NPR CEO Jarl Mohn To Step Down After 5-Year Term Ends In June, Tensions Build In NPR Newsroom Over Handling Of Sexual Harassment Allegations, NPR Announces Newsroom Job Cuts Amid Restructuring. National Public Radio will reduce its workforce by 10 percent as it grapples with what CEO John Lansing says is a "sharp . So we were pleased to see SAG-AFTRA join our efforts. Last year, however, the U.S. Agency for Global Media came under fire when it emerged that it had bought Facebook ads targeting American citizens, in violation of laws meant to protect Americans from domestic propaganda. In what ways do you think NPR has forced you to grow, and in what areas are you growing that you weren't before NPR? I think we're moving forward. But were going to continue to follow up on that going into this year. The work of those pillars will be done through the lens of improving our efforts on DEI. Its new president and chief executive is John Lansing, a former cable . NPR strives to create a more informed publicone challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and cultures. We had begun a lot of work under [Chief Diversity Officer] Keith Woods' leadership to really move us forward. Mike Morgan/Mike Morgan Were they targeted to specific spending areas or just for general costs? After Lansing hopped over to NPR from USAGM in 2019, NPR had to be prompted by outside critics to include disclaimers on its USAGM/VOA stories to note Lansings past USAGM role. Leading the organization through it all is CEO John Lansing, a longtime media executive who has been on the job since October 2019. I thought, wow. Lansing: Generally, the numbers that we would like to see in terms of the diversity of our audience were still lagging. NPR maintains 17 national bureaus and 17 bureaus abroad. Hes credited with restoring morale, in part by naming a noted journalist as head of the Voice of America: Amanda Bennett is a former top news executive at the Philadelphia Inquirer, who previously held senior newsroom jobs at Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal. Everybody at NPR knows exactly what you mean when you say, 'What's our North Star?' How is it a priority? The title of your piece, "Now Is A Time For Truth Telling, For Listening, And For Action," takes a bold stand in defending the urgent work of journalists during this . And the fourth one is to diversify and grow our revenue models so that were not overly reliant on one or two revenue streams to help strengthen our future financials. September 5, 2019; Washington, D.C. The NPR Board of Directors announced today that it selected John Lansing to become its next President and Chief Executive Officer. Our third pillar is to optimize content and meet audiences where they are. He was responsible for strategic and operational oversight and P&L of the $2.5 billion division of Scripps Networks Interactive, including the company's portfolio of six cable networks Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, DIY, Cooking Channel and Great American Country and the $100 million Scripps Networks Digital division. I am still morning the loss of an objective NPR. How are you working to shore up NPRs place in the podcasting landscape and compete with deep-pocketed tech companies? Were finishing up in the next two to three weeks the specific lists of actions and activities under these pillars. Unlike some predecessors, Lansing doesn't face a particularly fraught political landscape. Lansing, who is 62, is currently the chief executive of the government agency that oversees Voice of America, Radio and Television Mart and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, among others. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: We'd like to revisit a story. In Mr. Mohns first full year on the job, NPR operated in the black after having run a deficit for five of the six preceding years. I hear that all the time. He held off a push by House Republicans to spin off Voice of America into a non-governmental broadcaster. "And I want to look for areas that I can provide leadership to bring resources together as needed strategically to find the right priorities that make the most sense for growing NPR this year and then into the future.". Its not a sidebar. Did you know that one day you would become a CEO? So those are the four pillars that rotate around the centerpiece, we call it the North Star, of our commitment to DEI. Faces Of NPR showcases the people behind NPR--from the voices you hear every day on the radio to the ones who work outside of the recording studio. We still remain one of the top, if not the top, podcasters in America. Our newsletters bring you a closer look at the stories that affect you and the music that inspires you. Your email address will not be published. