Were working with them to do joint investigative reporting. 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. 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. So I brought in Michael Smith as our new chief marketing officer almost a year ago. NPR Start Date: Mid October, 2020 I am still morning the loss of an objective NPR. And be a good listener. NPR has a new CEO. Pozen Fellow At the Shorenstein Center. 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. I think you have to be willing to take hard questions. Mr. Lansing will start in October, replacing Jarl Mohn, who has run NPR since 2014. I just started in May. Learn more at npr.org/about or by following NPR Extra on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And the pandemic hit six months later in March of '20. 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: They were for general. So those are the four pillars that rotate around the centerpiece, we call it the North Star, of our commitment to DEI. This is just dishonest, especially since NPR became what amounted to a voice of the opposition in its coverage of this dysfunctional federal agency. NPR has tapped longtime media executive John Lansing to become its next president and CEO. "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. At the same time, we have to think creatively. CEO John Lansing cited the erosion. In these comments, John Lansing slides by with a public swipe at the Trump 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. 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. 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. America needs public radio more than ever. We had begun a lot of work under [Chief Diversity Officer] Keith Woods' leadership to really move us forward. "I don't anticipate that it would be like a haircut across every division, because that's just not management," Lansing says. It is our work our North Star and our work are the same thing. 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. The work of those pillars will be done through the lens of improving our efforts on DEI. 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? You have shows like All Things Considered and Morning Edition, which will continue to be broadcasting tent poles, Mr. Lansing said. Let's say, I was walking out of high school into college, I had no idea what I was going to do. National Public Radio will reduce its workforce by 10 percent as it grapples with what CEO John Lansing says is a "sharp . We need help now. So we began an intensive set of Zoom meetings that I attended, each one with a member station and a qualified potential donor. It might come from my journalistic roots, and I think other journalists would say the same thing, I deal [with] and honor the truth. In 2017, Michael Oreskes, NPRs senior vice president for news, left after two women accused him of unwanted physical advances in the 1990s, when he was the Washington bureau chief of The New York Times. Lansing: I guess my head turns first to the journalism of our member stations. John Lansing will begin his term as President and CEO of NPR in October, 2019. 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. CEO John Lansing cited the erosion of advertising dollars, particularly for NPR podcasts, and the tough financial outlook for the media industry more generally. 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. Scripps Co., says whenever an economic slowdown appears imminent, marketing budgets get slashed. Current: You came to NPR after serving as CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media. 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. Last fall, when announcing the earlier cuts, Lansing said the network would have to make tough choices - and to "do less with less." 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'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. Government support for the public radio system isn't in any immediate jeopardy. And theyre all expected to articulate a DEI goal thats measurable, actionable, and that they can be held accountable for and will be. At Colorado Public Radio, I think there was a $300,000 donation that came out of that. This is simply disingenuous. I just think that somebody's truth is the truth. Current (https://current.org/2021/02/ceo-john-lansing-discusses-nprs-diversity-efforts-budget-deficit-and-growing-podcast-competition/). Lansing's tenure at the agency has not been without controversy. Lansing blamed a slowdown in advertising dollars. hide caption. 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. There were three of them, each for $1 million. John Lansing - Quick Profile. Lansing: You have to imagine a picture, if you will. U.S. Agency for Global Media NPR undertook a strategic reorganization last fall, reinstating the position of a chief content officer overseeing both the newsroom and the programming division. It's not just what happened this week on the Hill, although that's important. Mr. Lansing rejected that accusation, saying that the agency was independent by law. 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. Share Your Design Ideas, New JerseysMurphy Defends $10 Billion Rainy Day Fund as States Economy Slows, What Led to Europes Deadliest Train Crash in a Decade, This Week in Crypto: Ukraine War, Marathon Digital, FTX. 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. Family Status: Married with 4 Children (Jean Rausch Lansing) Weve also seen very positive upticks in development. It's interesting. Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Acting Chief Business Editor Emily Kopp. Current: NPR has helped stations during the pandemic by delaying planned changes to the dues they pay. Pat O'Donnell, the executive director of the union's Mid-Atlantic unit, could not be reached for comment for this story. John Lansing , CEO of NPR NPR President John Lansing '09 is Bellarmine's 2021 commencement speaker, Honorary Degree recipient April 22, 2021 NPR P. NPR Mr. Mohn was pressed about his leadership in a tense NPR interview and later apologized to employees for not taking action sooner. 