Public Media Company (PMC)

Founding and History

Public Media Company was originally formed in 2001 as Public Radio Capital (PRC) by the Station Resource Group, an association of public radio station executives. The PRC’s mission was to assist public radio by providing business consulting and financial services. The larger objective was to assist public radio in competition with commercial radio networks and with non-commercial religious broadcasters. ⁵

In 2014, the group changed its name to Public Media Company to reflect its increased scope beyond radio to public media in general. ⁵ In 2025, the group began to accrue more public attention in light of the second Trump administration’s defunding of government-funded media, such as National Public Radio and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and their various affiliates. Several left-of-center foundations, such as the MacArthur Foundation, the Knight Foundation, and the Ford Foundation, were reported to have pledged substantial funding to Public Media Company and its Bridge Fund campaign to distribute $100 million to local stations to replace the cut federal funding. Howard Husock, a former Republican board member of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, has expressed concern that this funding will ensure that what remains of the public media will continue to be biased in favor of left-of-center and Democratic Party-associated causes. ³

Financials

For 2023, Public Media Company reported $1,515,723 in revenue, of which $261,118 stemmed from contributions and grants, $1,203,309 from program service revenue, and $15,667 from investment income, with no reported government funding. It reported $1,797,067 in expenses, of which $29,100 was paid out in grants, $1,314,163 in salaries and compensation, $121,698 in fundraising expenses, and $52,354 in travel expenses. It ended the year with a net loss of $281,344 and net assets of $371,533. ⁶

Projects and Initiatives

The Public Media Company offers a full spectrum of consulting services to public media clients, ranging from content strategy and development, facilitating collaborations or mergers with other media outlets, and business planning. It also issues public media bonds to cover funding needs and other financial and accounting services. ²

In 2025, Public Media Company launched a new initiative called the Bridge Fund in response to the loss of over $600 million in public media funding from the federal government. This fund aimed to raise at least $100 million with a goal of distributing $50 million annually to public radio and television stations at risk of closing. As of October 2025, at least $44 million had been raised. ^{4  7}

Leadership

Tim Isgitt is the CEO of the Public Media Company, a position he has held since July 2023. He previously worked as a nonprofit consultant at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and at the U.S. State Department. ^{8  9}