Benson Named President of Radio Division of Jefferson-Pilot Communications Company

Benson Named President of Radio Division of Jefferson-Pilot Communications Company GREENSBORO, N.C., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Jefferson-Pilot Corporation (NYSE:JP) today announced that Don Benson has been named President of the Radio Division of its broadcasting subsidiary, Jefferson- Pilot Communications Company. Benson succeeds Clarke R. Brown Jr., who will assist in the transition until his previously scheduled retirement in June 2005. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050117/CLM037 ) (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040601/JPFLOGO ) Benson has more than 30 years of radio industry experience, including more than 20 years with Jefferson Pilot and seven years as a programming consultant. He has served as Senior Vice President of Operations/Programming for Jefferson Pilot's Radio Division for the past 10 years. In his new role, Benson assumes overall responsibility for the day-to-day operations of Jefferson Pilot's 18 radio stations in Atlanta, Miami, San Diego, Denver and Charlotte. He will report to Terry Stone, President of Jefferson-Pilot Communications. Benson began his career with Jefferson Pilot in 1974 at WQXI AM/FM in Atlanta, eventually becoming Operations Manager. Over the course of his 11 years at the station, it became one of the nation's major ratings and billing successes. Benson also has served as Vice President of Operations at KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and as Corporate Vice President of programming for Western Cities Broadcasting's seven-station group. He was Executive Vice President of Operations for Burkhart/Douglas & Associates, an Atlanta-based consulting firm, prior to rejoining Jefferson Pilot in 1994. "Don is an accomplished radio executive with broad experience in programming, operations and marketing. He is highly regarded within our organization and throughout the industry. Over the course of his career with Jefferson-Pilot Communications, he has been involved with all aspects of our radio business, most importantly in the area of programming," Stone said. Brown is retiring after a 38-year career with Jefferson-Pilot Communications, including 14 years as President of Jefferson Pilot's Radio Division. He also has been active in the advancement of the radio industry, having served on the boards of more than eight organizations. "Clarke has made a tremendous contribution to Jefferson Pilot's radio business over the years and has been an outstanding advocate for the broadcast community. He has helped assemble an outstanding team of broadcast professionals. Jefferson-Pilot Communications is recognized as the premier mid-sized communications company in the country, and I know that our Radio Division will continue to excel under Don's leadership," Stone said. Benson is a graduate of Vanderbilt University. He and his wife, Martha, reside in Atlanta. Jefferson-Pilot Communications Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jefferson-Pilot Corp. Beginning with its first radio station in 1934, Jefferson-Pilot Communications operates 18 radio stations, all in top 50 markets; three television stations in major southeastern markets including North Carolina's first TV station; and Jefferson-Pilot Sports, a TV production company that facilitates the broadcast of Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference football and basketball throughout the Southeast. Jefferson-Pilot Corporation, a holding company (NYSE:JP), is one of the nation's largest shareholder-owned life insurance companies. Jefferson Pilot's life insurance and annuity companies, principally Jefferson-Pilot Life Insurance Company, Jefferson Pilot Financial Insurance Company and Jefferson Pilot LifeAmerica Insurance Company, together known as Jefferson Pilot Financial, offer full lines of individual and group life insurance products as well as annuity and investment products. Jefferson-Pilot Communications Company owns and operates three network television stations and 17 radio stations, and produces and syndicates sports programming. Additional information on Jefferson Pilot can be found at http://www.jpfinancial.com/ . Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050117/CLM037 Newscom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040601/JPFLOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Jefferson-Pilot Corporation CONTACT: Paul E. Mason, Vice President - Corporate Affairs of Jefferson Pilot Financial, +1-336-691-3313 Web site: http://www.jpfinancial.com/ ------- Profile: International Entertainment