VIA Public Media announces Carla McCabe as new president/CEO

PITTSTON — VIA Public Media new President/CEO Carla McCabe on Monday said the need and importance of public media in our communities continues to grow, especially in light of recent events.

McCabe was announced as the person to lead VIA’s northeastern and central Pennsylvania public TV and radio stations.

The Board of Directors of VIA Public Media, which operates WVIA, the PBS and NPR affiliate for Northeastern and North Central Pennsylvania, announced that McCabe is the organization’s new President and CEO.

McCabe, who currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of KCPT in Kansas City, Mo., will take over leadership of VIA Public Media on July 13.

“We are proud that Carla has agreed to take the helm at VIA Public Media,” said Jay Lemons, the Chair of the VIA Public Media Board of Directors. “She has the talent, energy, and vision to guide VIA Public Media in exciting directions and take it to new levels.”

Peter Frieder, VIA Public Media vice chair, who headed the search committee, said the five-month national search attracted an impressive array of candidates.

“But our search committee and the entire board reached the conclusion that Carla, who has proven herself to be a rising star in public media, is the best person to lead WVIA into the future,” Frieder said.

McCabe has extensive experience in public media and television production. As Chief Operating Officer at KCPT, or Kansas City PBS, she oversaw the media company’s three brands — KCPT, 90.9 The Bridge, and Flatland, KCPT’s digital magazine.

Her areas of responsibility included overseeing the annual operating budget, serving as senior advisor to the President/CEO and managing all aspects of television, radio, digital, education and marketing. During the course of nearly seven years with KCPT, she also served as Operations Director, Vice President for Digital and Multimedia and Senior Vice President for Content.

Prior to joining KCPT, McCabe was Head of Production at Tern Television Productions Ltd. in the United Kingdom, overseeing productions for broadcasters, including the BBC, RTE, and National Geographic.

She began her career in media and broadcasting with the BBC in Northern Ireland. McCabe earned her BSc from Manchester Metropolitan University in England, and a Masters (MSc) from the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.

“I am excited for this opportunity to join the talented team at VIA Public Media,” said McCabe. “ I look forward to impacting the lives of our neighbors in this region by ensuring this service remains relevant and effective.”

McCabe added, “WVIA has a talented staff, a solid financial position, and a long history of developing inspirational, educational and entertaining programming. With this strong foundation, as we lean into the new media landscape, we can meet our audiences no matter where they are on television, radio, social media and in the community.”

“Carla is intelligent and effective and has been instrumental in evolving our organization and building our talented team,” said Kliff Kuehl, President and CEO of Kansas City PBS. “Her leadership has paved the way for KCPT, 90.9 The Bridge, and Flatland to expand services, audiences, and revenues in recent years. We will miss having her on our team — but I’m excited to see her take her energy and talent to WVIA.”

The VIA board expressed its thanks to Chris Norton and the VIA senior leadership team for their superb leadership and stewardship over the last several months and to the entire staff for its continued dedication and hard work.

Norton, VIA’s Senior Vice President, served as VIA’s executive-in-charge after former President and CEO Tom Curra stepped down late last year and was a member of the search committee.