Lansing will start in his new position in mid-October. 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. ", Lansing, formerly a top television executive for the E.W. The union represents 570 people at NPR. Follow Bloomberg reporters as they uncover some of the biggest financial crimes of the modern era. "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. I can't speak for other people, CEOs. John Lansing, the chief executive officer and director of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, will become NPR's CEO in mid-October. 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. But we made a firm commitment, as you know, to freeze station dues and fees. And The New York Times has won praise and new fans through its weekday podcast The Daily, with in-depth interviews of reporters and newsmakers. Mike Morgan/Mike Morgan Lansing: Lets go back in time. NPR strives to create a more informed publicone challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and cultures. Vox Media cut jobs by 7%; Gannett and Spotify by 6%. It was hard for everyone. Its something that we certainly support. We are not just putting out regulations or policies and paperwork. After becoming part of Warner Bros. He began his career in media at age 17 when he was hired as a studio technician and cameraman for WPSD TV in Kentucky. That with a combination of expense cuts, including our employees and our management all taking voluntary pay cuts and benefit cuts, helped close that deficit gap. 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. Were working with member stations on topic teams for, say, political reporting or criminal justice reporting across the system. NPR was seen to align itself with federal workers at VOA who essentially conducted an internal uprising on government time, while NPR made quite clear in its coverage where it stood. So that would be mine. Lansing also spoke to Current about the challenges of implementing his DEI plans, the organizations financial outlook and his thoughts about the recent controversies at USAGM. Under his leadership NPR has been reaching new audiences as the country's top podcast publisher and through platforms like smart-speakers and connected cars. Doing that just requires that were putting more emphasis on the diversity of our decision makers, our leadership, our story selection, our source selection. We still remain one of the top, if not the top, podcasters in America. Lansing says he remains committed to podcasting "1,000 percent," as well as the network's hallmark news magazines, such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered. ", "I am thrilled to work with NPR's exceptional management team, staff and journalists," said Lansing. Vegas PBS General Manager, Tom Axtell, announces his retirement. In a private meeting on Thursday President Biden informed Senate Democrats that he will not use his veto power to block a GOP-led effort to repeal D.C.'s new crime law. It puts a filter on that helps us explain even unpopular decisions, how they link to our mission. John Lansing is a former Obama appointee who was named president and CEO of NPR on Thursday. On an annual budget of roughly $300 million, Lansing says, revenues are likely to fall short by close to $30 million, although that gap could reach $32 million. He spent two decades at Scripps Networks, starting as a station manager in the Detroit, MI affiliate; eventually becoming President of Scripps cable networks company from 2005 to 2013. The various challenges everybody's having from working at home, for example, you realize that everybody's situation is different when you're working. I established DEI as our top priority on Jan. 5 of 2020. NPR has a new CEO. Current: With broadcast listening declining during the pandemic, what is NPR doing to address and adjust to those trends? Prior to that, Lansing was VP and GM of Scripps ABC affiliates. "Your mobility becomes extremely important to be involved and connected to audiences that are mobile and that tend to be, frankly, younger and, as we think of it at USAGM, future leaders, who can influence the rise of free and open societies.". 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. 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. It didnt begin in the summer it accelerated in the summer. Weve also seen very positive upticks in development. Its pretty clear to me that the ratings decline in radio is driven by commuting patterns. Mike Morgan/Mike Morgan When you first got to NPR, what did you think? The last time NPR faced such stark choices, it was 2008. There were three of them, each for $1 million. I am still morning the loss of an objective NPR. 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. Its my expectation that that will expand throughout the organization, so that everybody understands its everybodys job, and the accountability is going to be something that we measure and transparently report back out. Since then,. 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. John F Lansing, National Public Radio Inc: Profile and Biography - Bloomberg Markets Live Now Bloomberg TV+ Bloomberg Daybreak Middle East Bloomberg Daybreak Middle East. Mr. Lansings colleagues attribute the growth to his embrace of digital formats and the understanding of audiences that he gleaned from the private sector. 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. ", He continued: "Citizens in countries from Russia to China, from Iran to North Korea, have been victimized for decades. Its a real business with real market dynamics.. But after the pandemic hit in mid-March, we got together with our cohort and said, Why wait 18 months? New podcasts Up First, Consider This and State of Ukraine sit on both sides. Being selective, having mentors both white and people of color mentors that you can have confidential conversations with and gain some thoughts to help you develop your strategy, standing up for yourself which essentially is what happened at NPR through the climate survey and holding leaders accountable for everything. NPR's president of operations, Loren Mayor, was the leading internal candidate for the chief executive position. NPR is funded by the CPB/PBS which are funded in part by the U.S. government. We discovered in our most recent climate survey that that was an area that we needed to put more effort into. 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. In late November, the network announced $20 million in cuts, including a near-freeze on hiring, elimination of most travel, and suspension of internships. NPR maintains 17 national bureaus and 17 bureaus abroad. Lansing: Back in May and June, it was an alarming decline in radio ratings. We've made some good forward progress around hiring, with requiring that our hiring panels be diverse, requiring that our finalists have diverse representation at a minimum, but of course there's no maximum, in terms of a list of finalists. 