A year ago, I sat on the phone with colleagues from CPB as C‑SPAN showed the Senate floor in the early hours of the morning. After months of battling DOGE, executive orders, and shifting directives across the administration, we held out hope that something — or someone — might change the outcome. But by sunrise, the Rescissions Act of 2025 had passed, eliminating nearly 60 years of federal support for public media.
Many predicted devastation. CPB has since dissolved. But public media has not. And I’m not surprised.
After more than 40 years working at stations, national organizations, and CPB, I’ve seen how deeply rooted public media is in communities across the country. When the rescission hit, people didn’t step up because of a headline — they stepped up because they understood the value of trusted journalism, local storytelling, and civic connection to our communities and our democracy. Foundations rallied. Donors gave. Stations adapted.
Last week at the Public Media Growth Conference in Chicago, the energy was unmistakably forward‑looking. City Square’s FUND research captured it perfectly: “The loss of federal funding is a catalyst, not a crisis.” Leaders were focused on major giving, digital reinvention, rural audiences, civic engagement — not lamenting what was lost.
Still, the challenges are real. Funding is tight. Our system was built for broadcast in a multiplatform world. Audience behaviors have shifted. Universities face political pressure that affects station independence. And we lack a shared vision for the future.
In other words: the work ahead is significant — and essential.
That’s why I’ve launched Merritt Strategies, LLC. I want to help public media stations not just survive this moment but thrive in the next era. My focus is on three areas that I believe are critical:
Stronger governance — Nearly half of public media stations are governed by community boards, yet research from the Knight Center for the Future of News shows boards across nonprofit news organizations are not equipped for the strategic demands ahead. Stations need boards that understand public media’s role as vital community institutions, as well as content producers.
Leadership development — Station leaders carry enormous responsibility, yet there is no CEO training pipeline in our system. They need support, confidence, and resilience to lead through complexity.
New forms of collaboration — Beyond mergers and content partnerships, we need to map a new infrastructure of shared services and strategic alliances that free up resources for local content, engagement, and fundraising.
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.