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Current is an editorially independent, nonprofit service of the American University School of Communication. John Lansing, a veteran government broadcast and cable television executive, has been selected by NPR's corporate board to succeed its current chief, Jarl Mohn. NPR has tapped longtime media executive John Lansing to become its next president and CEO. Last year, President Trump appointed Michael Pack as USAGMs CEO. In an interview, Lansing said he wants to build on NPR's successes in broadcast news and entertainment to become even more dominant in podcasting and more prevalent in streaming. Anyone can read what you share. Let's say, I was walking out of high school into college, I had no idea what I was going to do. They lost their objectivity and are now just pushing leftist ideology. Mohn had promised to attract major contributions to NPR before the end of his tenure; to date he has not landed the major eight- and nine-figure donations his stated aspirations suggested. Current: When was the climate survey conducted? All of those underlying effects generally lead to whatever effects were going to have in corporate sponsorship. I joined in October of '19. While they do not broadcast within the U.S., the Voice of America and the other media outfits Lansing has overseen typically adhere to traditional concepts of factual, nonideological journalism, with the frequent exception of Radio Mart historically an anti-Castro and anti-Cuban communist outlet. In recent remarks online, Johnson, who is Black, focused on a more competitive landscape for NPR journalists, including people of color. You have shows like All Things Considered and Morning Edition, which will continue to be broadcasting tent poles, Mr. Lansing said. So we took that very, very seriously. I would enjoy being on a podcast talking about politics. Last summer, we definitely had a racial reckoning. While serving as chief operating officer, she took on a greater role during two of Mohns medical leaves and in the aftermath of the sexual harassment scandal. The networks fight for listeners time has become more feverish. Being a changemaker is awesome, but can have its own challenges as you're just trying to improve your career. Doing that just requires that were putting more emphasis on the diversity of our decision makers, our leadership, our story selection, our source selection. Lansing will begin his term at NPR in October and will succeed Jarl Mohn, who has been Chief Executive Officer and President since 2014. John F. Lansing (he/him) oversees one of the country's most iconic news organizations, whose rigorous reporting and unsurpassed storytelling connects with millions of Americans every day on the air, online, and in person. Current: NPR has helped stations during the pandemic by delaying planned changes to the dues they pay. And some stations who had a schedule to go down actually were allowed to go down. In May 2020, four NPR female hosts of color Garcia-Navarro, King, All Things Considered host Ailsa Chang and Weekend All Things Considered host Michel Martin sent a letter to Lansing . The ratings have tanked because all they talk about is race. administration regarding the now former managers of his former place of employment (USAGM) but claims the mantle of private citizen to do so. Lansing: Everybodys at a different place with DEI depending on where they stand, whether thats a person who is white and doesnt understand how white privilege has improved their standing in their career in a way that persons of color may have not experienced. Our goal of developing our audience as a younger and more diverse audience requires that we invest in marketing, we invest in content, and we partner with platforms where those audiences can be found rather than expecting younger and more diverse audiences to come to our platforms, necessarily. When I think of NPR and I think of the member stations collectively, I think really of journalism as a public service, not tied to a profit motive, Lansing told NPR News. So its a constant commitment to communication, to training, to accountability. Sept. 6, 2019. Mr. Mohn led the push into podcasting and helped stabilize the organization after years of management turnover and budget deficits. NPR's rigorous reporting and unsurpassed storytelling connect with millions of Americans everydayon the air, online, and in person. Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. Lansing: Were still working on it right now. Current: How else might NPR assist stations in the coming year? NPR has also been the nations leading producer of podcasts, since Podtrac started measuring the audiences. It was about a $3 million cost to NPR for the fiscal year. Current: How much were those anonymous gifts? The only route to a successful engagement on this issue is to deal with it, to talk about it, and to take action. So its an ongoing effort. Mayor is said to be staying on at the network as a top executive and deputy to Lansing, retaining the enhanced portfolio she took on after Mohn's health crises. That's the way I think about leadership here. September 6, 2019. Lansing was most recently the CEO of USAGM, a $800 million dollar independent federal agency that operates on multiple platforms reaching an average weekly audience of 345 million in 61 languages. Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world. promoting Keith Woods to chief diversity officer, regional newsrooms in Texas and California and the Midwest and in the Gulf, I brought in Michael Smith as our new chief marketing officer, looking to sell the Pocket Casts podcast app, Suspension of NPRs Kroc fellowships disrupts talent development, career plans of student journalists. Not exactly. "He is a listener and a collaborative leader with a passion for our public service journalistic mission who will help us continue to expand the audience for our storytelling. The Lookout is a free, daily email newsletter with news and happenings from all over Colorado. My top goal is to support the women of color at NPR so that they feel like they have more upward mobility.. NPR joins a number of top media companies, including The Washington Post as well as CNN, that have been slashing their workforces amid economic woes and financial uncertainty. It