PMI Picks Up Where CPB Leaves Off

The wind-down of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has given birth to a new independent, nonprofit organization that looks to fill some of the gap left by CPB’s closure after nearly six decades.

Public Media Infrastructure (PMI) was created in September by American Public Media Group, the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, New York Public Radio, PRX, and the Station Resource Group. Using a $57.9 million grant from CPB, the new organization has now added several additional members and formed its inaugural board of directors to lead PMI as it charts the next era of innovation and infrastructure for more than 1,300 public radio stations.

New York Public Radio Executive Chair LaFontaine Oliver has been named Chair of the Board. While CPB may no longer have a role in building public media, he credits the organization with the vision to create a station-centered consortium with one of its final grants as its successor to work to imagine the future of public radio. “The tie that binds this country’s incredible tapestry of public radio stations is our commitment to public service — through the vital news, information, education, arts, culture, and connection we provide our communities every day,” Oliver says in a statement.

PMI is currently led by interim Executive Director Bob Kempf. The organization has also announced the addition of five board members, who will be seated at its April meeting. They include “Kauai Community Radio” KKCR Kaua’i, HI General Manager Anni Caporuscio; “Raven Radio” KCAW Sitka, AK (104.7) General Manager Mariana Robertson; Radio Bilingüe co-Executive Director José Martínez-Saldaña; Vermont Public CEO Vijay Singh; and Louisville Public Media President/CEO Kenya Young. PMI says additional board members will be seated later this year.

“Our board strives to reflect the full breadth of who public media actually is — across station formats and in every type of community across the nation, large and small, rural and urban, legacy and emerging,” says A. Rima Dael, CEO of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters and founding PMI Board Member. “These leaders bring deep, lived experience from stations serving communities every day, and a clear understanding of both the fragility and the power of public media infrastructure. That range of perspective is exactly what PMI was created to hold and to protect.”

Using a $47 million, five-year CPB grant, PMI will develop the next generation of digital content distribution infrastructure and services for local public radio stations nationwide. It will also expand capabilities in digital content distribution, audience measurement, and sponsorship technology.

The organization is also tasked with maintaining core infrastructure, including satellite and emergency alert systems, to ensure that local stations continue to operate without disruption. PMI says it will work closely with the Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS) and NPR to maintain uninterrupted service and ensure long-term operational stability for public radio stations nationwide.

Thanks to Inside Radio for the information in this story.