{"id":241069,"date":"2026-04-21T23:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/241069\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T23:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:29:11","slug":"wjct-public-media-selects-geri-cirillo-as-interim-president-and-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/241069\/","title":{"rendered":"WJCT Public Media selects Geri Cirillo as interim president and CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"h937901-p1\" class=\"permalinkable\">WJCT Public Media announced that executive Geri Cirillo will serve as interim president and CEO of the organization following the retirement of David McGowan on April 17.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h937901-p2\" class=\"permalinkable\">In an April 21 news release, the Jacksonville media organization said Cirillo had held several leadership positions at WJCT through a career spanning more than 30 years. Her most recent role was senior vice president and chief operating officer.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h937901-p3\" class=\"permalinkable\">McGowan served eight years as president and CEO, starting in January 2018. WJCT announced his retirement in October. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"h937901-p4\" class=\"permalinkable\">\u201cGeri possesses a comprehensive understanding of WJCT Public Media\u2019s audiences, community partners, team members and opportunities. Her institutional knowledge is matched only by the trust she has earned across our editorial, underwriting and development operations, as well as the donor community that supports our mission,\u201d said Bill Hendrich, chair of WJCT Public Media\u2019s board of trustees, in the release.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"David McGowan\" class=\"media-element file-default fr-fic fr-dii\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/David_McGowan_t850.jpg\" title=\"David McGowan\"\/><\/p>\n<p>David McGowan<\/p>\n<p id=\"h937901-p5\" class=\"permalinkable\">The community-owned and -funded organization said it is working with DRiWaterstone, an executive search, leadership and advisory firm, on a national search for WJCT\u2019s next long-term president and CEO.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"h937901-p6\" class=\"permalinkable\">WJCT said Cirillo\u2019s board-approved appointment \u201censures consistency in the organization\u2019s executive team.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"h937901-p7\" class=\"permalinkable\">She will work with Editorial Director Jessica Palombo and Vice President of Development Sarah Dobson to expand the organization\u2019s multiplatform reach and programming.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h937901-p8\" class=\"permalinkable\">\u201cOur team is well-positioned to carry David McGowan\u2019s legacy of innovation forward. As we look to the future, I\u2019m humbled to serve in this capacity and ensure that our team has the support, guidance and resources to deliver on our mission every day,\u201d Cirillo said in the release.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The WJCT Public Media studio and offices at 100 Festival Park Ave. in Downtown Jacksonville along the Northbank of the St. Johns River south of Everbank Stadium.\" class=\"media-element file-default fr-fic fr-dii\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WJCT_entrance_croped_t850.jpg\" title=\"The WJCT Public Media studio and offices at 100 Festival Park Ave. in Downtown Jacksonville along the Northbank of the St. Johns River south of Everbank Stadium.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The WJCT Public Media studio and offices at 100 Festival Park Ave. in Downtown Jacksonville along the Northbank of the St. Johns River south of Everbank Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>WJCT<\/p>\n<p id=\"h937901-p9\" class=\"permalinkable\">WJCT said the appointment comes amid audience growth and engagement that includes its digital-first platform, Jacksonville Today, surpassing 60,000 subscribers to its newsletter and in-person events drawing record attendance in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WJCT Public Media announced that executive Geri Cirillo will serve as interim president and CEO of the organization&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":241070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-241069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}