{"id":361880,"date":"2026-08-03T21:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T21:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/361880\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T21:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T21:18:10","slug":"personnel-note-karen-feagins-named-new-leader-of-jacksonvilles-wjct-public-broadcasting-outlets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/361880\/","title":{"rendered":"Personnel note: Karen Feagins named new leader of Jacksonville’s WJCT public broadcasting outlets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Feagins returns to WJCT in leadership role after parting ways in 2018.<\/p>\n

Jacksonville\u2019s public media headquarters is getting new leadership, sort of.<\/p>\n

Karen Feagins<\/a> has been named President and CEO of WJCT,<\/a> the home of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR) broadcasting outlets for the First Coast well into South Florida. Feagins is filling the position that was vacated by David McGowen, who retired in April.<\/p>\n

Geri Cirillo filled that slot on an interim basis until Feagins was given the nod. Cirillo will return to her post as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer when Feagins assumes the top job Aug. 31.<\/p>\n

For Feagins, getting the job is a return to the public broadcasting outlets after parting ways in 2018. She was with WJCT beginning in 2003, where she rose from reporter to Chief Operating Officer. She left to become Client and Community Relations Director for PNC Bank in the North Florida market.<\/p>\n

She maintained connections to WJCT when she was at PNC serving on the broadcast outlet\u2019s Board of Trustees. Bill Hendrich, Chair of the WJCT Public Media Board of Trustees and Chair of WJCT\u2019s Executive Search Committee, said Feagins is the right fit for the top slot.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cKaren represents exactly what we were looking for as the next leader for WJCT Public Media. She is a talented executive who has a passion for public media and serving the community in which she lives,\u201d Hendrich said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer career path provides great insight into the needs of all the communities that make up WJCT\u2019s service area. I am excited to welcome her back as our new President and CEO.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feagins said she looks forward to returning to what she considers a professional home.<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic media provides a vital service to this community, and my goal is to build on WJCT\u2019s incredible momentum so more people can experience the value of public media in their daily lives,\u201d Feagins said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always been inspired by the passion and dedication of the people at WJCT and their commitment to serving our community. The perspective I\u2019ve gained from the private sector will help us continue to innovate to best serve our audiences, while remaining rooted in the principles of public media.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

WJCT\u2019s radio operation is an NPR outlet on 89.9 FM and Channel 7 for the PBS outlet on television in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Feagins returns to WJCT in leadership role after parting ways in 2018. Jacksonville\u2019s public media headquarters is getting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[147250,147251,9322,147252,57671,147253,116,118,117,147254,71795,71796,25852,5242,64973,83272],"class_list":["post-361880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-89-9-fm","tag-bill-hendrich","tag-ceo","tag-channel-7","tag-chief-operating-officer","tag-client-and-community-relations-director","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-karen-feagins","tag-npr","tag-pbs","tag-pnc-bank","tag-president","tag-public-media","tag-wjct"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361880","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=361880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}