PBS Wisconsin, Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Media are saddened by the loss of Ron Bornstein who passed away last week at the age of 91.
Ron was a major figure in public broadcasting, both in Wisconsin and nationally. In Wisconsin, he served as Director of Telecommunications for the University of Wisconsin-Extension and General Manager of both WHA Radio and WHA-TV, now WPR and PBS Wisconsin. On the national level, Ron served as Vice President for Telecommunications with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and was Acting President of National Public Radio in 1983 when he led that organization out of financial trouble and into a new golden era of public radio success. For that work he was often referred to as a “savior of NPR.”
Among Ron’s accomplishments in his time at WHA Radio and TV, he built the broadcasting components of Vilas Hall where WPR’s and PBS Wisconsin’s programs are still produced and built a culture of commitment and accomplishment. He took fierce pride in our work and was always an advocate for reinventing public media.
In 1993, Ron was inducted into the Wisconsin Broadcasters Hall of Fame – watch a video profile here.
We are all enormously proud of and grateful for Ron’s contributions to public media in Wisconsin and across the country. He was a leader, innovator and mentor to many of us. His passion for public media always burned brightly and his legacy lives on in all of our work.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to Ron’s family, friends and colleagues.
