Iowa PBS Hires Director of Programming and Production

Iowa PBS Executive Director and General Manager Molly Phillips has announced that Andrew Batt, senior producer of Iowa Press, Iowa Land and Sky and the Upper Midwest Emmy award-winning Caucus Iowa: Journey to the Presidency, has accepted the position of Director of Programming and Production at Iowa PBS. Batt will begin leading a team of highly creative content producers and public television professionals immediately.

“We invested in a competitive, nationwide search because the director of programming and production is critically important to the network’s success and future,” said Phillips. “Andrew’s experience in local content creation from concept to completion and his unimpeachable commitment to editorial integrity led to his promotion. He will do an outstanding job in his new role.”

The director of programming and production oversees approximately 35 managers, producers and directors, and public television professional staff in local content production and statewide programming across four channels. The director also participates in developing the network’s strategic plan and works closely with the Friends of Iowa PBS Foundation to achieve collaborative goals.

“Iowa PBS has a unique role in telling the story of Iowa from the perspective of our collective politics, culture, nature, agriculture, history and more,” said Batt. “This statewide network is well positioned to tell those stories and cover issues from border to border. I’m honored to lead these efforts into the future.”

Batt is from Council Bluffs, Iowa and is a 2006 graduate of Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and mass communications and a minor in political science. He completed the WETA News Academy, led by WETA-TV, PBS NewsHour and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, in 2008. He completed the PBS/NPR Editorial Integrity and Leadership Initiative in 2020. He earned his Master of Science degree in digital audience strategy from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University, as well as a Leadership 101 course from the National Educational Television Association in 2021.

Batt lives in Johnston, Iowa with his wife, two daughters and a new son. He is a certified FAA aerial drone pilot and an ardent outdoors enthusiast.