Public Media Under Pressure: Why It Matters & What Can Be Done

Join us for an engaging conversation with local public media leaders about current challenges--including federal funding cuts--and pathways forward for sustaining public service journalism.

Speakers include:

• Rob Dunlop, President and CEO, Cascade PBS
• David Fischer, President and General Manager, KNKX
• Tina Pamintuan, incoming President and CEO, KUOW
• Matthew Powers, UW Professor and Co-Director, Center for Journalism, Media and Democracy

About the speakers

Rob Dunlop

Rob Dunlop is the president & chief executive officer of Cascade PBS, a nonprofit public media organization serving western and central Washington State and British Columbia, Canada. Cascade PBS creates local original series such as Mossback’s Northwest, The Nosh, Nick on the Rock, and The Newsfeed; as well as distributing programming from PBS, American Public Television and other national and international partners. In addition, Cascade PBS has a newsroom of more than 30 journalists working on investigative series and reporting on local and state government. The organization’s work extends into the community through numerous public engagement activities.

Dunlop joined Cascade PBS in 2013 from Fisher Communications, where he served as Executive Vice President of Operations. He was responsible for the operational and financial performance of the company’s television, radio and digital media properties across the western United States as well as the company’s enterprise strategy, technology, M&A and real estate. Prior to that, he served in a variety of media roles include research consultant, news producer, and news anchor/host.

Dunlop currently serves on the board of directors of PBS, American Public Television, and Signal Infrastructure Group, a company created to design, build, and operate Single-Frequency Networks and deliver cloud-based master control solutions to media companies across the U.S. He is also a partner and Chief Financial Officer for BroVo Spirits, a James Beard nominated craft distillery, which makes a range of modifier ingredients including vermouth, amaro, and numerous single-note and complex liqueurs.
He holds a BA in organizational psychology from The Ohio State University and an MBA from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington.

David Fischer

David Fischer is the president and general manager of KNKX Public Radio. He has held the position since 2024. He was most recently at Tacoma Arts Live, where he served as CEO for nearly 18 years, and prior at Santa Rosa California's, Luther Burbank Center, for nearly six years. He is recognized for his work in historic theater restoration, youth education, diverse programming, and audience development. He has worked in the theater as a professional producer, director and actor throughout the West Coast. Fischer has served as a volunteer board member for more than a dozen nonprofit organizations, including service as board president for the Western Arts Alliance, Arts Network and Cultural Access WA. The latter organization helped secure state legislation allowing communities to tax themselves in support of arts, heritage and science. Then, Fischer co-led the campaign to enable local tax funding in Tacoma.

Tina Pamintuan

Tina Pamintuan has spent over 20 years in journalism as a producer, educator, and public media leader. She’s the incoming president and CEO of KUOW / Puget Sound Public Radio, and previously led stations in San Francisco and St. Louis. Her trajectory in leadership began at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism in New York where she founded its audio journalism program. She started her career in media as an intern at National Public Radio and now sits on the company’s board of directors.

Matt Powers

Matthew Powers is professor and co-director of the Center for Journalism, Media and Democracy. He is the author of The Journalist's Predicament (with Sandra Vera-Zambrano, 2023), and NGOs as Newsmakers (2018), as well as co-editor, with Adrienne Russell of Media Research for Changing Societies (2020).

This in-person event will be held at Mary Gates Hall (MGH) Room 389.