Donovan Reynolds, President and General Manager of Louisville Public Media since 2006, will retire from his position on Sept. 30. He told the staff and board in meetings Thursday afternoon.
“It’s been a great privilege to lead Louisville Public Media during the last 10 years,” Reynolds said. “Working with an amazing staff, a strong and supportive board, and hundreds of dedicated volunteers, we’ve been able to dramatically grow our organization and improve our service to the community.”
Louisville Public Media is home to 89.3 WFPL, Louisville’s NPR news station, and the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting; 91.9 WFPK Radio Louisville; and Classical 90.5 WUOL. It is also the hub of two regional journalism collaborations: the Kentucky Public Radio Network and the Ohio River Network.
During Reynolds’ tenure, LPM invested heavily in growing its news operation. The WFPL newsroom has expanded significantly during the past decade, adding new areas of coverage along with reporters and editors. Most recently, LPM has made a major investment in WFPL’s digital strategy.
Under Reynolds, LPM created the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting to fill the gap in serious, long-form watchdog reporting. And he initiated a new regional journalism collaboration involving public radio and television stations in Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio with startup funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. LPM will be the hub of the new reporting effort, which will focus on environment, health and education issues affecting the entire region.
A major fundraising effort led by Reynolds and LPM’s development team has already raised more than $5 million to renovate the organization’s Fourth Street headquarters, replace aging transmitters and hire new editorial staff. He served two terms as board chair of the Kentucky Public Radio Network and was instrumental in establishing greater cooperation in development and programming among the state’s public radio stations.
“Our community, our listeners and the staff of Louisville Public Media have benefitted greatly from Donovan’s leadership over the past 10 years,” said Todd Lowe, chair of LPM’s board. “His insights and judgment have set the stage for Louisville Public Media to provide value to our listeners for the next 10 years and beyond.”
Lowe said the board would initiate a national search for Reynolds’ successor.
Before coming to Louisville, Reynolds served as Director of Broadcasting at the University of Michigan and Executive Director of both Michigan Public Radio and California Public Radio. He was a Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan in 1994-95.
