NJ PBS to be managed by Montclair State University

Montclair State University has won a competitive bid to manage NJ PBS on behalf of the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority.

The university announced its selection as the new operator Wednesday. The five-year contract, slated to take effect July 1, must be submitted to the legislature for review within 15 days. If approved, Montclair State will be responsible for managing the four FCC-licensed television stations that are licensed to the NJPBA. The agreement also provides two five-year extensions for the new operator.

The announcement follows a request for proposals issued by the New Jersey State Treasurer in February for “qualified entities” to manage the state network. Montclair State was one of four entities to submit proposals, according to the state treasurer’s office.

The WNET Group in New York, which has managed NJ PBS since 2011, announced last year that it would not renew its agreement with NJPBA to continue operating the television network beyond June 30, when its contract expires. At the time, an NJ PBS spokesperson said “very significant” state and federal funding cuts triggered WNET’s decision not to renew.

“Public broadcasting is a vital public service that ensures New Jersey families have access to trusted news, educational programming, and information about their communities,” said Gov. Mikie Sherrill in the university’s news release. “At a time when local journalism faces growing challenges, today’s action keeps this essential service alive in New Jersey.”

The WNET Group has an agreement with state officials “to continue providing news programming and scheduling content for NJ PBS through the end of September” and “to help Montclair State University prepare for the transfer,” according to its statement to Current.

New Jersey State Treasurer Aaron Binder cited cuts to public media’s federal funding last year in his statement, adding that “supporting public broadcasting has never been more important.” NJ PBS received nearly $1.7 million from CPB in fiscal year 2024, federal funds that provided about 15% of the network’s total revenues that year, according to CPB data.

Yet NJ PBS’ FY24 990 form, the most recent available, recorded that its revenue of nearly $11.5 million left a deficit of $56,000.

Last summer, prior to the congressional vote to eliminate CPB’s funding, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed an FY26 state budget that slashed NJ PBS’ state funding to $250,000, a 75% reduction from $1 million the previous year.

Montclair State’s plans

In its news release, Montclair State said it committed to providing “at least six hours of New Jersey-centric programming a week,” including a weeknight newscast and other public affairs programs that include live broadcasts of the governor’s State of the State address, the governor’s budget message and state elections.

Montclair State plans to “reimagine public media and expand the value public broadcasting can provide to New Jersey residents,” according to the statement. Its mission will be to build 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 its proposal, Montclair committed to providing in-kind contributions valued at $1.2 million. These include “studio access, engineering expertise, IT infrastructure, human resources, finance, legal, and facilities management.” The contributions also include teaching and internship opportunities for students.

NJ PBS will be housed in Montclair’s College of Communication and Media and work with the college’s Center for Cooperative Media. Keith Strudler, dean of the college, said the institution is “grateful for the opportunity to ensure New Jersey’s public media is truly the public’s media.”

Montclair State also plans to produce a weekly public affairs roundtable and sports coverage, including a formal partnership with the New Jersey Athletic Conference, an NCAA affiliate.

The release said 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 work at NJ PBS under the university’s management, including three reporters and a production team of 11 workers, according to the release.

“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,” said NJPBA Executive Director Rick Williams in the release. “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.”

Competing proposal had ties to NJ PBS

State officials chose Montclair State over a competing proposal from the New Jersey Independent Public Media Corporation, which was formed by former NJ PBS leaders Scott Kobler and Phil Alongi.

Kobler, a former board chair and partner at McCarter & English, served on the network’s board from 1991–2010 and 2012–25. From 1993–2012, he was also on the board of the New Jersey Network Foundation, its nonprofit fundraising arm.

Alongi worked at NJ PBS from 2011–19 as a senior producer, EP and director of program development. He is currently CEO of Alongi Media.

“We are obviously disappointed by the decision,” Alongi said in a statement to Current. “We assembled an extraordinary coalition of public media leaders, journalists, civic organizations, philanthropists, and community stakeholders around a vision we believed would be transformational for New Jersey.”

NJIPC’s proposal “would have created something New Jersey has never had before: a truly independent, single-purpose public media organization focused exclusively on serving the people of this state,” Alongi said. “We proposed a statewide news operation, expanded local programming, multilingual and multicultural content partnerships, dedicated regional bureaus, a civic channel, and a sustainable long-term funding model designed to strengthen public media for decades to come.”

“We respect the Authority’s decision and wish Montclair State University success,” Alongi added. “The future of public media in New Jersey is too important for anything less.”

Kobler was among the NJ PBS board members who resigned in September after WNET announced its decision to stop managing NJ PBS. Insider NJ, which covered the board resignations, noted that some directors intended to pursue an agreement to take over operations of the network. Kobler praised WNET for its service to New Jersey and added, “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.”

Shortly afterwards, Kobler expressed frustrations with the state government on LinkedIn. “… I believe that the State’s intransigence or maybe even apathy, coupled with federal funding cuts and new media challenges, likely influenced WNET’s decision to protect its core enterprise as one of our nation’s leading public media platforms. So be it, but frankly it could have all been so much easier.”

Alongi said in the statement that his group has questions about the arrangement with Montclair State that “deserve continued public discussion.”

“What level of statewide news coverage will ultimately be provided?” he asked. “How much local programming will be produced? What degree of editorial independence can be maintained within a larger institution whose primary mission is not public media? How will underserved regions and communities be represented? And what long-term investments will be made to ensure New Jersey develops a public media ecosystem equal to the needs of the nation’s fourth most diverse state?”

Those questions “are bigger than any one bidder,” he said. “They go to the heart of what New Jersey residents should expect from their public media system.”