Staff reports | Anthony Padgett, the president and CEO of SCETV, resigned Thursday, effective March 3.
In a 1:26 p.m. Thursday electronic message to staff, Padgett didn’t give a reason for his departure or what he planned to do. Just over an hour later, a press release said Padgett would become the Thomas Rieland Endowed General Manager of WOSU Public Media in Columbus, Ohio, starting March 6. The public media group is affiliated with The Ohio State University.
In the email, Padgett said:
“Over the past six years, I have had the pleasure of leading this group of forward-thinking, creative and passionate individuals. We have accomplished a tremendous number of industry-leading feats with the expansion of our digital programs and podcasts, new educational initiatives and the diversification of our agency resources. I look forward to seeing the great things that will come from the team in the months to come.”
SCETV Commission Chairman Richard Cohn praised Padgett’s tenure at the network.
“Under Anthony’s leadership, SCETV has enhanced its platforms and continued to provide educational resources to the State of South Carolina,” he said. “We (the SCETV Commission) are looking forward to this next chapter in our history and expect to see many more great things from our exceptional staff.”
But Padgett’s career at the statewide public radio and television network has had some hurdles.
In September 2021, the network backed off an exploratory leadership proposal to lease space in its Columbia studio to a private broadcaster following pushback by staff.
That proposal to generate new revenue came two years after a former board chairman and two others resigned after months of drama to try to get more money from SCETV’s nonprofit endowment that has pumped millions of dollars into the network to ensure South Carolinians get high-quality public programming.
In his announcement Padgett told staff more details on a transition plan would emerge over the next week. In the meantime, the network’s executive team would remain in place to lead SCETV.
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