President and Chief Executive Officer

THE OPPORTUNITY

Public Broadcasting Atlanta (PBA) is a trusted epicenter of news, culture and storytelling in Atlanta, the 10th largest U.S. media market. PBA reaches 1.4 million viewers and listeners a month via WABE, the dominant NPR station, ATL PBA TV, a full-service PBS station, and award-winning podcasts and other compelling digital and educational offerings.

PBA is integral to the metro Atlanta community. Most of its $14.7 million budget is funded by local donors and underwriters. In the past five years, WABE has doubled its news team, resulting in near-daily story pickup by NPR. PBA has exponentially grown its younger and more diverse audiences.

This is a time of promise at PBA. The organization has transformed itself with world-class talent and storytelling that is platform-agnostic. It has a culture of boldness and innovation. At a moment of epic global challenges and intense media competition, PBA is poised to leverage reporting and storytelling, deepen relationships with current and emerging audiences, focus on increasing donor support and revenues, and capitalize on its local and national profile.

The new CEO will have the exciting mandate to lead PBA into its next era. PBA has built a world-class team that collaborates across platforms and has amplified and diversified its audiences and offerings. The organization has an elevated profile. PBA’s mission, vision and plan are a clarion call to ongoing transformation, extraordinary content and financial growth.

THE CEO MANDATE

Rose Scott in a Coffee Conversation

The CEO will lead PBA into its next era of growth and impact, building from a position of strength.  The CEO will be an inspiring frontline leader able to implement a visionary agenda, deepen relationships and grow the organization. The CEO will lead a PBA team known for innovation, passion and thought leadership in the Atlanta community and in public media nationally.

The CEO will bring relevant experience and a record of success, and will enhance PBA’s reputation, offerings and resources. Reporting to an engaged, committed Board of Directors, the CEO will:

  1. Be a frontline, world-class public media leader. The CEO will be strategic, innovative and able to lead the next era of success for PBA. The CEO will engage and energize a diverse staff and Board, donors, audiences and stakeholders throughout the metro Atlanta community. The CEO will build a trusting partnership with the Board and with Atlanta Public Schools, which holds PBA’s station licenses. The CEO will connect well with internal and external stakeholders including national public media.
  2. Grow relationships and donor support. As the face of PBA, the CEO will be an experienced, passionate fundraiser and relationship builder with a record of success in major fundraising and capital campaigns. The CEO will build productive relationships with funders, volunteers, donors and the larger community. The CEO will increase major and transformational giving, endowment and legacy commitments. In the near future, the CEO will lead a capital campaign to take PBA’s facilities, technology and fiscal integrity to the next.
  3. Increase revenues. The CEO will be savvy at capitalizing on PBA’s assets and creating new revenue opportunities. With a robust news organization and full-service TV station, PBA can develop new TV, radio, digital and multi-platform opportunities that appeal to diverse audiences and increase market presence. PBA podcasts and other initiatives are finding audiences and voice in a crowded media landscape. The CEO will be bold and strategic at identifying and implementing revenue growth opportunities.
  4. Enhance PBA reputation and reach. The CEO will be or become a public media expert and thought leader, active and visible throughout the community. The CEO will raise PBA’s profile and engagement across metro Atlanta and in the national public media. The CEO will build on PBA’s strengths as a news and storytelling organization to expand reach and impact with diverse audiences. Through community presence, podcasts and other digital initiatives, radio, TV and multi-platform content, educational offerings and creative partnerships, PBA will extend its reputation and reach.
  5. Nurture the culture and manage the business. The CEO will be a strategic, engaged leader of people and the business. The CEO will promote innovation, collaboration and an inclusive culture that rewards boldness and accountability. The CEO will foster a workplace of trust, creativity and transformation in which everyone is inspired to achieve their best. The CEO will have the business and financial acumen to manage through current and future challenges, and to develop a sustainable and adaptive business model that ensures PBA’s.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

The ideal CEO is a dynamic, media-savvy leader with a passion for public media, the mission and potential of PBA, and the Atlanta community.

