategy and roadmap for our future. Today, more than ever, the west coast is the home base of our creative community and day-to-day headquarters for the majority of our productions, and after many years of service to Nickelodeon, Margie has made the decision to leave the company. Moving forward, all of Nickelodeon’s content executives will now report directly to Russell.

Margie has been with us since the very early days of Nickelodeon, working on shows from Double Dare and Rugrats, to All That! iCarly and SpongeBob, and just about everything in-between. I’ve been lucky to work with Margie for many years. She has been a passionate advocate for our brand, our creative partners, her team and our audience. She loves to make kids laugh, and leaves a rich legacy of having done so time and time again. I can’t thank her enough for her contributions to Nickelodeon.

The second part of Russell’s vision is to crystallize the organization as it relates to production. We are realigning the production groups to report directly to the executives for live action and animation. As a result, we will no longer have a centralized senior role in production management, and Alison Dexter will be leaving the company. Alison has built our best in class production team across genres, for preschoolers and new technologies. She has put an incredible team in place with expansive expertise.

I believe Russell’s vision for managing our creative teams allows us to build upon the momentum we have now, and provides us with a structure that ensures our success for years to come. Change is never easy. Both Margie and Alison have made incredible and lasting contributions to Nickelodeon over the years, and I know you join me in wishing them both all the best.

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Also, from C21Media:

Nick programming execs depart

Marjorie Cohn, Nickelodeon’s president of original programming and development, is leaving after 26 years at the Viacom-owned children’s channel.

The departure follows a production restructure that sees all of the channel’s content executives now report directly to Russell Hicks, the recently appointed president of content development and production, based in LA.

Cohn was responsible for supervising the development and production of all live-action programming on Nickelodeon in her final role at the company, which she joined as a unit manager in 1986.

During her time at Nick, Cohn oversaw the production of live-action titles including iCarly and Big Time Rush, as well as the animations SpongeBob SquarePants and Rugrats, among many others.

Cohn’s decision to depart was announced via an internal email to all Nickelodeon employees sent by Cyma Zarghami, president of Nickelodeon and MTV Networks’ Kids & Family Group. Alison Dexter, exec VP of production at Nickelodeon, has also left the company.

The production restructure at Nick has so far seen a number of long-serving Nick execs leave, including president of animation Brown Johnson, as the channel continues in its attempt to catch up in the cable ratings war with Disney Channel.

Nico Franks
16-04-2013
©C21Media

GENRES: Animation, Children's
SHOWS: iCarly, Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants
PEOPLE: Marjorie Cohn
COMPANIES: Nickelodeon
SECTIONS: C21Kids
COUNTRIES: US

Also, from Kidscreen:

More production exec shakeups at Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon’s New York-based president of content development Marjorie Cohn has chosen to exit the kidsnet after serving 26 years with the company, and Alison Dexter‘s EVP of productions position has been eliminated amid ongoing realignment.

In an internal memo from Nickelodeon issued yesterday, group president Cyma Zarghami stated that all of Nickelodeon’s content executives will now report directly to Russell Hicks, Nick’s L.A.-based president of content development and production, to whom Cohn previously reported.

During her time at Nickelodeon, Cohn helped guide the development and production of a number of hit shows including SpongeBob Squarepants, iCarly, Double Dare, Rugrats, and All That!

After Hicks was named to his new position and long-time president of Nick Animation Brown Johnson exited the company last August, Cohn was promoted to president of content development for live-action, animation and digital from head of live-action programming, which she started overseeing in February 2010.

Cohn has yet to announce her plans for the future.

Meanwhile, Nickelodeon eliminated its centralized senior role in production management, resulting in the departure of Dexter. The production groups will now report directly to the live-action and animation executives in charge, who will in turn report to Hicks. Additionally, Cohn’s position will not be filled.

Tags: Alison Dexter, Marjorie Cohn, Nickelodeon, Russell Hicks