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. And I still think we have a long way to go. Talk about a force of nature. Here's what to do in a worst case scenario. Lansing says he does not yet know who within NPR will be affected, but said the job cuts would not fall evenly across the organization. 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. Were working with them to create regional newsrooms in Texas and California and the Midwest and in the Gulf. So I wouldn't create a politics podcast because there are too many, and we have the best one of many already. Lansing said he took pride in maintaining conventional broadcasts while appealing to new audiences, reaching about 25% more people each week. So hes doubling down on lack of diversity, does that mean he wants his audience to reflect the other half of the country, the conservatives in flyover country? Lansing will begin his term at NPR in October and will succeed Jarl Mohn, who has been Chief Executive Officer and President since 2014. Everybody at NPR knows exactly what you mean when you say, 'What's our North Star?' "We're not seeing signs of a recovery in the advertising market," Lansing says in an interview. 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. 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. Yet Lansing also takes over an institution riven by a scandal that hit its top reaches, with a chief news executive toppled over #MeToo complaints of inappropriate conduct toward female subordinates and colleagues. So we were pleased to see SAG-AFTRA join our efforts. I have read and agree to the terms & conditions, Senior Vice President for Television in the broadcasting division of the E.W. A later report commissioned by the NPR board found that questions had been raised about Oreskes' behavior even before his hiring and that concerns were raised throughout his tenure; the repeated and formal warnings by top executives (including Mohn) to Oreskes to stop the unwanted attention he paid to female colleagues proved ineffective. Again, I think it's about getting it intertwined into everything we do. CEO John Lansing cited the erosion. At the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Lansing championed a free press even as leaders of many nations move against it. Lansing: I guess I would comment just as a citizen watching from outside. Lansing is a media executive with a deep understanding of journalism, having spent two decades as an award-winning journalist, successful newsroom leader and major market local media executive before becoming a global chief executive officer. Just be tuned into our folks. Government support for the public radio system isn't in any immediate jeopardy. He is. Required fields are marked *. John Lansing testifying before a House Appropriations subcommittee in July. So it's kind of inseparable, that coming in as CEO of NPR, and then six months in having the coronavirus, followed by a major economic downturn in the country and for NPR, and then the reckoning that summer. It goes on to say that Mr. Lansing, 62, is currently the chief executive of the government agency, The U.S. Agency for Global Media, that oversees Voice of America, Radio and Television Marti, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, among others. She also has led initiatives to reform hiring practices and to sweep far more temporary positions into permanent slots, often working closely with the network's chief unions to do so. He took over a troubled organization beset by infighting and bureaucratic inefficiency. This is just dishonest, especially since NPR became what amounted to a voice of the opposition in its coverage of this dysfunctional federal agency. Instead, Whitney really helped us to buckle down with discipline, understand what's going on, and meet with women of color [in the organization], as we're doing tonight in our executive committee meeting, which we do regularly now. Diversity is the North Star of a newly implemented strategic plan, Lansing said, because it filters through everything that we do with all of our 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. 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. John Lansing, the chief executive officer and director of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, will become NPR's CEO in mid-October. It was about a $3 million cost to NPR for the fiscal year. Sometimes you have to hear other people's truth and accept it for what it is, not translate it into your truth, therefore it's no longer what it is. administration regarding the now former managers of his former place of employment (USAGM) but claims the mantle of private citizen to do so. Current: What challenges have you faced in implementing your DEI plans? NPR, the public radio and podcasting giant, has a new leader after years of growth and internal turmoil. Were consulting with digital media, were consulting with the division heads, and were doing it as an all-hands project so that we get it right. John Lansing, NPR's President and CEO, defended Kelly last weekend during an interview on NPR's All Things Considered program, saying that Kelley "is one of the most respected, truthful . Anyone can read what you share. As we got to April of last spring, we saw a massive deficit develop for NPR on the order of about $25 million. As President, he held strategic and operational oversight of Scripps Networks Digital division and Scripps Networks Interactive, which includes six cable networks: Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, DIY, Cooking Channel and Great American Country. And the work goes on. 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. Current: You recently made some changes to NPRs digital strategy by moving to integrate digital operations into divisions throughout the organization.This also includes eliminating the role of chief digital officer held by Thomas Hjelm at the end of February. But an example of that one that weve already created is the Consider This podcast, which is just a terrific example of taking the national-local partnership into the on-demand future. A graduate of Bellarmine University, he was named to the Bellarmine University Gallery of Distinguished Graduates in 2010. Mr. Lansing will start in October, replacing Jarl Mohn, who has run NPR since 2014. The other is the fight for donors. In recent remarks online, Johnson, who is Black, focused on a more competitive landscape for NPR journalists, including people of color. I had been gone for the better part of a year or so. That was due largely to reductions in corporate sponsorship and also additional expenses we were incurring in supporting our employees with paid time off, as we adjusted to the new working arrangements and the stresses that we were all under and also the additional expense of cleaning the headquarters multiple times a day on certain occasions. 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. Current: NPR and a group of stations started a pilot project around collaborative fundraising in 2019. 