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. Its not something weve baked and were just going to hand it down. Lansing started his news industry career at age 17 as a studio technician and cameraman at WPSD TV, Paducah, KY, where he was promoted to news photographer after two years. This documentary-style series follows investigative journalists as they uncover the truth. "What you really want to do is be connected to people that are consuming content on something they're holding in their hand, and aren't necessarily tied to a TV set on a wall or a radio in a living room," Lansing said. And it really opened the funnel. It is intended to align the strategy of its often fractious member stations with one another and NPR itself and to allow NPR, for the first time, to raise money digitally from its audience in concert with those stations. . National Public Radio will reduce its workforce by 10 percent as it grapples with what CEO John Lansing says is a "sharp . 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. Last summer, we definitely had a racial reckoning. NPR, the public radio giant that employs hundreds of journalists, is about to get a new chief executive. Were they targeted to specific spending areas or just for general costs? NPR's chief news executive, Nancy Barnes, said Friday she would be leaving the network, prompted by NPR CEO John Lansing's decision to create a new executive role above her. John Lansing will begin his term as President and CEO of NPR in October, 2019. I remember we had several all-staff discussions about a variety of issues that branched off of that, including the Code of Conduct, for example, as it relates to NPR employees at public demonstrations. NPR has a new CEO. John Ten Eyck Lansing Jr. (January 30, 1754 - vanished December 12, 1829), a Founding Father of the United States, was an attorney, jurist, and politician. So Im pleased to see that that short era is over. 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. John F Lansing, National Public Radio Inc: Profile and Biography - Bloomberg Markets Live Now Bloomberg TV+ Bloomberg Daybreak Middle East Bloomberg Daybreak Middle East. 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. What advice would you give to young journalists of color when navigating these white spaces, but attempting to make a change? Podcasting in particular allows NPR to reach audiences that are not necessarily tied to a radio., Paul Haaga, the chairman of NPRs board, said in a statement that Mr. Lansing was 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.. "Governments around the world are increasingly cracking down on the free flow of information; silencing dialogue and dissent; and distorting reality," Lansing said in a speech he delivered in May to the Media for Democracy Forum. So its an ongoing effort. According to Nielsen data supplied by NPR, its programs and newscasts had an overall audience of 27.4 million in spring 2019. When you first got to NPR, what did you think? And I would do a board-level review for the donor or donors as to where the business was, the value of the work we were doing, the things we were adding in terms of covering the pandemic. And now in our budgeting were shifting some revenue for Michael to use that to promote and support our podcasts as they compete, as you note, with other large commercial businesses. "When we say we are eliminating filled positions, we are talking about our colleagues - people whose skills, spirit and talents help make NPR what it is today," Lansing wrote in a memo to staff today. Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News. But thats our commitment. There were three of them, each for $1 million. Way back when, I was a news cameraman. Our DEI efforts at the beginning of 2020 were not a project or an extracurricular activity; it really became our work. Mohn fired head of news Michael Oreskes on Halloween 2017. That's a big thing too: having a common understanding of what management's committed to, what the Board supports, the work that's in front of us to live up to it, and ultimately diversifying our audience which leads to the business purpose. Its new president and chief executive is John Lansing, a former cable executive who for the last five years has run the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the federally funded organization behind broadcasters like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. We're funded by your subscriptions, your donations, advertising, and a generous grant from the Wyncote Foundation. Now Lansing says he wants to draw on the intellectual and creative impulses of his new staffers as he leads a domestic journalistic powerhouse with an international reputation and reach. Lansing, who is 62, is. ", He continued: "Citizens in countries from Russia to China, from Iran to North Korea, have been victimized for decades. (On NPR's radio side, advertising takes the form of underwriting, as corporate sponsors are not permitted to call for listeners to purchase goods or services.). Lansing blamed a slowdown in advertising dollars. Scripps Co., says whenever an economic slowdown appears imminent, marketing budgets get slashed. hide caption. It is our work our North Star and our work are the same thing. But now we're seeing authoritarian regimes expanding around the globe, with media repression in places like Turkey and Venezuela, Cambodia and Vietnam.". He took over a troubled organization beset by infighting and bureaucratic inefficiency. That content executive position has not yet been filled; its creation led to the departure of then-NPR chief news executive Nancy Barnes. Current: With broadcast listening declining during the pandemic, what is NPR doing to address and adjust to those trends? President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speak to reporters as they depart the Senate Democrat policy luncheon at the Capitol on March 2. 