PBS named Malcolm Brett, director of Wisconsin Public Broadcasting, as the 2018 recipient of the Daniel K. Miller Station Leadership Award. The annual award recognizes a current or former PBS station manager or a manager in the public media system whose leadership, vision, courage, and commitment to the mission of public media have inspired their colleagues and had a lasting impact in their communities.
PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger presented the award May 8 at the company’s annual gathering of member stations in New Orleans.
“Malcolm has always understood that our service to the American people is only as successful as our ability to forge strong ties between stations and communities,” Kerger said. “He has contributed so much to his hometown of Madison, the state of Wisconsin and indeed the entire country. It’s hard to imagine our system without him, but I know that public broadcasting will benefit from his extraordinary legacy for years to come.”
Brett’s three decades of service have spanned strategic planning, corporate development, production management, government relations and community relations, and he held roles including director of television and executive director of Friends of Wisconsin Public Television. As station leader, he directed WPT’s digital conversion and helped shape national public television models with community partners, such as the “Safe Night USA” project, which created youth-focused events to prevent violence.
Brett has been recognized throughout his career for sharing his knowledge and expertise with colleagues across public media and serving as a mentor to those coming up in the field. In 1998, he was named PBS Development Professional of the Year. From 2008 to 2014, he served as a director on the PBS Board, including a term as vice chair. He also served as a member of the PBS Development Advisory Committee.
In addition to his role at WPT, Brett serves as director of the Broadcast and Media Innovations extension program at the University of Wisconsin.
The Daniel K. Miller Station Leadership Award is named in honor of Dan Miller, a longtime executive director and general manager of Iowa Public Television who died in February 2018. Receiving the inaugural PBS Station Leadership Award in 2016, Miller was recognized for his outstanding contributions to public media as a leader at the local level as well as across the system as a whole. In 2017, former executive director of Arkansas Educational Television Network Allen Weatherly was named the recipient and was posthumously celebrated for his dedicated leadership.
