He has previously announced he would be staying on as president emeritus to help the network raise major gifts, and along with his wife, Pamela Mohn, he personally committed $10 million to the network. 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. Current: What challenges have you faced in implementing your DEI plans? [1] [2] Born and raised in Albany, New York, Lansing was trained as a lawyer, and was long involved in politics and government. NPRs search for a new CEO is finally over! Weve had a couple of significant anonymous gifts that have helped shore up our forecast for the coming fiscal year. Mr. Lansing rejected that accusation, saying that the agency was independent by law. We can share resources and story ideas, and we can help organize and support those efforts. Lansing: That was conducted back in September. NPR Start Date: Mid October, 2020 Why? 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. Were certainly not over, were not at a finish line. The ratings for our weekend magazine shows are actually slightly greater than they were a year ago pre-pandemic, so thats a bright spot. Lansing has earned an advanced degree in political agility. So sad to me. He defined NPR's 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 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. "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. Weve also seen very positive upticks in development. Current: You came to NPR after serving as CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images NPR's chief executive announced the. 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. 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 it gives the lie to NPRs claim, through disclaimers, that it is simply reporting on its own the implication of the disclaimer being that there is no editorial control or direction from the CEO. 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. So that would be mine. 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, non-ideological journalism, with the frequent exception of Radio Marti historically an anti-Castro and anti-Cuban communist outlet. September 6, 2019. You'll find out about what they do and what. Live from. NPR maintains 17 national bureaus and 17 bureaus abroad. I can't speak for other people, CEOs. I thought, wow. But my goals also go to all of my direct reports. 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. And what a breath of fresh air Whitney brings into the organization. When you first got to NPR, what did you think? 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. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Current is an editorially independent, nonprofit service of the American University School of Communication. And were happy to see SAG-AFTRA agree with us and to join up. John Lansing, a media executive with government broadcast and cable television experience, has been named by NPRs board to succeed its current chief, Jarl Mohn who announced the plan to step down after his 5-Year term ended. 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. 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. I just started in May. 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. 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. 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. NPR Names Veteran Media Executive John Lansing As Its New CEO, News That Matters, Delivered To Your Inbox. The second pillar is to transform our workplace culture. Lansing, who is 62, is currently CEO of the government agency that oversees Voice of America, Radio and Television Marti, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, among others. NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. And the pandemic hit six months later in March of '20. And were pleased to work with them. 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. Scripps Networks September 5, 2019; Washington, D.C. - The NPR Board of Directors announced today that it. And Im holding myself accountable with my board and Ive been and am holding my direct reports accountable to me. The ratings have tanked because all they talk about is race. And how's that being measured and accounted for? Did you know that one day you would become a CEO? All Rights Reserved. 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. It's not just what happened this week on the Hill, although that's important. If you had to create a podcast, what would it be about? Yet Mr. Mohns tenure was also marked by a sexual harassment scandal involving a senior news executive whom he had hired and a labor clash with hundreds of union workers. He has previously announced he would be staying on as president emeritus to help the network raise major gifts, and along with his wife, Pamela Mohn, he personally committed $10 million to the network. Since then, sponsorship revenue has returned, Mr. Lansing said, and NPR was able to navigate the pandemic without cutting staff. Did you plan for this or did it kind of just happen? According to Nielsen data supplied by NPR, its programs and newscasts had an overall audience of 27.4 million in spring 2019. 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. This documentary-style series follows investigative journalists as they uncover the truth. 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. 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. 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. 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. What do you think are some characteristics of good leadership? I just think we have a special and unique thing as a company. Lansing: I guess my head turns first to the journalism of our member stations. 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. "Jarl would be the first to say that it is the area where he feels that his work was not complete," Sheikholeslami said. Lansing blamed a slowdown in advertising dollars. So I think that it has caused me to be more tuned in to hearing and understanding our employees. And some stations who had a schedule to go down actually were allowed to go down. (Former long time member). It's not an extracurricular activity; it's fundamental to our business. 