About

Joshua N. Pila joined the in-house media legal industry after working in private practice in Washington DC. He moved in-house with a television broadcaster based in Providence, RI named LIN Media and cut his teeth in all elements of the industry there before starting at Meredith as general counsel of local media group in December 2014. At both LIN and Meredith, he brought a passion for electronic workflows, a client-centric experience, and speed. In 2016, industry trends began shifting for new television distributors called “Over the Top” (OTT) providers. Unlike traditional cable and satellite providers, these distributors do not have wires or wireless connections to their customers, but instead operate over the internet. As a result, they do not have access to the copyright compulsory license. Based on the expiration dates of several of network affiliation agreements with CBS and FOX, Meredith was thrust into a position as a leader for OTT distribution. Pila negotiated first-of-their-kind agreements with CBS and Fox, and set up internal processes and structures to manage the new OTT requirements. As a self-confessed ‘digital native’ steeped in the history and operations of a traditional television provider, Pila was able to bridge gaps and set up Meredith as an industry leader in the space that others are imitating. Pila was also instrumental in establishing the Public Policy Assistance for Connecticut Anti-SLAPP Law. As a result of numerous frivolous lawsuits over news stories that cost the company large sums in legal fees to defend, he worked with our business team to propose and lobby for an “Anti-SLAPP” Law in Connecticut. “SLAPP” stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation and refers to unmeritorious lawsuits filed simply to impose defence costs and chill speech. Several dozen states have similar laws and the Connecticut law passed in 2017. Pila has also been a pioneer in the implementation of electronic systems in the legal department at Meredith. As he identifies: ‘When I joined the legal department, almost everything was done on paper. Legal bills were shuffled around on paper via inter-office mail for approval. Contracts were kept in folders in a filing cabinet. Memos were written on letterhead and overnighted internally. I quickly implemented electronic processes, including an electronic workflow for legal bill approval, a contract management system, and a series of short five-minute legal training videos hosted on the intranet’. He also brought to the legal department a sense of purpose, serving journalists and business executives to a) get content out to our audiences and b) protect the company’s brand and bottom line. Many endeavours that were foregone before because they required the expense of outside counsel can now be done in-house.