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. It has become enshrined in our three-year strategic plan as the centerpiece of all of our work. And I had a lot of interest in how my former team was being treated, but more importantly, just as an American citizen, how the work of USAGM through VOA [Voice of America] and RFE/RL [Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] was threatening to undermine the interests of the United States government by politicizing journalism that was meant by law to be free of political interference. 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. I had no idea what was out there. You have stated that DEI is your top priority at NPR. And its something that I think will strengthen the ability for news programming, marketing and member services to be more responsive and to offer greater service to audiences in a more agile way. If it's not being solved from the top down, it shouldn't be a burden for people just trying to build their career. But after the pandemic hit in mid-March, we got together with our cohort and said, Why wait 18 months? The union represents 570 people at NPR. Lansing served for ten years as a visiting faculty member at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. Video Snippet From 2015 to 2019, Lansing served as the CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the independent federal agency whose programming reaches an average weekly audience of 345 million people in 62 languages. Current: What challenges have you faced in implementing your DEI plans? Lansing: I dont know how long that may or may not take, but our emphasis right now is on our own internal digital strategy, digital production, digital storytelling. Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Acting Chief Business Editor Emily Kopp. Mr. Lansing, who began his career as a teenage cameraman at a television station in Kentucky, spent two decades at Scripps Networks. You go to college and all the sudden you're like 'wait a minute, I've got to do something when this is over.' The first pillar is to expand the power of the national-local partnership into the on-demand future. "A really important strategic vector that we'll be talking about more within the company going forward is maximizing the value of the content wherever it can live and wherever the audience demands it," NPR Chief Operating Officer Will Lee says in an interview. 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Mohn placed an emphasis on fostering a more collaborative dynamic with the public radio stations that NPR serves and was given credit for making progress on that score. ", "It's always difficult in these situations, and I don't want to minimize the impact that it will have on our colleagues and in some cases, you know, our ability to do what we do," Lee says. The staffing cut, which will cost at least 100 people their jobs, comes in response to the "erosion" of advertising revenue, particularly for the network's podcasts, NPR reported. Tech companies that also rely heavily on advertising are undergoing layoffs too. And were happy to see SAG-AFTRA agree with us and to join up. Its not a sidebar. How does the economy react to all of that? 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'm from Minneapolis, and my parents are buried about six blocks from where George Floyd was killed. Lansing has also put significant stock into what he calls the NPR Network, which calls for greater unity of coverage and digital initiatives, such as newsletters, streaming, podcasts and more. My top goal is to support the women of color at NPR so that they feel like they have more upward mobility.. Arcbazar.com. CEO John Lansing cited the erosion. And theyre all expected to articulate a DEI goal thats measurable, actionable, and that they can be held accountable for and will be. A review by the House Foreign Affairs Committee faulted the agency for insufficient oversight but noted that an internal task force was already having an impact. In an interview, Mr. Lansing called the ads a rogue incident and said it had been corrected. There are over 1000 NPR Member Station signals broadcasting across the United States The network's fight for listeners' time has become more feverish. And be a good listener. "I want to hear the ideas that are bubbling underneath right now and what people are excited about, what they're looking forward to developing," Lansing said Thursday. During the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, NPR was at risk of laying off staff when sponsors canceled their spots on the network, said John Lansing, NPR's chief executive. Lansing: I guess my head turns first to the journalism of our member stations. That survey happened in the fall of 2020. Current: What are some of the highlights of that strategic plan? NPR strives to create a more informed publicone challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and cultures. Listeners consider public radio an enriching and enlightening companion; they trust NPR as a daily source of unbiased independent news, and inspiring insights on life and the arts. Board Memberships & Affiliations. John Lansing - Quick Profile. When that happened, it energized us to really double down on understanding where our weak spots were, what we needed to work on. Prior to joining USAGM, he served for two years as the President and CEO of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), an organization that facilitates collaborative marketing initiatives for its members. I just think we have a special and unique thing as a company. 