Knight Foundation Commits $10 Million to the Public Media Bridge Fund’s Next Phase

The three-year investment will strengthen public media organizations for the long-term by helping them improve operations, diversify revenue and build regional partnerships.

DENVER — October 14, 2026 — The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is committing $10 million to the next phase of the Public Media Bridge Fund, a philanthropic effort managed by Public Media Company which helps local public media organizations strengthen operations, improve their financial resilience and work together to continue to serve their communities.

More than a year after the loss of federal funding for public media, the Bridge Fund is focused on helping stations steady operations and build more resilient, sustainable business models. Knight’s investment will support efforts to diversify revenue and build partnerships among public media organizations. This includes supporting sustainability initiatives at vulnerable local stations and launching regional collaborations to preserve and, in some cases, expand local content and community engagement.

The Bridge Fund has raised $87 million from more than 1,500 donors to date and aims to raise an additional $38 million to support its next phase: strengthening public media organizations for the long term.

“Public media stations are trusted community anchors and essential local information infrastructure. Emergency support gave them time to stabilize. Now the priority is durability,” said Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, president and CEO of Knight Foundation. “The Bridge Fund brings the relationships, expertise and practical know-how to help public media organizations improve operations and build strong local partnerships. That work will help ensure they can continue providing trusted local news, culture, education and emergency information to communities across the country.”

The 2025 rescission of federal public media funding put trusted local news, information and emergency alerts at risk nationwide. Public media reaches 99% of the country through more than 1,500 radio and television stations. Public Media Company, led by CEO Tim Isgitt, launched the Bridge Fund to provide emergency stabilization funding to stations at risk of closure and help the public media system adapt to a future without federal funding.

Knight seeded the fund with a $10 million commitment and within weeks, the fund raised $26.5 million from a coalition of donors. Knight also provided an additional $3 million directly to at-risk stations in Knight communities.

By December 2025, the Bridge Fund had distributed $26 million in grants to 74 organizations that operate 186 radio and television stations serving more than 30 million people. The grants were made quickly to provide emergency support to public media organizations at greatest risk of closure.

“We’re grateful to Maribel Pérez Wadsworth and Knight Foundation for their steadfast support of public media’s mission and service,” said Isgitt. “This renewed investment from Knight Foundation will enable the Bridge Fund to help more local public media organizations sustain and evolve their service in a post-CPB era. Knight Foundation’s support will ensure that millions of Americans will continue to have access to public media that informs, connects and inspires communities.”

Pérez Wadsworth announced Knight’s commitment during an event in Denver marking Public Media Company’s 25th anniversary and its impact over the past 25 years.

Since its founding, Public Media Company has partnered with more than 450 nonprofit and noncommercial media organizations across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Those relationships and the company’s experience working with public media organizations across the system enable the Bridge Fund to move quickly as stations navigate the loss of federal support.

Knight’s support for public media builds on its longstanding work to strengthen local news and information ecosystems and ensure people have access to the information they need to connect with one another, participate in civic life and make decisions about issues affecting their communities. Since 2005, Knight has committed more than $927 million to support journalism and strengthen a free press in Knight communities and across the country.

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About Knight Foundation

We are social investors who support a more effective democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once published newspapers. For more information, visit KF.org.

About the Public Media Bridge Fund

The Public Media Bridge Fund, an initiative of Public Media Company, is designed to guide local public media through a crisis moment to a more sustainable, vibrant, and impactful future. Launched in 2025, the Bridge Fund has raised over $87 million to date with the mission of maintaining public media service across the country; protecting essential infrastructure for local, nonprofit use; and strengthening system-wide resilience and community value for the long-term. The Bridge Fund’s strategy is rooted in a sequential and progressive framework, beginning with stabilization and moving through sustainability with the ultimate goal of adapting the system to solidify public media as a cornerstone of a more connected society. For more information, visit publicmediabridgefund.org.

Media Contact:

Knight Foundation
Atena Sherry, Director/Communications
media@kf.org

Public Media Bridge Fund
Louisa Lincoln, Head of Impact & Engagement
louisa@publicmedia.co