all goes back to our mission: serving the American public, recognizing the American public is a diverse mosaic that makes America great and strong, and making sure that we're building systems and content that resonates with all Americans. With a nationwide network of award-winning journalists and 17 international bureaus, NPR and its Member stations are never far from where a story is unfolding. She really has helped us, and she's brought discipline to a process that in the past might have been people talking past each other a little bit and waiting for things to blow over. Networks like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty are meant to counter disinformation from foreign governments by broadcasting objective reports, although they have always been dogged by an accusation that they are a form of American propaganda. All of that is to say that coming out of the reckoning of Memorial Day 2020 was for us and for me, in particular, a call to action internally at NPR to hear and reckon with our own issues internally. NPR's John Lansing Discusses the Importance of Integrity in Journalism By Nicole Jones - October 30, 2020 0 463 NPR National President and CEO John Lansing joined the Belmont community for a conversation about integrity in journalism, highlighting its importance especially during an election year. That's something that perceptive journalists should be able to pick up pretty quickly. I subscribe to the notion of leadership as a servant leader, that the role of leaders is to support the team to do their best work. He defined NPRs mission as serving the public with information and an excellence and quality about it that makes it must see on a variety of platforms.. Lansing said he took pride in maintaining conventional broadcasts while appealing to new audiences, reaching about 25% more people each week. While member stations on average receive about 10 percent of their funding from the federal government, fees from the stations make up a significant part of the NPR budget. Apple is reportedly building a podcast subscription service. Copyright 2023. ", "I am thrilled to work with NPR's exceptional management team, staff and journalists," said Lansing. The various challenges everybody's having from working at home, for example, you realize that everybody's situation is different when you're working. hide caption. And my top goal is to support, in particular, the women of color at NPR so that they feel like they have more upward mobility. Trump has notably praised authoritarian figures, including the leaders of North Korea, the Philippines, Russia and Turkey and has waged his own fight against journalists. And weve seen that really help them grow. Under standard procedures for reporting on NPR matters, NPRs corporate and news executives were not allowed to review what they reported until it was posted. Again, I think it's about getting it intertwined into everything we do. All Rights Reserved. NPR draws more than 28 million listeners each week and 40 million unique monthly visitors to its website both represent a rise of several million over those five years. I think there's an awareness, like in the way you asked the question about 'our North Star.' Bloomberg Markets live from New York, focused on bringing you the most important global business and breaking markets news and information as it happens. I'd say if there's anything that I focused on, and still am focused on during the pandemic, it is to make sure that whatever the situation is, we are supporting staff to do their best work, supporting them when they're having other challenges and making sure that we're attentive and tuned in to employees that need help, that need a break, that need to be heard, whatever that may be. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. Current: NPR and a group of stations started a pilot project around collaborative fundraising in 2019. NPR, the public radio and podcasting giant, has a new leader after years of growth and internal turmoil. The network's fight for listeners' time has become more feverish. Their editorial independence is enshrined in federal law, though it sometimes came under attack. Lansing: When I came in in 2019, my earliest observation was that our biggest issue was the lack of diversity in our audience, and I felt that we needed to double down our efforts in DEI throughout our organization in order to fulfill the promise to reflect the entire American public in terms of what America looks like. John Lansing, a veteran government broadcast and cable television executive, has been selected by NPR's corporate board to succeed its current chief, Jarl Mohn. Lansing is a veteran executive and journalist who has spent decades leading complex media companies in growing their relevance and reach, while strengthening their business operations. Lansing: Its on social media platforms or YouTube or through media partnerships. Current: Do you have any examples of how digital operations would be integrated into divisions throughout the organization? He guided the organization in becoming a leading developer of unique content across television, digital, mobile and radio platforms. But mostly its targeted at marketing investments on social media platforms that are specifically reaching out to younger and more diverse audiences to see if we can drive sampling. It really stretched me to understand that flexibility is a good thing. And the work goes on. What you really want to do is be connected to people that are consuming content on something theyre holding