Keeping Public Media Relevant In a Time of Vast Change

Don Baer is a Spring 2020 Walter Shorenstein Fellow. He has had a career that spans roles as a media and communications executive for a range of business, government, political and non-profit enterprises. Since 2014 he has been the Chair of PBS’s Board of Directors. He is also the lead independent director and member of the Board of Directors of the Meredith Corporation, a publicly held media company that owns magazines, television stations and online services.

From 2012-18, Baer was Worldwide CEO and Chair of the strategic communications firm Burson-Marsteller, and was Global Chair of its successor firm BCW from 2018-19. Previously he was White House Communications Director and Chief Speechwriter for President Bill Clinton, and helped lead his 1996 re-election campaign. Baer is also a former journalist covering national affairs and politics, a media executive at Discovery Communications, and a lawyer.

While at the Kennedy School, Baer will lead a series of study groups on the potential intersection between public media and the private sector in the national conversation, as well as participate in other activities at the Shorenstein Center, the Center for Public Leadership, and HKS. His fellowship is co-sponsored by the Center for Public Leadership.