LANSING, John, Jr. | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives NPR strives to create a more informed publicone challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and cultures. Weve had a couple of significant anonymous gifts that have helped shore up our forecast for the coming fiscal year. 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. David Westin speaks with top names in finance about the week's biggest issues on Wall Street. Current (https://current.org/2021/02/ceo-john-lansing-discusses-nprs-diversity-efforts-budget-deficit-and-growing-podcast-competition/). 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. Scripps Networks September 5, 2019; Washington, D.C. - The NPR Board of Directors announced today that it. To be a part of creating the future of such an important institution is humbling, exciting, and a distinct honor.". Obviously, this job that you have as a CEO of NPR is a really huge responsibility. NPR Selects Voice of America Boss as Its New Leader, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/business/media/npr-john-lansing.html. It's not just what happened this week on the Hill, although that's important. Board Member. Way back when, I was a news cameraman. "This will be a major loss.". The work theyve done during the pandemic has been nothing short of miraculous in many cases, particularly given the summer of racial reckoning, the most unusual presidential election in memory and everything thats gone on since. Now, he says, it must drum up more creative income sources, like the licensing of the popular show How I Built This to Amazon's streaming services, which he says generates $8 million annually. NPR Names Veteran Media Executive John Lansing As Its New CEO We couldnt be more proud of the quality and the depth of the journalism thats coming from the member stations, and it really has strengthened the entire system enormously. Under standard procedures for reporting on NPR matters, NPR's corporate and news executives were not allowed to review the report until it was posted. "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.". What do you think are some characteristics of good leadership? And I think we have to extend that lead. Its not a sidebar. So at the end of the day, its a commitment, but this also has to be accountability. There were three of them, each for $1 million. Were they targeted to specific spending areas or just for general costs? 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. 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. "North Star"] for NPR on my arrival as supporting the diversity, equity, and inclusion of our staff so that we could become more relevant to our audiences and grow the diversity of our audiences. 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? 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. Mr. Lansings colleagues attribute the growth to his embrace of digital formats and the understanding of audiences that he gleaned from the private sector. ", He continued: "Citizens in countries from Russia to China, from Iran to North Korea, have been victimized for decades. Lansing said he took pride in maintaining conventional broadcasts while appealing to new audiences, reaching about 25% more people each week. When you first got to NPR, what did you think? John Lansing is a former Obama appointee who was named president and CEO of NPR on Thursday. Talk about a force of nature. NPR's chief executive announced the network would lay off roughly 10% of its current workforce - at least 100 people - and eliminate most vacant positions. Lansing, who is 62, is. We established management commitments to the women of color so that we address specifically their concerns. 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. 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. Lansing has earned an advanced degree in political agility. Others have waded into the podcast fray with a vengeance. I think there's an awareness, like in the way you asked the question about 'our North Star.' "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.". And as the year unfolded, we began to develop our three-year strategic plan. Inquiry Exonerates USAGM Executives Suspended By Trump Appointee - NPR 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. John Lansing will begin his term as President and CEO of NPR in October, 2019. While serving as chief operating officer, she took on a greater role during two of Mohn's medical leaves and in the aftermath of the sexual harassment scandal. A new chief content officer will oversee NPR's news and programming divisions, which have frequently collaborated and almost as frequently clashed over resources and . 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. For the year that ended last September, NPR reported $241 million in expenses. Michael A. McCoy for NPR A federal inspector general's investigation has exonerated six government executives who were suspended last year after raising red flags about actions taken by. John F. Lansing : NPR How cool is it to be at. Learn more at npr.org/about or by following NPR Extra on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 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. Because when you're all at work, you're all at work, and you go home to your individual situations. Lansing previously held positions overseeing the Scripps Co.'s local television stations and then its national cable channels, which include the Food Network and HGTV, among others. 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. Were working with them to do joint investigative reporting. We collected a lot of data and we have a lot of good follow-up opportunities, and Ill continue to offer myself up as a direct resource in that pilot project. ", "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. 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. 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 plans to lay off about 10% of its current staff due to the soft ad market and a drop in revenue from corporate sponsors, as well as uncertainties in the global economy overall. We are different from other federal agencies, said Grant K. Turner, the agencys chief financial officer. According to Nielsen data supplied by NPR, its programs and newscasts had an overall audience of 27.4 million in spring 2019. NPR Start Date: Mid October, 2020 And weve seen that really help them grow. Scripps Company, where he managed the company's portfolio of ten broadcast television stations across the country. Last year, President Trump appointed Michael Pack as USAGMs CEO. NPR stands stronger than it did at the outset of Mohn's five-year term in 2014. 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. Both Lansing and Sheikholeslami say he is adamant about pressing forward with reforms to the workplace culture at NPR that Mayor has already started to put in place. Current: How much were those anonymous gifts? And were happy to see SAG-AFTRA agree with us and to join up. Lansing, who is 62, is. I just think that somebody's truth is the truth. NPR chief news executive Nancy Barnes to depart as network reshapes top 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. 5 takeaways from the massive layoffs hitting Big Tech right now, the network announced $20 million in cuts, NPR to impose near-freeze on hiring but avoids layoffs as budget cuts loom, NPR chief news executive Nancy Barnes to depart as network reshapes top ranks, January is often a big month for layoffs. And its where our focus needs to be right now. 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. Lansing: Were still working on it right now. "The result, I believe, is a war on truth. But were going to continue to follow up on that going into this year. In 2019, Joshua Johnson left 1A, a nationally syndicated public affairs show produced by WAMU in Washington, D.C., and distributed by NPR, for MSNBC. "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. NPR hosts' departures fuel questions over race. The full story is So I think that it has caused me to be more tuned in to hearing and understanding our employees. He won praise for doing so and says he informed leaders of SAG-AFTRA on Tuesday about the impending job cuts. NPR takes only a few million dollars a year from federal sources for its programs. I think as a white man, I know and have experienced that feeling of trepidation on discussions on issues of race, because there's an inherent fear that somebody is going to have a negative point of view about you. Mr. Mohn was pressed about his leadership in a tense NPR interview and later apologized to employees for not taking action sooner. President Biden will allow Congress to overturn new D.C. crime law But now we're seeing authoritarian regimes expanding around the globe, with media repression in places like Turkey and Venezuela, Cambodia and Vietnam.". Well, I like NPR Politics a lot. I was very pleased to see Code Switch named as Apples top podcast of the year. Within a few weeks, Lansing became convinced that projection would be unreachable. Lansing: Its on social media platforms or YouTube or through media partnerships.