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. 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. And what a breath of fresh air Whitney brings into the organization. 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. When will that freeze be lifted? 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. 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. This is an edited transcript of the conversation among Lansing, Current Reporter Tyler Falk and Digital Editor Mike Janssen. 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. Oh wait. All of those underlying effects generally lead to whatever effects were going to have in corporate sponsorship. 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. And some stations who had a schedule to go down actually were allowed to go down. He is a member of the Quinnipiac University School of Communications Advisory Board and the National Board of Advisors of George Washington University's School of Media & Public Affairs. Were working with them to create regional newsrooms in Texas and California and the Midwest and in the Gulf. What do you think are some characteristics of good leadership? For the year that ended last September, NPR reported $241 million in expenses. Yet the tech and media industries' prospects stand at odds with a tight labor market and low unemployment more broadly. Lansing has earned an advanced degree in political agility. 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. The various challenges everybody's having from working at home, for example, you realize that everybody's situation is different when you're working. "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. The first pillar is to expand the power of the national-local partnership into the on-demand future. And as a CEO, and also as a white man, I want to know, how did you handle it when all eyes were on you? 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. 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. I established DEI as our top priority on Jan. 5 of 2020. At the U.S. Agency for Global Media known until last year as the Broadcasting Board of Governors he presided over 53 percent growth in the weekly audience for the agencys networks over the last three years, to 345 million. Well, what we're doing right now, I think communication. We established management commitments to the women of color so that we address specifically their concerns. It is our work. My top goal is to support the women of color at NPR so that they feel like they have more upward mobility.. At a young age, my biggest goal at the time was to someday be a news director for a local TV station. Fearing a tepid economy, Lansing and his corporate team projected that revenue would stay flat for the fiscal year that began October 1. Current: How have your priorities for NPR changed since you became CEO? NPR Press Release. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Current is an editorially independent, nonprofit service of the American University School of Communication. The ratings for our weekend magazine shows are actually slightly greater than they were a year ago pre-pandemic, so thats a bright spot. 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. For several years, it eliminated salary increases and suspended retirement contributions. According to Nielsen data supplied by NPR, its programs and newscasts had an overall audience of 27.4 million in spring 2019. You go to college and all the sudden you're like 'wait a minute, I've got to do something when this is over.' Not exactly. Every time I hear it, I think that's a success by itself because we all have that as our guiding light. Last year, the network booked $134 million in such corporate underwriting, a record built on strong growth in podcasting revenue in recent years. I'm kind of a politics junkie. 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. And I still think we have a long way to go. What makes you so open and vocal about the need for diversity? 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. "The result, I believe, is a war on truth. 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. And as the year unfolded, we began to develop our three-year strategic plan. 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 . Mr. Lansings colleagues attribute the growth to his embrace of digital formats and the understanding of audiences that he gleaned from the private sector. Lansing: I guess I would comment just as a citizen watching from outside. 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 a memo to. In recent remarks online, Johnson, who is Black, focused on a more competitive landscape for NPR journalists, including people of color. John F Lansing, National Public Radio Inc: Profile and Biography - Bloomberg Markets Live Now Bloomberg TV+ Bloomberg Daybreak Middle East Bloomberg Daybreak Middle East. Last summer, we definitely had a racial reckoning. The Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, eliminated its Sunday magazine and a handful of other jobs. (Former long time member). John Lansing will begin his term as President and CEO of NPR in October, 2019. Essentially, the success of the company falls in your hands. At the center of a graphic is our commitment to DEI, and all of our work in that circle is surrounded by four pillars. 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. A graduate of Bellarmine University, he was named to the Bellarmine University Gallery of Distinguished Graduates in 2010. He joined NPR after serving as CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media. They lost their objectivity and are now just pushing leftist ideology. John Lansing, the chief executive officer and director of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, will become NPR's CEO in mid-October. But it was not from a standing start. Courtesy of Allison Shelley for NPR. hide caption. After becoming part of Warner Bros. How are you working to shore up NPRs place in the podcasting landscape and compete with deep-pocketed tech companies? 