Executive Action: Louisville Public Media
• In the wake of federal funding cuts and industry-wide challenges facing public media, Louisville Public Media has reimagined its approach to content creation and distribution. President & CEO Kenya Young announced the promotion of three LPM content leaders designed to maximize LPM’s impact while adapting to the evolving landscape of public media.
Young has named Bec Feldhaus Adams as Executive Editor of News, Daniel Gilliam as Director of Programming, and Laura Ellis as Director of On-Demand and Digital Strategy. These newly created roles will coordinate content strategy across LPM’s three distinct properties — LPM News, Triple A WFPK Musicand WUOL Classical — while ensuring each maintains its unique identity and service to diverse audiences. Pictured, (l-r): Adams, Gilliam, & Ellis
“This restructure positions Louisville Public Media to better serve its community while building sustainable foundations for the future,” Young said. “We looked strategically at our in-house talent and how we can be more intentional in leveraging our greatest strengths — our outstanding journalism and music programming, and our community connection — while building the coordination and digital capacity we need to thrive.”
Adams will oversee all news operations for LPM News, ensuring editorial integrity and strategic coordination across local reporting, investigative work, and collaborative journalism partnerships. As part of the newsroom restructure, Amina Elahi has been named LPM News Managing Editor, and Giselle Rhoden has been promoted to Arts & Culture Reporter.
While still handling his regular duties at WUOL, Gilliam will coordinate programming strategy across WUOL Classical, Triple A WFPK Music, and WFPL News programming to maximize cross-promotional opportunities and audience engagement, while Ellis will focus on digital platform development and multi-platform content distribution.
“It’s never lost on me the breadth of talent and passion we have at LPM, in every department,” said Gilliam. “It’s an honor to lead the voices behind the microphones and the shows our listeners love across all three stations. I look forward to working closely with Bec and Laura to ensure LPM’s programming and content reaches as many people as possible.”
The three-pillar model creates strategic coordination while preserving the distinct identities of each station property. This approach allows the organization to maximize its share of audience attention while building sustainable operations that can adapt to changing funding realities.
And speaking of which… this leadership transition comes as public media organizations nationwide face budget pressures from reduced federal funding and changing audience consumption patterns. LPM’s response focuses on leveraging existing strengths while building new capabilities for multi-platform engagement. [Photos by J. Tyler Franklin / LPM]
