New Jersey is getting its public television back. On July 1, Montclair State University becomes the new programming and management operator of NJ PBS, the state’s four public television broadcast licenses. The university beat out three other bidders in an open bidding process run by the state. After months of uncertainty about whether public television would survive in New Jersey at all, the answer is yes, and the team running it will be based on a campus 12 miles from Manhattan.
This is a significant deal for Montclair and the state.
How NJ PBS Almost Went Dark
The crisis started with money. Federal funding cuts hit public broadcasters hard this year, and New Jersey’s stations were not spared. WNET, the New York-based broadcaster that had run NJ PBS since 2011, announced it was stepping back after the state cut its funding by 75%. For several months, nobody knew if New Jersey would keep its public television stations.
The state moved quickly. The New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority and New Jersey State Treasurer ran an open bidding process. Four organizations submitted proposals. Montclair State won.
The contract runs five years with two possible five-year extensions, a long-term commitment rather than a stopgap. The Legislature has 15 days to review it before it takes effect. Lawmakers have already signaled strong support for keeping public television alive, so opposition is not expected.
“Public broadcasting is a vital public service that ensures New Jersey families have access to trusted news, educational programming, and information about their communities,” Governor Sherrill said in the official announcement. “At a time when local journalism faces growing challenges, today’s action keeps this essential service alive in New Jersey.”
What Montclair State University Has Committed to for NJ PBS
Starting July 1, MSU takes responsibility for programming all four stations: WNJS, WNJN, WNJT and WNJB, which together reach every region of the state.
The commitments are specific. At minimum, six hours of New Jersey-focused programming per week. A daily newscast, a weekly public affairs roundtable and live coverage of the Governor’s State of the State, Budget Message and statewide elections. Sports coverage, digital content and in-person public events round out the schedule.
More than 20 full-time employees will run the operation at launch, including three reporters and a production team of 11. MSU students will work alongside them through internships and supervised learning. Job listings will be posted at montclair.edu as positions open.
The university is also contributing $1.2 million annually in non-cash resources: studio access, engineering knowledge, IT infrastructure, legal support and facilities management. That keeps the budget lean without cutting what viewers will actually see.
Why Montclair State Was the Right Call
Running a statewide television network requires infrastructure most universities don’t have. MSU does.
The station will be housed in MSU’s College of Communication and Media. The College already runs a radio station, a student newspaper, a sports network, a streaming platform and a multimedia newsroom. Its facilities include professional broadcast studios, multiple control rooms and engineering infrastructure built for network-level production. It has won Edward R. Murrow Awards and Student Emmy nominations. About 2,000 students are enrolled in programs ranging from journalism to film to sports communication.
The piece that makes this work statewide is the Center for Cooperative Media, also based at MSU. The Center has spent a more than a decade building working relationships with more than 300 New Jersey news organizations. That existing network becomes the backbone of NJ PBS’s statewide journalism model. The reporting will not come from one campus.
“New Jersey has one of the most extraordinary media landscapes in the country, and we will fully leverage and highlight the breadth of voices and storytellers across the state,” said Dr. Keith Strudler, Dean of the College of Communication and Media, in the official announcement. “We look forward to building a media ecosystem that resembles and is accountable to the people of New Jersey, one that provides unique educational and workforce development opportunities to our state’s future leaders and media creators.”
For a town that has watched its university grow from a teachers college to a nationally ranked research university, this is the next chapter. NJ PBS is coming home, and it is landing in Montclair.Follow the transition at njpbs.org and montclair.edu.
Image credit: Montclair State University
