Latest E&P Exclusive Reporting

In its punk moment, public media must choose between the status quo and total reinvention

Public media survived the loss of federal funding, but is survival enough? In his September “Innovation in Practice” op-ed, E&P columnist Chad Davis contends that public media is at a pivotal moment that calls for the DIY spirit of punk and a willingness to rethink what public media can be. Davis explores how collaboration with nonprofit newsroom, filmmakers, game developers and other nontraditional partners could help usher in public media’s next era.

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Black public radio stations band together, seeking sustainability and shared resources

Facing funding pressures and an uncertain future for public media, Black public radio stations are finding strength in collaboration. The newly formed Black Public Radio Network will share resources, programming and ideas, all while amplifying stories and preserving cultural history. In this E&P Quick Read, Bob Miller reports on the network’s collaborative path.

The Public Media Journalists Association provides career support and community

As public media organizations navigate layoffs, shrinking budgets, evolving technology and the loss of federal support, the Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA) is building new ways to help journalists connect, learn and adapt. In conversation with PMJA’s Executive Director Christine Paige Diers, E&P’s Editor-in-Chief Gretchen A. Peck explores PMJA’s mission, its professional development opportunities, and its distinctive ability to maintain connections among the public media community.

Public Pulse

How public media is adapting after federal funding cuts

One year after the loss of federal funding upended public media, stations are still navigating an uncertain future. While mergers, shared services and emergency philanthropy have dominated the conversation, E&P Columnist Alex Curley — founder of Semipublic and creator of AdoptAStation.org — suggests the industry’s survival may depend on real-time data that allows leadership to be better informed and more agile, and demonstrates to donors which stations are having the greatest local impact. Curley explains why the next 250 weeks will be the most consequential period in public media’s history.

Public Pulse

Public media’s next chapter may be consolidation

Consolidation is no longer a theoretical discussion in public media — it’s becoming a strategic response to a rapidly changing financial reality. In this month’s Public Pulse, E&P columnist Alex Curley examines three proposed public media mergers and what they reveal about the industry’s evolving approach to sustainability, shared resources and long-term survival. As stations adapt to life after federal funding, Curley explores whether consolidation may become the next major trend shaping public media’s future.

Newsrooms meet communities face-to-face

Trust in journalism isn’t rebuilt through headlines alone. Increasingly, news organizations are discovering that some of the most meaningful connections happen far from the newsroom — at community gatherings, neighborhood forums, festivals and public conversations. As skepticism toward the media remains high, a growing number of publishers are investing in face-to-face engagement to humanize their journalists and strengthen relationships with the communities they serve.

Public Pulse

AI, discovery and media’s next phase

Artificial intelligence may be changing how audiences discover information, but the bigger challenge for publishers could be preserving trust, creativity and visibility in an AI-driven media ecosystem. After attending both SXSW and the Game Developers Conference, E&P Columnist Chad Davis argues that journalism organizations must rethink how stories are created, discovered and optimized for a future increasingly shaped by AI search and digital platforms.

Public Pulse

How journalism is shifting from print logic to conversational media

For more than five centuries, journalism has operated in a world shaped by the logic of print — linear storytelling, institutional authority and the permanence of the written word. But the rise of social media, the creator economy and AI-driven conversation tools is pushing the industry toward something far older: a culture shaped by voice, dialogue and personality. The shift challenges long-held assumptions about how audiences consume and trust news. In this commentary, Chad Davis explores Jeff Jarvis’ theory of the “Gutenberg Parenthesis” and what journalism’s return to a more conversational media environment could mean for the future of the industry.

Shoptalk

Newsrooms face AI control crossroads

Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant disruption for journalism. From Pentagon disputes over military AI use to global newsroom campaigns demanding compensation from tech companies, the industry is confronting a defining question: who will control how journalism is used, represented and monetized inside the rapidly expanding AI ecosystem?

Latest Industry Headlines

PBS North Carolina and WTVI PBS Charlotte announce agreement to combine organizations

PBS North Carolina (PBS NC) and WTVI PBS Charlotte (WTVI) announced an agreement to combine the two organizations, with PBS NC acquiring WTVI. Central Piedmont Community College currently holds the WTVI broadcast license. The

WETA and DC/DOX launch film fund to support documentary filmmaking in the Washington, D.C., region

WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation’s capital, and DC/DOX, a premier film festival held annually in Washington, D.C., announced the WETA+ and DC/DOX Film Fund, a new WETA-funded initiative supporting documentary filmmakers from, and documentary storytelling connected to, Washington, D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia.

