Central Florida Public Media is among 50 public media organizations across the country selected to participate in the Digital Transformation Program, a virtual program developed by the Poynter Institute to educate, assist, and coach public media senior leaders and their teams on the best strategies and tactics to transform their organizations’ digital operations and culture.
“This program comes at a critical time, as our organization is intentionally pivoting to provide trustworthy, independent journalism to Central Floridians wherever and whenever they need it,” said Judith Smelser, president and general manager of Central Florida Public Media. “We adopted a new name and brand identity this year that reflects our commitment to serve audiences across all platforms.”
The program includes online coaching and training for Smelser and four to six other staff members beginning in March 2025, to accelerate their digital transformation efforts. Designed in partnership with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and funded by CPB, the new program builds on the strength and success of the first Digital Transformation Program, which in 2022-23 trained 79 public media entities and 458 station personnel.
“CPB is committed to advancing innovation,” said Patricia Harrison, CPB president and CEO. “The Digital Transformation Program will provide coaching and resources to help stations accelerate their digital development and share best practices for achieving audience and revenue growth.”
In addition to one-on-one and peer group coaching sessions, the program will include a series of educational webinars, work exercises, and resource materials that span the program curriculum.
“Poynter is excited to welcome these public media professionals to the program as part of our partnership with CPB,” said Poynter President Neil Brown. “We’re proud to be able to help these stations transform to a more audience-first, digital focus and build deeper connections with their community as well as grow revenues to strengthen their financial foundations.”
The stations selected, from Alabama to Washington State, Hawaii to New York, include 22 public radio stations, 12 public television stations and 16 joint license stations.