On June 15, UT Austin fired Debbie Hiott, general manager of KUT Public Media, after she publicly disputed the university's claims about a festival cancellation. She had led the station for seven years and served on NPR's national board. No one had communicated any performance concerns before her termination meeting. The interim dean told her she had "lost her faith" in Hiott's leadership.
KUT is licensed to UT Austin. Its staff are university employees. The station covers Texas government, education policy, and UT itself. When the university fires a station leader for contradicting the administration publicly, every reporter at KUT gets the message: challenge the university and you could lose your job.
This fits a pattern. UT revised Rule 31003 in May 2026 to let presidents eliminate programs without faculty review. Seven departments were folded into two umbrella units. Faculty were not consulted on governance changes that affect their jobs and academic freedom. Two-thirds of faculty in red states say they would not recommend their state to colleagues, and the top reason Texas faculty give for leaving is the political climate.
Public media stations housed at state universities need statutory editorial independence protections. The station's journalism should not be subject to retaliation by the institution it covers. I am asking you to introduce or support legislation requiring that public media stations at Texas public universities operate with editorial independence from university administration, including protections against termination of newsroom leaders for public statements about station operations.
Texans deserve public media that can report on state institutions without fear of being fired for it.
