john lansing npr political party

Mr. Mohn was pressed about his leadership in a tense NPR interview and later apologized to employees for not taking action sooner. 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. Scripps Networks September 5, 2019; Washington, D.C. - The NPR Board of Directors announced today that it. Lansing, who is . In a memo to. advanced degree - political agility. ", "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. I joined in October of '19. "And I want to look for areas that I can provide leadership to bring resources together as needed strategically to find the right priorities that make the most sense for growing NPR this year and then into the future.". 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. Its an inclusive process. In an interview on Friday, Mr. Lansing, 62, praised NPR as a home of high-quality journalism and audio production, and said that in addition to supporting traditional radio broadcasting he wanted to help NPR further its expansion into areas like podcasts, where the radio network has already been a leader. Scripps Networks NPR has tapped longtime media executive John Lansing to become its next president and CEO. I am still morning the loss of an objective NPR. Tech companies that also rely heavily on advertising are undergoing layoffs too. Lansing, who is 62, is. 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. 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. They lost their objectivity and are now just pushing leftist ideology. 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. So its an ongoing effort. And how's that being measured and accounted for? 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. Were still looking at a deficit, but were hopeful that by the time we get into March, well have a pretty clear-eyed view of how the year is going to end up. NPR Start Date: Mid October, 2020 When asked about his priorities, Lansing invoked what he has called the network's "North Star'' since his arrival in the fall of 2019: a push to ensure the network has a bigger and broader audience base, rooted in younger and more diverse listeners, readers and consumers. 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. Current: How else might NPR assist stations in the coming year? I'm sure that's true even today. Board Member. For the year that ended last September, NPR reported $241 million in expenses. America needs public radio more than ever. 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. I'm just passionate about how good leadership can lead to good outcomes, and that led me here. Mr. Mohn led the push into podcasting and helped stabilize the organization after years of management turnover and budget deficits. 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 guided the organization in becoming a leading developer of unique content across television, digital, mobile and radio platforms. 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.". As I said, its hiring, its emphasis on diversity in leadership, diversity in sources, diversity in voices, diversity in the stories we tell, training around our organization. And its tied to the same variables you would know yourselves, which is, how fast can the vaccines be deployed? You hear me say fairly often it's not a thing that's going to end; it's really a new way of operating with an awareness of this weakness that we need to address and build upon and ensure that it lives on and continues to improve. 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. Their editorial independence is enshrined in federal law, though it sometimes came under attack. The layoffs are in keeping with an increasingly grim landscape for media companies over recent months. 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. 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. Well, I like NPR Politics a lot. David Westin speaks with top names in finance about the week's biggest issues on Wall Street. CEO John Lansing says ad revenue for podcasting shriveled even as general economy seems on mend. 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. Vox Media cut jobs by 7%; Gannett and Spotify by 6%. A member of the Republican Party, Gibbs was a software engineer and missionary before entering politics. I think leaders are accountable for walking the walk, for doing what they say they're going to do. Lansing: I guess I would comment just as a citizen watching from outside. 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. So mentally, how do you manage that? I think we're moving forward. "We're not seeing signs of a recovery in the advertising market," Lansing says in an interview. He took over a troubled organization beset by infighting and bureaucratic inefficiency. What advice would you give to young journalists of color when navigating these white spaces, but attempting to make a change? 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. Lansing served for ten years as a visiting faculty member at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. So if you have leaders talking about DEI as a priority, well, then, show me. 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. Let's say, I was walking out of high school into college, I had no idea what I was going to do. I, and the management team, all of us, we determined that was going to be a priority for the year 2021. The last time NPR faced such stark choices, it was 2008. It's not an extracurricular activity; it's fundamental to our business. 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. I'm from Minneapolis, and my parents are buried about six blocks from where George Floyd was killed. (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.). 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. I would enjoy being on a podcast talking about politics. What would you go back and tell your younger self? People, given the opportunity, will do the right thing in a way that hopefully makes them want to be here for a long time. He joined NPR after serving as CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Mr. Lansings colleagues attribute the growth to his embrace of digital formats and the understanding of audiences that he gleaned from the private sector. Its a real business with real market dynamics.. U.S. Agency for Global Media I was very pleased to see Code Switch named as Apples top podcast of the year. 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. NPR faces financial pressures from two fronts. "Bloomberg Opinion" columnists offer their opinions on issues in the news. NPR will cut 10% of its workforce, CEO John Lansing said Wednesday. 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 takes only a few million dollars a year from federal sources for its programs. That survey happened in the fall of 2020. Lansing: You have to imagine a picture, if you will. NPR undertook a strategic reorganization last fall, reinstating the position of a chief content officer overseeing both the newsroom and the programming division. It was a reckoning for all of us together collectively at NPR. And as the year unfolded, we began to develop our three-year strategic plan. ", Lansing, formerly a top television executive for the E.W. The only route to a successful engagement on this issue is to deal with it, to talk about it, and to take action. And so I had a very visceral reaction to that happening in my hometown, and that it was so egregious the murder of an innocent person captured on video, on a phone. "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. So were now into the new fiscal year. 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. 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. The emphasis, he says, must be on drawing in "the future audience to make NPR sustainable for the next 50 years. John Lansing is taking over for outgoing CEO Jarl Mohn, who has led the organization for . 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. It was hard for everyone. It's not just what happened this week on the Hill, although that's important. 