FOR RELEASE: December 10, 2025

Contact: Richard T. Kaplar
The Media Institute
703-506-8986

Vienna, Va., Dec. 10, 2025 – Richard T. Kaplar, who joined The Media Institute in 1981 and rose to become only the third President and CEO in its history, has announced he will step down on Jan. 31, 2026. The Institute’s Board of Trustees has selected former FCC commissioner Michael O’Rielly as his successor.

“I’ve had the privilege of advancing The Media Institute’s mission for 44 years and especially during these last eight years as its head. It’s been extremely satisfying, but I think it’s time for change,” Kaplar said. “I fully support Mike O’Rielly and I look forward to his energy and ideas for the Institute.” Kaplar plans to remain as a consultant.

Kaplar joined the Institute in 1981 and served as Vice President from 1984 to 2016. He became Executive Director in 2016 and kept that title when he became head of the Institute in January 2018. He was named President and CEO in December 2018.

Kaplar has written, edited, or produced more than 40 books and monographs on a variety of topics in the communications policy field. His areas of interest include the First Amendment and freedom of speech; competition and market economics; and government regulation of the communications industry.

As president, Kaplar launched the Digital Media Center in 2020; “The Madison Project: Free Speech and Press in American Democracy” in 2023; and created the Institute’s Fellows Program that includes Senior Fellow Michael O’Rielly, Distinguished Senior Fellow and Digital Media Laureate Stuart N. Brotman, and James Madison Fellow Patrick Butler.

Kaplar has been involved in the creation of every enduring program in the Institute’s history, including the Communications Forum Luncheon Series in 1981, the Institute’s annual awards banquet in 1992 (which he rebranded “Free Speech America” Gala in 2018), and Free Speech Week (originally Freedom of Speech Week) in 2005.

“I am humbled by the Board’s selection of me to replace Rick Kaplar, who has so ably and honorably served The Media Institute for decades,” said Michael O’Rielly. “The organization’s defense and promotion of the principles within the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment remain critical to our nation and political discourse, and will be central to my work at The Media Institute,” he said.

O’Rielly, President of MPORielly Consulting Inc., based in Arlington, Va., was a Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission from 2013 through 2020.

At the FCC, Commissioner O’Rielly was known as a supporter of innovation in the media industry, including NextGen TV, 5G wireless networks, and bringing broadband services to unserved Americans. He was a champion of diversity in media ownership and worked diligently to modernize FCC regulations that hampered media growth and innovation.

O’Rielly came to the FCC from Capitol Hill, where he spent almost 20 years on both the House and Senate sides. From 2010 to 2013 he held several positions, including policy advisor in the Office of the Senate Republican Whip. Before that, he worked for the Senate Republican Policy Committee as a policy analyst.

O’Rielly began his Senate career in 2003 working for Senator John Sununu. He began his House career in 1994 working for Rep. Tom Bliley and then worked on the House Energy and Commerce Committee until 2003.

O’Rielly is a Senior Fellow of The Media Institute and is a member of the Institute’s First Amendment Advisory Council. He also serves on the Steering Committee of the Institute’s Madison Project.

“With a career spanning five decades, Rick Kaplar has been an inspirational leader of the Institute. But we both are pleased to welcome Mike O’Rielly as our new and outstanding President and CEO,” said Richard E. Wiley, Chairman of The Media Institute’s Board of Trustees.

The Media Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization specializing in communications policy and the First Amendment. Visit the Institute at www.mediainstitute.org.

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