The City of Oshkosh appears to be walking back its stance on Oshkosh Media, although the futures of its public access channel and radio station appear to be in jeopardy.
A piece in the March 15, 2026 issue of The Oshkosh Northwestern covered the issue. According to the story:
Oshkosh City Manager Rebecca Grill and newly hired Communications and Engagement Manager Drew Bailey are apologizing for the miscommunication surrounding Life TV and 101.9 FM, saying the city’s termination of both services were meant to be discussed as potential options— not definitive plans.
Both officials expressed regrets during a March 10 Common Council session following a disastrous meeting last week when Bailey erroneously told Friends of Oshkosh Community Media the city would no longer produce Life TV and 101.9 as of May 15.
“My expectations of that meeting were that staff would share some things we are looking into for the future and potential timeline as part of that review,” Grill told the council and community members, “not a definite transition plan.”
“Change is never easy and we certainly don’t want to make it harder by falling short in communication, collaboration or clarity . . . those are a must for our organization,” Grill added.
Grill’s comments were made in response to massive community outrage leveled at City Hall after Friends of Oshkosh Community Media members took to social media to say they would no longer be allowed to produce Life TV shows and 101.9 FM at Oshkosh Media.
Bailey confirmed meeting with FOCM’s board in a phone interview with The Northwestern. Bailey said the decision has been made as Oshkosh Media’s spaces are being restructured to facilitate increasing the new Communications and Engagement staff complement from three to eight.
Local producers subsequently sent letters to the Common Council, demanding answers before turning up at the March 10 meeting and voicing their disapproval during public comments.
Calling for an extension to the proposed May 15 timeline, FOCM President Russ Potratz said the abrupt notice left them no room for responsible planning, community input or the preservation of their services.
“It also jeopardizes the long-term future assets that we own, like our radio license and the radio tower,” Potratz said.
Discussion surrounding Oshkosh Media’s restructuring was not on the initial meeting agenda — forcing the council to move Grill and Bailey’s statements earlier in the agenda so they preceded public comments.
Six of the first seven speakers at the meeting spoke against the proposed “dismantling” of Oshkosh Media as council spent the first 80 minutes of the meeting addressing the unscheduled item.
Local producer John Nieman claimed a WLUK-TV Fox 11 crew and he were unable to enter Oshkosh Media to shoot footage of the producer’s awards for a story about the meeting with Bailey.
Bailey expressed regret for how things were handled, saying he could have done better with the initial communication.
What is the future of Oshkosh Media?
Both Grill and Bailey said the city will continue to air Gov TV on Channel 10 while reviewing the future of Life TV and 101.9 under the same potential timeline of May 15.
The proposed moves are central to a $776,110 project to create the new Communications and Engagement division under the city manager’s office in Oshkosh’s $236 million operating budget adopted last November.
As part of Oshkosh Media’s overhaul, the new communications arm repositions marketing employees from other departments while potentially adding a couple of new hires in an effort to cover the city’s social media needs that were previously outsourced to third parties.
The new Communications and Engagement Division would also be tasked with building a new city website and condensing Oshkosh’s numerous social media pages across various city departments.
Other opposition to Oshkosh Media restructuring?
Local producer Cheryl Hentz questioned the transparency of the move. She said the decision was ‘Shrouded in secrecy” and “appeared to have been made unilaterally by the current city manager” without input from the council.
Despite not agreeing with the process, Mayor Matt Mugerauer and council member Karl Buelow explained that Grill “did not go rogue,” because the department was tasked with drastically improving the city’s communications.
“Under our form of government, the council established policy direction and priorities and the city manager is responsible for implementing these priorities and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the organization,” Grill said.
“At the same time,” Grill added, “just because something may fall within that authority does not mean it should happen without appropriate communication and insight from the community and the council.”