Sarah van Mosel to lead growth at New Hampshire Public Radio

Veteran podcast executive Sarah van Mosel is returning to public radio realm, as she has been named chief growth officer at New Hampshire Public Radio. The move reunites her with Jim Schachter, having worked with the NHPR chief more than a decade ago at New York Public Radio.

Renee Shaw named KET executive director and CEO

Kentucky Educational Television has a new leader.

Czech public media workers go on strike over a government plan to overhaul their funding

Czech public media workers went on a one-day strike on Tuesday to protest a government plan to overhaul how public broadcasters are funded, legislation that many say would threaten their independence.

Longtime KET CEO Shae Hopkins dies

KET sadly announces the passing of its executive director and CEO, Shae Hopkins, on Oct. 29. A 40-year employee, she led the network for more than 17 years and recently announced her retirement planned for the end of the year.

Thousands protest in Prague as government advances public media funding overhaul

According to the plan, public radio and television would be financed from the state budget, and not from regular fees from individuals, households or businesses. The media would receive about 15% less money than they do now.

PBS to rename professional development programs as the Dr. Sylvia M. Bugg Creative Voices Initiative

PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger announced that PBS is preparing to launch a new round of its professional development programs for filmmakers under a new name honoring the late Dr. Sylvia M. Bugg, PBS chief programming executive and general manager of General Audience Programming, who passed away in July.

WBUR’s Margaret Low to step down as CEO in June, after 40 years in public media

WBUR CEO Margaret Low, 67, plans to stay on the job until the end of June 2027.

Noah Adams, longtime host of NPR's ‘All Things Considered,’ has died

Noah Adams, a writer, broadcaster, and storyteller who hosted “All Things Considered” for 18 years, has died.

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Latest E&P Vodcasts

Can Trump shut out reporters without violating your rights?

What if shutting a reporter out of the White House violates your constitutional rights? Six citizens are making that argument in a federal lawsuit that could have implications for press access from Washington to your local city hall. On this episode of E&P Reports, Mike Blinder talks with Knight First Amendment Institute attorney Katie Fallow and journalist and plaintiff Dan Froomkin about the case—and why local publishers should be paying attention.

Checking in with the Chicago Sun-Times/ Public Media merger.

In this episode of E&P Reports, we check in with Chicago Public Media, owners of PBS affiliate WBEZ, to find out how their 2022 acquisition of the 149-year-old Chicago Sun-Times is going. Appearing on the program are Jennifer Kho, executive editor for the newspaper and Tracy Brown, chief content officer for the parent company, who discuss their new initiatives, collaborative efforts and how the blending of these two major market brands is working to expand their audience.

Borrell: Local advertising is growing. Is your sales strategy keeping up?

Local advertising dollars are growing, but the businesses spending them—and the products they’re buying—are changing faster than many media companies’ sales strategies. For publishers building their 2027 budgets, Borrell Associates' CEO Gordon Borrell’s message is direct: Growth will require finding a different customer and bringing more to the sales call than another advertising package.

Stop competing, start collaborating: A new model for local news

What if the newsroom you've spent years competing against could become your most valuable partner? As publishers face shrinking staffs, declining revenue and audience challenges, an experiment involving 48 newsrooms offers a new path forward. The Economic Opportunity Lab demonstrates how collaboration can expand reach, share resources and attract new funding. In this episode of E&P Reports, Dana Piccoli of the Local Media Association and Jared Council of the Lenfest Institute explain what worked and how even small publishers can benefit from their free playbook.

Local news losses accelerate as digital traffic plunges, Medill warns

The crisis facing American local journalism is no longer a slow, predictable decline. Newspaper closures are accelerating, rural communities are losing their last reliable news sources, and even the digital audiences publishers spent decades building are shrinking dramatically. Northwestern University's newly released 2026 State of Local News Report paints a troubling picture of an industry confronting structural challenges that threaten its future. During a recent episode of E&P Reports, Medill's Tim Franklin and Zach Metzger explained why the situation is worsening — and what might still be done to reverse the damage.

Latest #NewsPeople on the move

Local media startup City Cast reshuffles leadership

Scripps appoints new chief technology officer