The purpose of the present study is to present a model for realizing a public university for the national media with an audience literacy enhancement approach. The current research is an applied study and, in terms of methodology, qualitative research. The statistical population of the study consisted of 20 experts in the fields of media and culture, as well as senior managers of the national media. The sampling method in this research was snowball sampling, and the sample size was determined at the point of theoretical saturation. In this study, interviews based on the Strauss and Corbin approach were used as the data collection tool. The qualitative analysis method was grounded theory. Accordingly, three stages of open, axial, and selective coding were performed on the semantic phrases extracted from the interviews. To confirm the validity of the codes, the CVR index was used, and for reliability, Cohen's Kappa coefficient was employed. The present research, utilizing the grounded theory data analysis method and domestic and international experiences, has identified the effective components for realizing a public university in the national media with an audience literacy enhancement approach. The causal factors mainly include quality-oriented policy-making, assessment of educational needs, scientific knowledge enhancement, converting knowledge into institutionalized behavior, and utilizing credible sources, which require redefining the media's identity as an educational-institutional entity. Contextual factors, as enablers, include barriers such as the exclusive governmental structure, human resource limitations, and external digital competition, as well as opportunities like the experience of the COVID-19 crisis and global literacy transformations, the success of which depends on their intelligent management. Intervening factors, with roles in strengthening or weakening, include challenges such as focus on superficial entertainment and ideological restrictions, and solutions such as audience interaction, innovative content models, and synergy with educational institutions. The proposed strategies focus on simultaneous changes at the levels of content (production of credible and indirect educational material), form (attractiveness and genre diversity), and structure (audience-centered research and network specialization) to transform the national media into a lifelong learning platform. The expected outcomes include the institutionalization of various types of literacy, sustainable behavioral change, increased trust and media authority, strengthened national cohesion, resistance against cognitive warfare, and reconstruction of the country's social capital.