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. So mentally, how do you manage that? 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. It puts a filter on that helps us explain even unpopular decisions, how they link to our mission. 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. 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. The ratings for our weekend magazine shows are actually slightly greater than they were a year ago pre-pandemic, so thats a bright spot.. So I would tell my younger self to be confident, calm down, it's all gonna work out. Its not something weve baked and were just going to hand it down. The second pillar is to transform our workplace culture. Required fields are marked *. Lansing: When we look at our strategic plan and our commitment to growing our audience of the future, its clear to us that every corner of NPR has a digital on-demand initiative thats critical to our success and that it makes more sense to have the digital assets closer to the work thats influencing our audiences and growing our audiences. Lansing, 62, who is currently chief executive officer of the government agency that oversees Voice of America, Radio and Television Mart and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, among others . In an email to the staff on Friday, John Lansing, who joined the nonprofit as chief executive in September, projected that NPR would fall $12 million to $15 million short of the amount it had . NPR has also been the nation's leading producer of podcasts since Podtrac started measuring audiences. Video Snippet To be a part of creating the future of such an important institution is humbling, exciting, and a distinct honor.". I think you have to be in front of your teams. 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. So I think that it has caused me to be more tuned in to hearing and understanding our employees. 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. 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. (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.). 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. Were finishing up in the next two to three weeks the specific lists of actions and activities under these pillars. 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 network's newsroom. If it's not being solved from the top down, it shouldn't be a burden for people just trying to build their career. 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. So sad to me. The roots of the VOA involved providing truthful reports to people under Nazi and Axis power rule during World War II. John Lansing, the chief executive officer and director of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, will become NPR's CEO in mid-October. "The combination of his health issues plus the situation with Mike Oreskes did derail his plans.". Mohn fired head of news Michael Oreskes on Halloween 2017. In late November, the network announced $20 million in cuts, including a near-freeze on hiring, elimination of most travel, and suspension of internships. Follow Bloomberg reporters as they uncover some of the biggest financial crimes of the modern era. I just think we have a special and unique thing as a company. 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. 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. And its where our focus needs to be right now. That said, Mohn set higher annual expectations for the network in fundraising and agreed to be co-chairman of its 50th-anniversary capital campaign. Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News. Vox Media cut jobs by 7%; Gannett and Spotify by 6%. The budget for the new fiscal year is set below last years actual based on our forecasts on continued downward pressure on corporate sponsorship. 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. Lansing: Generally, the numbers that we would like to see in terms of the diversity of our audience were still lagging. Londons Investment Appeal Is Unraveling as Arm Heads to the US, Climate Change Is Launching a MutantSeed Space Race, British Parents Turn to Home Equity to Help Young Buy Property, Sorry, Fed, Most US Mortgage Rates Were Locked in During Pandemic Lows, Fed Says MoreRate Hikes Are Needed to Curb Inflation, Mitsubishi Signs $1.9b Commuter Rail Deal With Manila: Nikkei, Amazon Is Closing Its Cashierless Stores in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle, US-Sanctioned Huawei Makes a Show of Force at Mobile Conference, The UK Is Using Drones to Prosecute Small-Boat Migrant Smugglers, Russia Is Getting Round Sanctions to Secure Supply of Key Chips for Ukraine War, Philippine governor killed by gunmen while meeting villagers, An Emboldened Rishi Sunak Gets Ready to Fight His Own Party Over Taxes, Harrods Shrugs Off Recession Fears as Rich Get Richer, FT Says, Wealthy NYC Family Feuds Over $258 Million Madison Avenue Sale, Tom Sizemore, 'Saving Private Ryan' Actor, Dies at 61, The Exhibit Reality TV Show PittingArtist Against ArtistIs No Masterpiece, Matt HancockWhatsApp LeakExposes theNeed for Covid Justice, Brexit Might Have Been Prevented With Deals Like This, Video Roundup: Opinions Must-See Footage of the Week, YellowstoneBackers Wanted to Cash OutThen the Streaming Bubble Burst, How Countries Leading on Early Years of Child Care Get It Right, Female Execs Are Exhausted, Frustrated and Heading for the Exits, No Major Offer Expected on Childcare in UK Budget, Biden Gives Medal of Honor to Trailblazing Special Forces Member, UK Braces for Rare Weather Event That Risks Late-Winter Freeze, Panic Over Metals for EVs Goes All the Way to Automakers C-Suites, What Do You Want to See in a Covid Memorial?