APTS affiliate will now be sole manager of Protect My Public Media

The American Coalition for Public Radio, an NPR-affiliated advocacy organization, will no longer co-manage the Protect My Public Media campaign and will continue leading a separate radio-focused effort.

Protect My Public Media announced Oct. 1 that APTS Action, an affiliate of America’s Public Television Stations, would now be its sole manager as ACPR works on a different campaign. 

Marta McLellan Ross, executive director of ACPR, told Current that the decision was made following the July rescission of CPB’s funding for the next two years and after “we reevaluated our work.”

“It’s just kind of where the organizations are at this time, where the campaign is at this time, and where we are looking to kind of move into advocacy going forward,” McLellan Ross said. 

ACPR launched its goACPR.org campaign in May. McLellan Ross said its messaging will be more closely tied to public radio. ACPR’s activities also include a voter contact program, the noncommMusic Alliance and the Alliance of Rural Public Media. It was incorporated in 2017. 

Before that, NPR co-managed 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting, according to McLellan Ross, who is also chief of staff at NPR. That effort, which organized support for public broadcasting funding, rebranded to Protect My Public Media in 2013.

In a statement, Kate Riley, president and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, said Protect My Public Media’s mission to secure federal support for both public television and radio stations remains the same. 

“While the management structure is changing, APTS Action, Inc. is dedicated to ensuring that Protect My Public Media is well positioned to continue to advocate for local stations nationwide and the communities that depend on their exceptional services,” Riley said. “Protect My Public Media remains as important today as ever and APTS Action, Inc. is committed to its continued success.”

GoACPR launched in the spring as a supplemental way to reach audiences that might not be aware of or hadn’t engaged with Protect My Public Media, McLellan Ross said. 

McLellan Ross said there is a need to seek new funding sources as well and to explore whether CPB funding could be restored. 

Additionally, GoACPR could be needed for other advocacy, such as congressional actions related to public radio music rights or responding to state-level actions that could be detrimental to public radio, McLellan Ross said. 

“Are there other areas, are there other pieces of policy or bills that are important for public radio?” McLellan Ross said. “We don’t know really what the future is going to hold for public media and the future of funding. 

“The intent behind GoACPR is to really be a nimble way to respond to opportunities as we see them.”