Longtime president and CEO of The Media Institute, Richard Kaplar, has announced that he will step down from his role at the end of January. Former FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly has been named Kaplar’s successor.
Kaplar joined The Media Institute in 1981 and served as vice president from 1984 to 2016. He became executive director in 2016 and kept that title when he became head of the institute in January 2018. He was named president and CEO in December 2018, according to a press release.
“I’ve had the privilege of advancing The Media Institute’s mission for 44 years and especially during these last eight years as its head,” said Kaplar in the release. “It’s been extremely satisfying, but I think it’s time for change.”
Kaplar plans to remain as a consultant to the institute as O’Rielly takes up the mantle.
O’Rielly, president of MPORielly Consulting Inc., based in Arlington, Va., was a Republican commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission from 2013 through 2020.
During his time at the FCC, The Media Institute says O’Rielly was known as a supporter of innovation in the media industry, including NextGen TV, 5G wireless networks and bringing broadband services to unserved Americans. “He was a champion of diversity in media ownership and worked diligently to modernize FCC regulations that hampered media growth and innovation,” said the non-partisan organization.
As an FCC commissioner, O’Rielly also took an active interest in matters related to radio, and he was an advocate for giving the commission more tools to fight pirate broadcasting.
“I am humbled by the board’s selection of me to replace Rick Kaplar, who has so ably and honorably served The Media Institute for decades,” said O’Rielly in the release. “The organization’s defense and promotion of the principles within the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment remain critical to our nation and political discourse, and will be central to my work at The Media Institute.”
O’Rielly came to the FCC from Capitol Hill, where he spent almost 20 years on both the House and Senate sides. From 2010 to 2013 he held several positions, including policy advisor in the Office of the Senate Republican Whip. Before that, he worked for the Senate Republican Policy Committee as a policy analyst.
[Do you receive the Radio World SmartBrief newsletter each weekday morning? We invite you to sign up here.]