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. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images administration regarding the now former managers of his former place of employment (USAGM) but claims the mantle of private citizen to do so. John Lansing will begin his term as President and CEO of NPR in October, 2019. Mr. Lansing will start in October, replacing Jarl Mohn, who has run NPR since 2014. Lansing: That was conducted back in September. 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. "I don't anticipate that it would be like a haircut across every division, because that's just not management," Lansing says. 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 said in an interview with Current Thursday that one of his first observations upon joining NPR was that we needed to double down our efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion. NPR has also been the nation's leading producer of podcasts since Podtrac started measuring audiences. Were working with them to create regional newsrooms in Texas and California and the Midwest and in the Gulf. 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. When will that freeze be lifted? 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. "What we've shown with podcasting is that we can take some of our core journalistic assets and we can create new formats and new programs around them and actually reach new audiences. If we don't get this right, then our audience of the next 50 years will lack the diversity that would give it the ability to grow and thrive and prosper and even survive. 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. Were working with member stations on topic teams for, say, political reporting or criminal justice reporting across the system. What makes you so open and vocal about the need for diversity? The network's fight for listeners' time has become more feverish. Video Snippet 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. I think there are interesting trends to follow and try to understand. Disclosure: This story was reported by NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik under guidance from NPR chief business editor Pallavi Gogoi. Now with the magazine shows on weekdays were about 20% behind last year, which is a significant improvement over where we were about eight months ago. The second pillar is to transform our workplace culture. "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. 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. So that would be mine. I got this part time job at a TV station to make a little money while I was going to college. It is our work. 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. Yet the tech and media industries' prospects stand at odds with a tight labor market and low unemployment more broadly. But my goals also go to all of my direct reports. 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. You go to college and all the sudden you're like 'wait a minute, I've got to do something when this is over.' Did you know that one day you would become a CEO? Current: NPR has helped stations during the pandemic by delaying planned changes to the dues they pay. Our third pillar is to optimize content and meet audiences where they are. Current: Why are NPR and its partners looking to sell the Pocket Casts podcast app? 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. And some stations who had a schedule to go down actually were allowed to go down. CEO John Lansing discusses NPRs diversity efforts, budget deficit and growing podcast competition. Copyright 2023. The first pillar is to expand the power of the national-local partnership into the on-demand future. 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. Your email address will not be published. Were certainly not over, were not at a finish line. 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. 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. He served for four years as the SVP, Television for the E.W. In a large part, the digital teams and the divisions will work together to reach a final model. "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.". hide caption. 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. It might come from my journalistic roots, and I think other journalists would say the same thing, I deal [with] and honor the truth. 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.. And so in late 2019 we began working on a set of priorities for the calendar year 2020 that included promoting Keith Woods to chief diversity officer; putting more energy behind our effort to have 100% sourcing and notating the diversity of our sources; and hiring, leadership, unconscious bias training, et cetera. In late November, the network announced $20 million in cuts, including a near-freeze on hiring, elimination of most travel, and suspension of internships. The work of those pillars will be done through the lens of improving our efforts on DEI. ", "I am thrilled to work with NPR's exceptional management team, staff and journalists," said Lansing. Then I moved on to manage TV stations and cable networks. 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 . NPR's Michel Martin asks NPR's CEO, John Lansing, to respond to an All Things Considered interview with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. NPR Press Release. At a young age, my biggest goal at the time was to someday be a news director for a local TV station. That's something that perceptive journalists should be able to pick up pretty quickly. 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. 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. So its a constant commitment to communication, to training, to accountability. NPR, the public radio and podcasting giant, has a new leader after years of growth and internal turmoil. 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. "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. If you had to create a podcast, what would it be about? This time, Lansing says he is not confident the money will return anytime soon, so the network and its board have to plan more strategically. Prior to that, Lansing was VP and GM of Scripps ABC affiliates. 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. John Lansing, CEO, photographed for NPR, 22 January 2020, in Washington DC. Its not something weve baked and were just going to hand it down. 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. Last year, President Trump appointed Michael Pack as USAGMs CEO. 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. We saw a lot of companies react to the [murder of] George Floyd and we did too. There were three of them, each for $1 million. 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. And were happy to see SAG-AFTRA agree with us and to join up. Mohn will continue on as President Emeritus & Co-Chair of the 50th Anniversary Campaign. John Lansing, a media executive with government broadcast and cable television experience, has been named by NPR's board to succeed its current chief, Jarl Mohn who announced the plan to step down after his 5-Year term ended. You'll find out about what they do and what they're inspired by on the daily. Such distinctions between news and programming are tricky, however, as programming oversees podcasts, including those that perform journalistic functions, such as Code Switch, It's Been A Minute, Planet Money, and Throughline. 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 . Our DEI efforts at the beginning of 2020 were not a project or an extracurricular activity; it really became our work. 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? 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. And our number one goal is to improve our audience diversity. 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. Lansing has earned an advanced degree in political agility. "The result, I believe, is a war on truth.

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