"Every community relies on infrastructure - roads, power grids, water systems. Public media is no different. We've spent decades building one of the most remarkable content networks in the world: a constellation of local newsrooms, national shows, and independent creators. But it rests on infrastructure built for a different era: satellite distribution, analog assumptions, fragmented digital tools, FM carve-outs, and a thicket of vendor relationships that favor scale and capital over mission."
"This is a year for deeper innovation - not with another app, but with a shared public good. The question for 2026 is no longer if we rebuild our core infrastructure, but how, so that the news, information, music, and meaningful entertainment that define public radio continue to flow from local stations to their growing communities. Where the system shows its cracks"
Public media relies on legacy infrastructure—satellite distribution, analog assumptions, fragmented digital tools, and complex vendor relationships—that no longer matches modern audience needs. Local stations face reduced federal funding while expected to modernize technology and reach audiences across platforms, devices, and listening modes. Limited resources and lacking economies of scale force leaders to choose between funding journalism and funding the infrastructure that delivers it. Philanthropic support is strained as cultural and civic institutions face revenue declines and competing demands. A collaborative, shared public-good approach to infrastructure is necessary to create systemwide scale, resilience, and sustainable distribution of news, information, music, and entertainment.
Read at Nieman Lab
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