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. It was hard for everyone. In setting NPR's earlier rounds of budget cuts a couple months ago, Lansing consulted ahead of time with leaders of the unions representing workers at NPR with an eye to avoiding any layoffs. I think you have to be willing to take hard questions. I have a negative reaction to what is fundamentally unfair in life, whether it be pay equity, promotions and advancement, training and hiring, or making sure leadership represents people of color and our staff. John Gibbs is an American far-right political commentator and politician. Its pretty clear to me that the ratings decline in radio is driven by commuting patterns. NPR's president of operations, Loren Mayor, was the leading internal candidate for the chief executive position. Lansing has won plaudits from journalists for his rousing defense of a free press even while serving in the Trump administration, which has been notably hostile to traditional notions of the role of journalism in civic life. "In terms of mission, understanding of media, the depth of experience, his strategic leadership, his commitment to people and culture, I would say those were really the key things that we were looking for," said Goli Sheikholeslami, vice chairwoman of the NPR board of directors and CEO of Chicago Public Media. He also vowed to make sure job cuts do not fall disproportionately on employees of color. Lansing: Generally, the numbers that we would like to see in terms of the diversity of our audience were still lagging. Why did you undertake this? And weve seen that really help them grow. We are different from other federal agencies, said Grant K. Turner, the agencys chief financial officer. Lansing, who is . NPR Start Date: Mid October, 2020 "The challenges he will face at NPR are not dissimilar to challenges across the media landscape as a whole," said Sheikholeslami, who will soon take up the CEO job at New York Public Radio. For July, NPRs 60 active shows among them Planet Money, Fresh Air and Wait Wait Dont Tell Me! were downloaded 141 million times and had nearly 21 million listeners in the United States, according to Podtrac. What was it like for you to watch that happen? "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. I established DEI as our top priority on Jan. 5 of 2020. One thing I would say is, research the places you're looking at to either begin your career or advance your career and understand where they are on these issues. NPR's total workforce has grown by about 50 percent since before that crisis. The ratings for our weekend magazine shows are actually slightly greater than they were a year ago pre-pandemic, so thats a bright spot.. We went from about 900 people a day at headquarters down to about 80 and were virtually broadcasting from peoples homes and offices, in terms of the hosts, almost exclusively beginning in April. The streaming platform Spotify paid nearly a quarter-billion dollars to buy the podcast producer Gimlet, founded by former staffers of NPR and other public radio outlets. John Lansing, CEO, photographed for NPR, 22 January 2020, in Washington DC. NPR's programming division, which produces its industry-leading podcasts, has more than doubled since 2019. I think there's an awareness, like in the way you asked the question about 'our North Star.' But second, we're mission-driven, and I think everybody in the organization lives and breathes that mission. He promises NPR will build on its mission and values but adds, ""This will be a major loss." My story: npr.org NPR says it's cutting jobs by 10% as ad revenue drops He guided the organization in becoming a leading developer of unique content across television, digital, mobile and radio platforms. NPR stands stronger than it did at the outset of Mohn's five-year term in 2014. Were certainly not over, were not at a finish line. At Colorado Public Radio, I think there was a $300,000 donation that came out of that. I'm kind of a politics junkie. Let's say, I was walking out of high school into college, I had no idea what I was going to do. "Nothing is nailed down yet except the principles and what we know we have to reach.". The network has won acclaim for its coverage of wars and disasters, yet suffered its own crisis and tragedy in 2016 when its David Gilkey and Zabihullah Tamanna were killed while on assignment in southern Afghanistan. Theres no question about it. Last year, the network booked $134 million in such corporate underwriting, a record built on strong growth in podcasting revenue in recent years.