WOSU Public Media announced a $12 million capital campaign to support a modern, dynamic new headquarters. The facility will enable WOSU to expand and enhance its programming for the more than two million citizens it reaches in Ohio through television, radio, digital, and educational services.
Since 1920, WOSU Public Media has delivered engaging local and global programming, civic discourse, front-row access to classical music performances, and lifelong learning experiences. It has done so for nearly 50 years from the basement of the Fawcett Center on the campus of The Ohio State University. In order to continue to have a vital community impact in an ever-changing multimedia landscape, WOSU must be accessible and visible.
“At the nexus of campus and community, the new facility will have some very public spaces that will connect Columbus and Ohio State’s campus to WOSU in a new model for public media and our community,” said Tom Rieland, general manager of WOSU Public Media. “This will be an extremely flexible and open facility that will allow us to change as media evolves.”
The headquarters will be located at the corner of East 14th Avenue and Pearl Alley as part of Campus Partners’ 15th+HIGH project.
The facility will feature a 2,200 square foot community studio, expanded newsroom, TV and radio production studios and a state-of-the art media learning lab. Experiential activities will grow tremendously as the new headquarters will be home to more than 200 community events each year.
To date, individual and corporate donors have committed more than $9 million of the “New Place. New Space. New Experience.”
Campaign goal, including a $5 million gift from Andy and Sandy Ross previously announced to name the Andy and Sandy Ross Community Studio. Additional gifts of note include $2 million from the L Brands Foundation for the L Brands Foundation Television Studio and $1 million from the American Electric Power Foundation for the American Electric Power Foundation Community Terrace.
Design, development and construction for the new WOSU headquarters is led by Campus Partners, Meyers + Associates
Architecture, Russ Berger Design Group, Jezerinac Geers & Associates Inc., EMH&T, MKSK, and Prater Engineering Associates. To learn more about the WOSU Capital Campaign, visit wosu.org/campaign.
A licensee of The Ohio State University, WOSU Public Media is a nonprofit, community supported, noncommercial multimedia organization serving 31 counties in Ohio. An NPR and PBS affiliate, WOSU offers programming and services through two public radio stations (89.7 NPR News and Classical 101), a public TV station made up of four channels (WOSU TV, WOSU Plus, WOSU Ohio and WOSU Kids), a mobile app, and two websites (wosu.org and columbusneighborhoods.org).
