Longtime chair Scott Kobler and longtime vice chair Liz Thomas were among the members of the board of trustees of NJ PBS to resign Monday — the latest fallout at the network after WNET announced it would no longer support the network when its contract ends next June 30.
Barring a dramatic change, the network is expected to go dark on July 1, 2026.
While Kobler, a partner at McCarter & English, and Thomas, the co-founder of Thomas/Boyd Communications were the biggest names to resign, they weren’t the only ones. N.J. State Chamber CEO Tom Bracken and Richard Pechter (the former chairman of Donaldson, Lufkin, & Jenrette’s Financial Services Group also announced their resignation.
Additional board members are expected to follow suit.
Kobler attempted to take the high road upon his exit.
“WNET has served the state of New Jersey well,” he said. “They assumed operations of New Jersey’s public media network in its time of need in 2011. The work of the reporters on NJ Spotlight News, on the air and online, continues to be exemplary and fills a huge void. I could not have been prouder to be a part of it.
“I wish the state of New Jersey had responded in a more cooperative fashion when it came to a renewal. I’m stepping aside as chair to allow WNET to more directly manage the end of the NJ PBS term and look forward to doing my part to assist the next iteration of public media in New Jersey.”
WNET CEO Neal Shapiro, who also serves on the NJ PBS board, thanked Kobler and the others for their service.
“We thank all of our trustees for their service and insight. NJ PBS would not have become the robust provider of New Jersey news and programming without their help,” he said. “Some of those leaving us have shared their intention to work towards paving a path for the state’s next public broadcast operator. We wish them the best and WNET remains committed to assisting any new entity relaunching a Garden State public television network in whatever way we can.”
WNET will continue to operate NJ PBS through the end of June 2026 per our operating agreement with the state.
After June, WNET will continue to serve constituents with an ongoing half-hour New Jersey weeknight newscast on THIRTEEN and on its digital platforms, as well as make the program available to other outlets that may want to air or stream it.
WNET officials say they will remain a willing partner to collaborate with whatever entity might assume operation of the New Jersey station in the future.