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. How cool is it to be at NPR? hide caption. NPR will cut 10% of its workforce, CEO John Lansing said Wednesday. Theres no question about it. During 2021, we worked on that with Keith and with Diversity and Inclusion Manager Whitney Maddox. Harvard Kennedy School. Their editorial independence is enshrined in federal law, though it sometimes came under attack. Mohn fired head of news Michael Oreskes on Halloween 2017. Mohn will continue on as President Emeritus & Co-Chair of the 50th Anniversary Campaign. We did a climate survey of our employees, and we learned about a particular weak spot for us with women of color at NPR who didn't feel it was a place to grow their career, a place to be their whole selves, a place where they are seen and respected. Today, we feature John Lansing, CEO of NPR. 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. Current: Last year, the SAG-AFTRA union called out NPRs previous failures on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion and asked management to commit to accountability measures. Or persons of color who are in our organization that are hearing [about] a lot of activity but arent experiencing what they believe they should be experiencing in terms of a workplace where they feel like they can grow and improve their work and improve their careers. John Lansing will begin his term as President and CEO of NPR in October, 2019. John Lansing will begin his term as President and CEO of NPR in October, 2019. He is 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. Lansing: Thats a great question. I would enjoy being on a podcast talking about politics. The second pillar is to transform our workplace culture. (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.). Dear NPR President John Lansing, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for the powerful letter you wrote to NPR staff and the public about the horrific extrajudicial killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Chief Executive Officer and Director of the, Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing, Florangela Davila to Become KNKX News Director, NPR Hires Noelle LaCharite As VP Digital Technology. NPR takes only a few million dollars a year from federal sources for its programs. And Im holding myself accountable with my board and Ive been and am holding my direct reports accountable to me. It has become enshrined in our three-year strategic plan as the centerpiece of all of our work. During the pandemic, NPR sidestepped layoffs through temporary cuts to pay and retirement contributions, distributed with an eye to shielding less well-paid employees, so they were most sharply felt by the most highly compensated staffers and executives. NPR has tapped longtime media executive John Lansing to become its next president and CEO. Let's say, I was walking out of high school into college, I had no idea what I was going to do. But it was not from a standing start. How cool is it to be at. Lansing's tenure at the agency has not been without controversy. Its not something weve baked and were just going to hand it down. National Public Radio (NPR) CEO John Lansing announced in a Wednesday memo that the network will lay off 10 percent of its staff and freeze vacant positions. 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. This is an edited transcript of the conversation among Lansing, Current Reporter Tyler Falk and Digital Editor Mike Janssen. Yet the tech and media industries' prospects stand at odds with a tight labor market and low unemployment more broadly. August 20, 2022 August 20th is National Radio Day. 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. Weve seen significant growth in Code Switch, in Louder Than a Riot, in Sam Sanders podcast [Its Been a Minute], in part because for the first time in a while, were really investing in marketing support for those podcasts. "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. So if you have leaders talking about DEI as a priority, well, then, show me. "I don't anticipate that it would be like a haircut across every division, because that's just not management," Lansing says. Pozen Fellow At the Shorenstein Center. I got this part time job at a TV station to make a little money while I was going to college. 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. Well, I'm fortunate that we have a terrific executive committee and leadership team, so we all share the daily ins and outs of managing a big organization. Lansing: We hope to have that completed within about eight to 10 weeks. The ratings for our weekend magazine shows are actually slightly greater than they were a year ago pre-pandemic, so thats a bright spot.. John Lansing, CEO, photographed for NPR, 22 January 2020, in Washington DC. And its tied to the same variables you would know yourselves, which is, how fast can the vaccines be deployed? 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. 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. He also vowed to make sure job cuts do not fall disproportionately on employees of color. It is our work our North Star and our work are the same thing. 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. The Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, eliminated its Sunday magazine and a handful of other jobs. So sad to me. September 6, 2019. You have stated that DEI is your top priority at NPR. And were happy to see SAG-AFTRA agree with us and to join up. 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 . He will now lead the nation's top audio producer and broadcaster. NPR Press Release. I just started in May. "However, when you think how we look out longer term, right, not just for 20 years, but several years out, it's really about building a sustainable financial future for NPR.". Today is a good day to remember the vital role public radio plays in providing the information we all need to fully exercise our rights in our democracy. Lansing, who is 62, is. 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 . Lansing Last year brought a host of challenges to NPR: a multimillion-dollar deficit, calls for changes in its workplace culture and a hit to broadcast listening. Lansing: That was conducted back in September. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images While member stations on average receive about 10% of their funding from the federal government, fees from the stations make up a significant part of the NPR budget. He was promoted to news photographer after two years, then moved on to managing editor, news director, and leadership of commercial television affiliates around the country. Did you plan for this or did it kind of just happen? Podtrac, which measures the audiences of podcast publishers, has consistently placed NPR at the top of its monthly rankings.
Is Thelma From Good Times Dead, Lisa Vanderpump Zodiac Sign, Articles J