Johnston, Iowa (January 23, 2024) – The Iowa Public Broadcasting Board voted unanimously today to appoint Andrew Batt as the next executive director and general manager of Iowa PBS. Batt is currently director of production and programming at Iowa PBS, a role he has held since 2022.
“Andrew Batt is an award-winning producer who started at the television station as a college intern and worked his way up through Iowa PBS,” said board president Courtney Maxwell Greene. “He brings passion, experience and production expertise to the role of executive director and general manager and is poised to lead the talented team of media professionals.”
The board vote followed a months-long process which included a national recruitment plan, executive search committee and multiple interviews including with the board, network stakeholders and staff members. Outgoing executive director, Molly Phillips, notified the broadcasting board in October of her planned retirement date on January 31.
Batt’s resume includes his public media experience as a network leader with nearly 20 years of experience in production and programming development in the PBS system for all aspects of content creation. He has more than a decade of experience in management, spearheading efforts to push technological advancements, grow digital engagement, develop new funding opportunities and expand award-winning programming. Batt is recognized as a national leader in public media for editorial integrity issues related to public policy, politics and news coverage.
“This statewide network has long told Iowa’s stories through captivating programs,” said Batt following the announcement of the board vote. “As the media landscape changes, Iowa PBS is destined to continue its legacy as a premier producer of broadcast and digital media as well as educational services. I’m deeply honored to lead these efforts well into the future.”
Batt earned a master’s degree from the nation’s leading program in digital audience strategy with extensive training in data-driven decision making, social media strategy and audience analysis for media organizations. He was one of a select group of public media leaders accepted into the national PBS/NPR Editorial Integrity and Leadership Initiative at the Cronkite Journalism School in 2020.
The chief administrative officer of the network is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Iowa Public Broadcasting Board. The board sets the administrator’s salary within the applicable salary range established by the general assembly. The executive director and general manager directs and organizes the activities of the network, submits a biennial report to the governor on the activities and an evaluation of the division and its programs and policies, and controls all property of the division among other duties. Batt will begin serving as executive director of the network on February 2.
In addition to its statewide broadcast, Iowa PBS .1 is available to livestream on iowapbs.org/watch, pbs.org/livestream, the PBS App, Local Now, YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV. Iowa PBS programs, behind-the-scenes extras and more can be enjoyed on iowapbs.org, Facebook and YouTube. Viewers can also stream their favorite shows on demand using the PBS App, available on iOS, Android and many streaming devices.
Learn more at iowapbs.org.
For more information about Iowa PBS, please contact Sarah Lewis at 515.214.7895 or sarah.lewis@iowapbs.org.
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As Iowa’s only statewide television network, Iowa PBS’s mission to educate, inform, enrich and inspire Iowans guides its quality, noncommercial programming that tells Iowa’s stories like no one else can. Four statewide, public channels offer programs of lasting value to Iowans, regardless of where they live or what they can afford: Iowa PBS .1, Iowa PBS KIDS .2, Iowa PBS WORLD .3 and Iowa PBS Create .4 on Channel 11, Des Moines; Channel 12, Iowa City; Channel 21, Fort Dodge; Channel 24, Mason City; Channel 27, Sioux City; Channel 32, Waterloo; Channel 32, Council Bluffs; Channel 36, Davenport; Channel 36, Red Oak. More information can be found at iowapbs.org.
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Andrew Batt