in their hand, and arent necessarily tied to a TV set on a wall or a radio in a living room, Lansing said. What we now call the North Star of our strategic plan is our DEI efforts as it filters through everything that we do with all of our work. You have stated that DEI is your top priority at NPR. And for those stations that were scheduled to have a reduction, we allowed those reductions to go forward with a floor of 3% so that nobodys dues went up. Certainly in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder on Memorial Day weekend, our efforts accelerated and we doubled down on communication, training and listening. And what a breath of fresh air Whitney brings into the organization. Lansing clearly had an ongoing interest in the USAGM story and the notion that that at some point along the line he did not provide his take, at minimum, to NPR reporting staff, on the story beggars belief. He will now lead the nation's top audio producer and broadcaster. Required fields are marked *. Current: Can you be more specific about what that looks like in terms of how you reach people who may not already know about NPRs podcasts? This is essentially the DEI work writ large, but also our culture of respect, safety, upward mobility, training and making NPR a world-class organization for which to work. Considering the demise of local newspapers around the country and the growth of our member stations newsrooms around the country, were really working hard to support their local journalism, because its so important to us. So I think that it has caused me to be more tuned in to hearing and understanding our employees. The combination of his health issues plus the situation with Mike Oreskes did derail his plans.. I want to hear the ideas that are bubbling underneath right now and what people are excited about what theyre looking forward to developing, Lansing said Thursday. Lansing's tenure at the agency has not been without controversy. It shouldn't be on any journalists of color, or anybody of color, to have to go and 'solve this problem' in somebody's company. "I have been an avid fan of NPR for many years. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Public Media Now was created to be a centralized source of information and resources to help professional within Public Media be more successful. And theyre all expected to articulate a DEI goal thats measurable, actionable, and that they can be held accountable for and will be. Just be tuned into our folks. Trump has notably praised authoritarian figures, including the leaders of North Korea, the Philippines, Russia and Turkey, and has waged his own fight against journalists. The result, I believe, is a war on truth., He continued: Citizens in countries from Russia to China, from Iran to North Korea, have been victimized for decades. Lansing says the agency referred Haroon Ullah's expenditures to auditors and investigators after travel assistants flagged them; according to the Justice Department statement, Ullah admitted submitting fraudulent receipts for hotel room reimbursements and fake medical claims to get government payments of upgrades in airline seat assignments, among other offenses. Today, those individual situations are happening in the background when everybody's working, whether it's kids that are school age, or kids that are toddlers, or elder care, or spouses working in the same room or in the same apartment. Obviously, this job that you have as a CEO of NPR is a really huge responsibility. There were three of them, each for $1 million. According to Nielsen data supplied by NPR, its programs and newscasts had an overall audience of 27.4 million in spring 2019. John Lansing, CEO, photographed for NPR, 22 January 2020, in Washington DC. That said, Mohn set higher annual expectations for the network in fund-raising and agreed to be co-chairman of its 50th anniversary capital campaign. John Lansing, president and CEO Chair of the NPR Foundation John McGinn Public members of the board Carlos Alvarez, CEO, The Gambrinus Company Fred Dust, designer, speaker, and consultant Paul G. Haaga Jr., retired, Capital Research and Management Company - Chairman of the NPR Board of Directors Since then, sponsorship revenue has returned, Mr. Lansing said, and NPR was able to navigate the pandemic without cutting staff. Current: What challenges have you faced in implementing your DEI plans? He made his mark in his current job with stirring defenses of journalism, free from government interference. Lansing also elevated to chief strategy officer a former U.S. State Department staffer who recently pleaded guilty to having defrauded the U.S. Agency for Global Media out of more than $40,000 in government money in 2018, according to federal prosecutors. But now were seeing authoritarian regimes expanding around the globe, with media repression in places like Turkey and Venezuela, Cambodia and Vietnam.. Applicants to this years fellowship see its cancellation as a setback for journalists of color who want to work in public radio. Lansing: I guess my head turns first to the journalism of our member stations. At the same time, we have to think creatively. Copyright 2019 NPR. NPR Facebook Post with Comments. Lansing: You have to imagine a picture, if you will. If you had to create a podcast, what would it be about? As I said, its hiring, its emphasis on diversity in leadership, diversity in sources, diversity in voices, diversity in the stories we tell, training around our organization. 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