O’Rielly Named Pres. & CEO, The Media Institute
• After more than four decades of service to The Media Institute, Pres. & CEO Richard T. Kaplar announced he will step down, effective Jan. 31, 2026. The Institute’s Board of Trustees has selected former FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly as his successor.
Kaplar (left) joined The Media Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization specializing in communications policy and the First Amendment in 1981, and rose to become only the third President & CEO in its history.
“I’ve had the privilege of advancing The Media Institute’s mission for 44 years, and especially during these last eight years as its head. It’s been extremely satisfying, but I think it’s time for change,” Kaplar said. “I fully support Mike O’Rielly, and I look forward to his energy and ideas for the Institute.” Kaplar plans to remain as a consultant to the Institute.
“With a career spanning five decades, Rick Kaplar has been an inspirational leader of the Institute,” said Richard E. Wiley, Chairman of The Media Institute’s Board of Trustees. “We both are pleased to welcome Mike O’Rielly as our new and outstanding President & CEO.”
“I am humbled by the Board’s selection of me to replace Rick Kaplar, who has so ably and honorably served The Media Institute for decades,” said O’Rielly, President of MPORielly Consulting Inc., based in Arlington, VA, and who served as an FCC Commissioner from 2013 through 2020. During his tenure, O’Rielly was known as a supporter of innovation in the media industry, including NextGen TV, 5G wireless networks, and bringing broadband services to unserved Americans. He was a champion of diversity in media ownership and worked diligently to modernize FCC regulations that hampered media growth and innovation.
O’Rielly added, “The organization’s defense and promotion of the principles within the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment remain critical to our nation and political discourse and will be central to my work at The Media Institute,” he said.
