Public Media Infrastructure (PMI) today announced the appointment of its inaugural Chief Executive Officer. She assumes the role on August 3.
Jeannie Ericson will lead PMI’s mission “to ensure local public media stations have the tools, technology, and support they need to serve their communities” in the post-Corporation for Public Broadcasting era.
As PMI’s CEO, Ericson will set the organization’s strategic direction, build its operational foundation, recruit and lead a high-performing team, and serve as its principal ambassador across the public media system. “Working closely with stations, content providers, technology partners, philanthropic organizations, and policymakers, she will help shape a collaborative infrastructure model that enables public media organizations of every size to innovate, operate more efficiently, and continue to best serve their communities,” PMI said.
PMI was founded American Public Media Group, the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, New York Public Radio, PRX, and the Station Resource Group through one of the final grants awarded by the now-defunded CPB to modernize the critical technology infrastructure that powers public media.
The organization, PMI says, “will support an array of services including the transition from legacy satellite distribution to modern digital delivery systems, data services designed to better understand and cultivate audiences, emergency alerting infrastructure, revenue-generating platforms, and other technologies designed to strengthen the entire public media ecosystem.”
PMI adds that it is committed to serving the more than 1,300 public media stations across the country.
“Jeannie is exactly the kind of visionary, collaborative leader this moment demands,” said LaFontaine E. Oliver, Chair of the PMI Board of Directors. “She possesses the strategic perspective, entrepreneurial mindset, and deep understanding of both technology and public media necessary to build this organization from the ground up and allow us to serve and evolve the American public broadcasting system. With a rare combination of technical fluency and rich experience both inside and beyond our industry, we’re confident she is the right person to grow PMI into a vital system-wide resource.”
Ericson added, “Public media has long been a model of what’s possible when organizations work together in service to the public. This moment represents an extraordinary opportunity to build on that tradition by helping stations collaborate in new ways, share resources more efficiently, and create the tools necessary to meet the needs of current and future audiences. Local stations are the heartbeat of public media, and I’m honored to lead PMI as we work alongside them to forge a stronger, more resilient future.”