Personal assets will include:

  • Credibility, authenticity and an energizing
  • Ability to lead, empower and inspire people to work
  • Compassion, relationship building, listening and communication
  • Demonstrated commitment to building a diverse and inclusive staff and culture at all
  • Strong relationship-building, fundraising and business-building
  • Financial and business acumen, coupled with entrepreneurial
  • Self-confidence and
  • Ability to build consensus and to make tough
  • Change-management and culture-building
  • Strengths in strategy, innovation and
  • Ability to actively listen and synthesize
  • A sense of humor.

THE ORGANIZATION

Public Broadcasting Atlanta (PBA) is a leader in America’s 10th largest media market and ranks among the nation’s top public media entities. PBA has a history of community engagement and diverse leadership on the staff, Board of Directors and Advisory Committee. PBA is an independent 501(c)3 under contract with license holder Atlanta Public Schools, which is not involved in operations.

PBA delivers news and storytelling to 1.4 million viewers and listeners a month across radio, TV, podcast and other digital platforms. PBA’s award- winning journalists offer local and global perspectives that keep Atlantans abreast of the news and its implications. WABE radio, Atlanta’s trusted source for news, culture and conversation, is nationally important as NPR runs its stories on average once a day.

In a three year strategic plan developed in 2019, PBA staff and Board set forth plans that are on guiding current initiatives. PBA’s mission is To inspire a community of life-long learners; its vision is To be the most valued source of information in people’s lives. The plan sets forth values: team first, commitment to innovation, always strive to do your best, and make a difference. Strategic pillars and desired outcomes are:

In addition to national programming that includes National Public Radio (NPR), American Public Media (APM) and PBS content, PBA creates world-class content locally, some of which is picked up nationally. New content initiatives include: Buried Truths, winner of a Peabody Award and a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award; Back to School 2020, a one-stop resource on school openings; Georgia Votes 2020; a Coronavirus Page that embeds a podcast; and a Coronavirus Update that airs nightly during PBS NewsHour.

PBA has been successful adding younger and more diverse audiences. The WABE African-American radio listening audience is about three times higher than the national average for NPR stations. PBA’s many partners include StoryCorps, the Atlanta Community Food Bank and TreesAtlanta. The recent launch of TutorATL, an online, on-demand, personalized tutoring service that is free to K-12 students, has introduced a timely, critical remote-learning resource.

In FY 2020, PBA revenues reached $14.7 million. Individual giving accounts for over half the revenue, much of it from sustaining members. Including under-writing, 84% of resources are provided by the metro Atlanta community.

PBA has been serving the metro Atlanta community for more than 70 years. WABE was Georgia’s first public radio service and has been in operation since 1948. It was joined in 1958 by a public television station. Through local reporting and programming, WABE and ATL PBA raise awareness of local issues and cover them with the level of depth and consistency they merit.

More about PBA, WABE and ATL PBA can be found at www.pba.org.

THE LOCATION

PBA is located in midtown Atlanta, Georgia. Metro Atlanta is the nation’s 10th largest media market. The Atlanta region is home to over five million residents and the world’s busiest airport.

Atlanta hosts major institutions of higher learning including Georgia Tech, Morehouse, Spelman and Clark Atlanta Colleges, Georgia State and Emory Universities. Close to 20 Fortune 500 companies are based in metro Atlanta including Delta Air Lines, Home Depot and The Coca-Cola Company. Some of the world’s most significant public-benefit and nonprofit organizations are in Atlanta, among them the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CARE and The Carter Center.

THE RELATIONSHIPS

The President and CEO manages a full-time staff of approximately 80 professionals and reports to the Board of Directors of AETC (Atlanta Educational Telecommunications Collaborative), the entity that oversees management of PBA.

The CEO’s current direct reports are the Chief Content Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Marketing & Development Officer and SVP of Human Resources.

For potential consideration or to suggest a prospect, please email

PBA@BoardWalkConsulting.com or call

Kathy Bremer or Patti Kish at 404-403-3266 or 404-713-4131.

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