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. I will say in the last three or four weeks weve seen a little bit of an uptick in a positive way on corporate sponsorship. A number of executives will report directly to Lansing, including Nancy Barnes, senior vice president for news and editorial director, who joined NPR last November and oversees the networks newsroom. And as the year unfolded, we began to develop our three-year strategic plan. What would you go back and tell your younger self? "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.". "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. John Lansing, the chief executive officer and director of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, will become NPR's CEO in mid-October. Lansing will start in his new position in mid-October. Lansing has earned an advanced degree in political agility. Because when you're all at work, you're all at work, and you go home to your individual situations. John Lansing, NPR's President and CEO, said the unique arrangement comes at an important time for NPR and for journalism. Mr. Mohn led the push into podcasting and helped stabilize the organization after years of management turnover and budget deficits. Again, I think it's about getting it intertwined into everything we do. You have shows like All Things Considered and Morning Edition, which will continue to be broadcasting tent poles, Mr. Lansing said. Leading the organization through it all is CEO John Lansing, a longtime media executive who has been on the job since October 2019. Four years ago, Lansing was named by President Barack Obama to be the first chief executive of the broadcasting outfit that was renamed the U.S. Agency for Global Media. 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. 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. Lansing also spent almost 20 years working at Scripps, including eight years as President of Scripps Networks. At the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Lansing championed a free press even as leaders of many nations move against it. 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. In recent remarks online, Johnson, who is Black, focused on a more competitive landscape for NPR journalists, including people of color. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. I established DEI as our top priority on Jan. 5 of 2020. Selected by the NPR board of directors, Lansing will start in October, succeeding outgoing head Jarl Mohn, Its an inclusive process. It was about a $3 million cost to NPR for the fiscal year. Copyright 2023. 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? In an interview, Lansing said he wants to build on NPRs successes in broadcast news and entertainment to become even more dominant in podcasting and more prevalent in streaming. That said, Mohn set higher annual expectations for the network in fundraising and agreed to be co-chairman of its 50th-anniversary capital campaign. 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. So if you have leaders talking about DEI as a priority, well, then, show me. 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. When will that freeze be lifted? 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: NPR has helped stations during the pandemic by delaying planned changes to the dues they pay. hide caption. John Lansing, a veteran government broadcast and cable television executive, has been selected by NPRs corporate board to succeed its current chief, Jarl Mohn. He joined NPR after serving as CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Weve seen a gradual comeback. There's always going to be things here and there that have to be worked out, because that's just the way a company is, but I've never been in a company before where it was so understood that we're here to serve the American people. A member of the Republican Party, Gibbs was a software engineer and missionary before entering politics. Lansings tenure at the agency has not been without controversy. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. The budget for the new fiscal year is set below last years actual based on our forecasts on continued downward pressure on corporate sponsorship. 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. First of all, as a white man, my first reaction is that it's important for white people in general to understand the inherent biases that we have, even when we think we don't, unconsciously. She also has led initiatives to reform hiring practices and to sweep far more temporary positions into permanent slots, often working closely with the networks chief unions to do so. It was hard for everyone. 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. So I wouldn't create a politics podcast because there are too many, and we have the best one of many already. It has become enshrined in our three-year strategic plan as the centerpiece of all of our work. 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. NPR maintains 17 national bureaus and 17 bureaus abroad. Its a real business with real market dynamics.. 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. At the same time, we have to think creatively. I joined in October of '19. It takes a good days drive to cover Colorado, but well help you do it in a few minutes. 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. 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. 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. How cool is it to be at NPR? It puts a filter on that helps us explain even unpopular decisions, how they link to our mission. As we moved through the summer, that deficit remained at about $25 million. Disclosure: This story was reported by NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik under guidance from NPR chief business editor Pallavi Gogoi. Its not something weve baked and were just going to hand it down. Lansing: Generally, the numbers that we would like to see in terms of the diversity of our audience were still lagging. That's the way I think about leadership here. 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