GBH, New England Public Media to merge operations this summer

GBH in Boston and New England Public Media in Springfield, Mass., announced plans Friday to merge operations.

GBH and NEPM will keep their branding and separate headquarters. The stations will aim to create efficiencies by combining forces on statewide sponsorship and underwriting programs, according to a GBH news release. They also plan to increase their content collaborations.

The merger is expected to be complete this summer. The transfer of NEPM’s broadcast licenses to GBH is pending FCC approval, according to a GBH news story.

“We are finding new and forward-thinking ways to make a difference in the communities we serve,” said GBH CEO Susan Goldberg in the release. “By scaling our journalism while maintaining our focus on local coverage, we become a more sustainable business operation even in the face of federal defunding, ensuring that every resident of the Commonwealth has access to fact-based reporting and stories that matter.”

“We are at a turning point in public media and this merger offers a tremendous opportunity. By joining forces with GBH, we can remain the hometown station for western Mass. while building a statewide partnership that protects and amplifies the work we do in the 413,” said NEPM President Matt Abramovitz in the release. “We can now focus more energy and resources where they belong: on the journalism, music, events, and storytelling that connects our region and our state.”

No plans for staff cuts

NEPM was formed in 2019 through a reorganization involving New England Public Radio, then licensed to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and WGBY-TV in Springfield, licensed to the GBH Educational Foundation. The organizations retained ownership of the licenses as part of the restructuring.

“These operational integrations will develop further with this year’s expected merger,” the news release said. “There are no immediate plans for staff reductions as a result of the merger and GBH and NEPM plan to invest in new roles.”

NEPM operates a television station, an FM radio station and five radio repeater signals.

In an email to GBH supporters, Goldberg said, “Donations and underwriting will continue to support local operations and programs at each station. And there are no changes to your membership.”

In his own message to supporters, Abramovitz said, “As you know, the loss of federal funding has changed the landscape for public media. To protect the local service you rely on, we have to be proactive and think boldly.”

GBH also oversees CAI, a set of stations serving Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. In its release, GBH said it aims to create a statewide newsroom that will expand coverage “from the Berkshires to Oak Bluffs” with hyperlocal journalism. The efforts will build on Connecting the Commonwealth, an initiative co-led by GBH, CAI and NEPM.

Expanded leadership roles

GBH and NEPM have both had to downsize in recent years. NEPM cut 20% of its staff in 2023 and made an additional staff cut in early 2025. GBH made cuts in 2024 due to a $7 million budget gap and further reduced staff in June 2025. Last summer, it laid off staff working on its show American Experience and announced additional reductions late last year and early this year.

In fiscal year 2025, GBH’s expenses of $289 million exceeded its revenue by about $22.6 million. NEPM had a deficit of $4.4 million with $12.2 million in expenses in FY25.

GBH launched a $225 million fundraising campaign last year after the cuts to federal funding and aims to raise $70 million in the first year of the initiative.

Goldberg will remain the top executive at GBH. She joined the organization in 2022 after working as editor-in-chief of National Geographic.

Abramovitz will remain leader of NEPM, a role he started in 2022, and will become VP of audience strategy and operations for GBH. His new role will have him work “closely with editorial and music teams as well as external partners to elevate engagement on-air, online, and at events,” according to the release.

Dan Lothian, editor-in-chief of GBH News since 2024, will expand his role to include television, radio and digital reporting across GBH, NEPM and CAI platforms. Lothian is also editor-in-chief of The World, a national radio program produced at GBH.

NEPM has 44 employees, while GBH has 705, according to a GBH news story.