Last week, when the decision to defund public media was handed down, my thoughts turned to Gen. Colin Powell.
You might be asking, “Of all people, why did you think of Gen. Powell? It’s not like his name is synonymous with public media.” Well, he did support several major PBS projects like American Graduate and the annual A Capitol Fourth concert. But Powell’s closest association was with, of course, the military. He was an Army man who eventually became secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He was the first Black person to serve in both of those senior posts. He died in 2021of complications from COVID-19.
I have long admired Colin Powell. I’ve read all of his books and memorized more than a few of his quotes. Early on in my tenure as a public media leader, I hung a framed list of Powell’s 13 Rules of Leadership in my office. The first rule on that list? “It ain’t as bad as you think! It will look better in the morning.” Another on that list, “Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.”
Both of those rules were helpful to me as I began to process the news last Friday about the rescission of $1.1 billion in federal funding previously appropriated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. This legislation completely defunds federal public media dollars for the first time in its history.
For PBS and NPR stations across the country, this is a time of great concern and uncertainty, as all stations are now faced with the dilemma of how to serve with less financial support. For Ideastream Public Media, less support translates into approximately $2.6 million, or just under 10% of our annual operating budget. “Remain calm and be kind” is another one of Powell’s leadership rules.
At this writing leaders at Ideastream Public Media are working on the 2026 fiscal year budget plan. Our new fiscal year starts Oct. 1, 2025. Despite the aforementioned funding cuts, our plan is to preserve services at their current levels. Ideastream Public Media remains committed to delivering on its mission, which is to be a trustworthy and dynamic multimedia source for illuminating the world around us. Another Colin Powell leadership rule? “Have a vision - be demanding.”
Kevin Martin, president and CEO of Ideastream Public Media, said this late last week after the rescission vote.
"What will not change is our unwavering commitment to providing trusted news and information, music, arts and culture, and educational services that our audiences across Northeast Ohio and beyond have relied on for decades. We recognize the uncertainty this development brings, but we also know that our greatest strength lies in our people, our community, and our shared purpose. We will continue to operate with resolve and transparency as we work to build a sustainable path forward for public media.”
What would Powell say today if he were alive and worked with me at Ideastream Public Media? Well, being a military man, he’d likely tell me to get my hair cut. But after that, he would probably share one other leadership rule on his list -- a phrase that more and more of us are saying around here these days.
“It can be done!”
"The Cut" is featured in Ideastream Public Media's weekly newsletter, The Frequency Week in Review. To get The Frequency Week in Review, The Daily Frequency or any of our newsletters, sign up on Ideastream's newsletter subscription page.
