At least six hours of New Jersey-centric programming a week, including a weekday nightly newscast and other public affairs programming, live broadcasts of the governor’s State of the State address, the governor’s Budget Message and live coverage of New Jersey elections.
If you were wondering what Montclair State and its College of Communication and Media are planning to do when they become the operator of New Jersey’s four FCC-licensed public television stations, it was spelled out this afternoon in a release from the Department of the Treasury and New Jersey State Treasurer Aaron Binder.
Montclair was selected from a pool of four bidders following a competitive request-for-proposals process, returning New Jersey public television to a New Jersey-based operator. WNET has stewarded NJ PBS since 2011.
The contract between the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority and Montclair State is for five years with two five-year extensions.
It will be submitted to the Legislature for their review. The Legislature, which has stressed its desire and strong support for public television to continue in New Jersey, has 15 days to review the contract.
The new contract follows months of uncertainty over the future of NJ PBS and effectively ensures that public television will thrive in New Jersey for the long-term. Cuts to federal funding had put the future in doubt.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill said she was committed to making public broadcasting an integral part of the state’s media landscape.
“Public broadcasting is a vital public service that ensures New Jersey families have access to trusted news, educational programming and information about their communities,” she said. “At a time when local journalism faces growing challenges, today’s action keeps this essential service alive in New Jersey.
“I’m excited that Montclair State University has been selected to lead the next chapter of public broadcasting in New Jersey. With its expertise in journalism and public media, strong community partnerships, and commitment to innovation, Montclair is uniquely positioned to expand local storytelling and help build a strong, sustainable future for public media across our state.”
Keith Strudler, Dean of Montclair’s College of Communication and Media, said the school is eager to get started.
“New Jersey has one of the most extraordinary media landscapes in the country, and we will fully leverage and highlight the breadth of voices and storytellers across the state,” he said. “This includes universities across New Jersey, countless news organizations, cultural and arts centers, and sports leagues and organizations.
“We look forward to building a media ecosystem that resembles and is accountable to the people of New Jersey, one that provides unique educational and workforce development opportunities to our state’s future leaders and media creators. We are grateful for the opportunity to ensure New Jersey’s public media is truly the public’s media.”
The agreement keeps the station on the air. But Strudler and Montclair State officials said they are committed to changing how it functions.
Montclair officials say they plan to reimagine public media and expand the value public broadcasting can provide to New Jersey residents.
Central to that mission is building a network that fully represents New Jersey, drawing on the state’s 300-plus news organizations, its colleges and universities and its diverse communities to create and inform programming made stronger through collaboration and shared expertise. In addition to a robust broadcast presence with daily newscast and discussion programming, NJ PBS will focus significant efforts on digital and social media content as well as in-person events and public engagement, meeting New Jersey residents where and how they consume information.
Montclair’s proposal leverages existing university assets to create an operational budget that recognizes the current fiscal environment for public media. This includes $1.2 million annually of in-kind contributions from the university, including studio access, engineering expertise, IT infrastructure, human resources, finance, legal, and facilities management. It also includes teaching and internship opportunities for students, helping to train future media professionals while also infusing a dynamic perspective into station programming.
The station will be housed in Montclair’s College of Communication and Media, one of the nation’s leading academic hubs for media education and innovation. The College has a world-class production facility, complete with professional broadcast studios and film stages, multiple control rooms, a multimedia newsroom and engineering infrastructure built for network-level production.
Faculty and staff bring extensive professional experience in the New Jersey and national media landscapes, and the College has been nationally recognized for its work while preparing the next generation of New Jersey media professionals.
The Center for Cooperative Media, housed within Montclair’s College of Communication and Media, will help build the backbone of NJ PBS’s statewide journalism model. The Center’s longstanding relationships with hundreds of New Jersey news organizations provide NJ PBS with an existing statewide journalism ecosystem capable of supporting collaborative reporting and community-informed storytelling across all regions of the state.
Montclair’s operation of NJ PBS will include robust content partnerships across the state, including collaborative agreements with a range of other New Jersey colleges and universities as well as civic, arts, and news organizations, ensuring network content reflects the diversity and talents of New Jersey’s residents and communities.
Montclair plans to produce a daily newscast and discussion program, a weekly public affairs roundtable and sports coverage, including a formal partnership with the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The university has also committed to a code of journalism ethics, an independent ethics committee with external appointments and a Community Advisory Board, with additional public accountability in being subject to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act as a public university.
More than 20 full-time employees will initially operate NJ PBS, including three reporters and a production team of 11. Students will also participate through internships and supervised experiential learning opportunities. Employment opportunities with NJ PBS will be posted on Montclair’s website.
Binder said the agreement will have big impact.
“Public broadcasting is a critical pillar of New Jersey media, ensuring all residents — particularly those in underserved areas — have access to quality educational and community-focused content,” he said.
“Given the ever-evolving nature of modern media, and recent devastating [sic] funding cuts at the federal level, protecting and supporting public broadcasting has never been more important. Treasury was pleased to play a role in ushering in the next chapter of public media in New Jersey, and we look forward to seeing this vital institution grow for many years to come.”
Rick Williams, Executive Director of the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority, applauded the announcement.
“New Jersey’s public television stations exist to serve every resident of this state, and this selection reflects our commitment to ensuring that mission continues on a sustainable, long-term foundation,” he said. “Montclair State University brings broadcast-ready infrastructure, deep community ties, and a demonstrated commitment to New Jersey journalism. We look forward to working with the university and the Legislature as this transition moves forward.”
