The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles has appointed Jonathan Abbott as its new director. Abbott previously oversaw the network that produces PBS programs such as "Masterpiece."

His appointment makes him the sixth person to lead MOCA in 18 years — a turnover rate that speaks to the institution's turbulent leadership history. The museum has cycled through directors at a pace of roughly one every three years since 2007.

Abbott arrives from public media rather than the traditional museum world. At the network behind "Masterpiece" and other PBS programming, he managed an organization focused on broadcast production and distribution — experience that contrasts with the curatorial backgrounds of many museum directors.

For MOCA, the choice signals a preference for administrative and operational leadership at a moment when the institution is seeking stability. Whether Abbott breaks the pattern of short tenures that has defined the museum's recent history will be a central question of his first years in the post.