Kathy Merritt Receives PMJA's Highest Honor
July 29, 2026
Accepting the Leo C. Lee Award, I reflected on the deep roots and enduring strength of public media journalism—from the early days of PRNDI, when local newsrooms asserted their essential role, to the collaborative work at CPB that advanced emergency coverage, national productions, and vital investments in local reporting. My own path began at home, shaped by parents who treated paying attention to the world as a responsibility, and continued through formative newsroom years at WFAE and WAMU before moving into leadership roles that focused on strengthening stations, editors, and collaborations nationwide. Along the way, I learned lessons I wish I’d known earlier: center your audience, understand the job to be done, talk to real people, add context generously, and stay relentlessly curious.
Read my acceptance speech from the PMJA awards ceremony.
The video of the awards ceremony can be viewed on LinkedIn.
Trust in journalism has fallen sharply over the past five decades, dropping from more than 70% in the 1970s to just 28% in Gallup’s most recent survey. The Trust Project is working to reverse that decline through its 8 Trust Indicators, which help audiences understand how responsible journalism is produced. I’ve joined the board because strengthening transparency and rebuilding public confidence in news is essential to a healthy democracy.
Kathy Merritt joins board of The Trust Project
July 24, 2026
Former CPB Exec Launches Consultancy
Kathy Merritt, former EVP and COO for CPB, became principal of Merritt Strategies, a consultancy.
Merritt first joined CPB in 2005 and left in 2013 to become an executive at Public Radio International. She returned to CPB in 2017 and worked there until January while the corporation wound down its operations due to the rescission of federal funding for public media.
“I want to help public media stations not just survive this moment but thrive in the next era,” she said on LinkedIn. “I’m excited to work with colleagues across the system — on governance, leadership, collaboration, strategic project management, editorial integrity, and more. Public media is more vital today than ever, and this anniversary of the rescission is a reminder: our mission endures because communities believe in it. Let’s commit to building the next era of public service together.”
July 20, 2026
Kathy Merritt Launches Merritt Strategies
Public media’s federal funding may have been eliminated with the Rescissions Act of 2025, but the strength of the system has been unmistakable: communities rallied, foundations stepped up, and stations adapted because people value trusted journalism and civic connection. Leaders are focused not on loss but on reinvention — treating the rescission as a catalyst rather than a crisis — even as real challenges persist, from tight funding and shifting audience behavior to political pressures and the absence of a shared vision. That urgency is why I launched Merritt Strategies, LLC, to help stations thrive through stronger governance, deeper leadership development, and new forms of collaboration that free resources for local content and engagement. Read the essay I wrote for LinkedIn on the launch of my company.
July 20, 2026