But it was not from a standing start. That was revised as a result. NPR's chief executive announced the network would lay off roughly 10% of its . The agency has an annual budget of $808 million. Trump has notably praised authoritarian figures, including the leaders of North Korea, the Philippines, Russia and Turkey and has waged his own fight against journalists. hide caption. Yet the tech and media industries' prospects stand at odds with a tight labor market and low unemployment more broadly. It was hard for everyone. Anyone can read what you share. John Gibbs is an American far-right political commentator and politician. 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? But thats our commitment. In late November, the network announced $20 million in cuts, including a near-freeze on hiring, elimination of most travel, and suspension of internships. Or 'How are we doing on the North Star?' Lansing, who is 62, is. And Im holding myself accountable with my board and Ive been and am holding my direct reports accountable to me. So I think thats being offset by some listening through smart speakers and even online, and thats helping to offset some of the reduction in listening within vehicles. All of those underlying effects generally lead to whatever effects were going to have in corporate sponsorship. U.S. Agency for Global Media But we made a firm commitment, as you know, to freeze station dues and fees. hide caption. CEO John Lansing discusses NPRs diversity efforts, budget deficit and growing podcast competition. Our third pillar is to optimize content and meet audiences where they are. It's not an extracurricular activity; it's fundamental to our business. That's the way I think about leadership here. Lansing will begin his term at NPR in October and will succeed Jarl Mohn, who has been Chief Executive Officer and President since 2014. 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. John Lansing is a former Obama appointee who was named president and CEO of NPR on Thursday. 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. NPR's rigorous reporting and unsurpassed storytelling connect with millions of Americans everydayon the air, online, and in person. administration regarding the now former managers of his former place of employment (USAGM) but claims the mantle of private citizen to do so. But also, what are the larger things that are happening? 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. hide caption. Scripps Company, Held senior management positions at Scripps-owned affiliates, including WEWS TV in Cleveland, Ohio and WXYZ TV in Detroit, Michigan, Early in his career Award-winning Photojournalist and Field Producer, Assignment Manager, Managing Editor, and News Director at several television stations. 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. It was about a $3 million cost to NPR for the fiscal year. 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. And some stations who had a schedule to go down actually were allowed to go down. 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. Again, I think it's about getting it intertwined into everything we do. 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. So I would tell my younger self to be confident, calm down, it's all gonna work out. Lansing: Thats a great question. So sad to lose an American institution to propaganda. 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. National Public Radio will reduce its workforce by 10 percent as it grapples with what CEO John Lansing says is a "sharp . We had begun a lot of work under [Chief Diversity Officer] Keith Woods' leadership to really move us forward. Lansing, who is 62, is. So sad to me. 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. 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. NPR, the public radio and podcasting giant, has a new leader after years of growth and internal turmoil. Its a real business with real market dynamics.. So at the end of the day, its a commitment, but this also has to be accountability. I just started in May. 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 will cut 10% of its workforce, CEO John Lansing said Wednesday. New podcasts Up First, Consider This and State of Ukraine sit on both sides. Scripps Company, where he managed the company's portfolio of ten broadcast television stations across the country. "A really important strategic vector that we'll be talking about more within the company going forward is maximizing the value of the content wherever it can live and wherever the audience demands it," NPR Chief Operating Officer Will Lee says in an interview. Last fall, when announcing the earlier cuts, Lansing said the network would have to make tough choices - and to "do less with less." 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. He is. Lansing: Back in May and June, it was an alarming decline in radio ratings. Lansing: We arent in a position to answer that until we know for sure when the pandemic is going to subside. 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. And theyre all expected to articulate a DEI goal thats measurable, actionable, and that they can be held accountable for and will be. 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. (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.). Theres no question about it. You have stated that DEI is your top priority at NPR. It did not drive a lot of immediate donations, but there were some. Here's what to do in a worst case scenario. So if you have leaders talking about DEI as a priority, well, then, show me. "I want to hear the ideas that are bubbling underneath right now and what people are excited about, what they're looking forward to developing," Lansing said Thursday. 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. Just be tuned into our folks. Current: When was the climate survey conducted? NPR's search for a new CEO is finally over! 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.". And I still think we have a long way to go. NPR's John Lansing Discusses the Importance of Integrity in Journalism By Nicole Jones - October 30, 2020 0 463 NPR National President and CEO John Lansing joined the Belmont community for a conversation about integrity in journalism, highlighting its importance especially during an election year. Now Lansing says he wants to draw on the intellectual and creative impulses of his new staffers as he leads a domestic journalistic powerhouse with an international reputation and reach. The streaming platform Spotify paid nearly a quarter-billion dollars to buy the podcast producer Gimlet, founded by former staffers of NPR and other public radio outlets. "This will be a major loss.". John Lansing will begin his term as President and CEO of NPR in October, 2019. Lansing: Everybodys at a different place with DEI depending on where they stand, whether thats a person who is white and doesnt understand how white privilege has improved their standing in their career in a way that persons of color may have not experienced. LANSING, John, Jr., (Uncle of Gerrit Yates Lansing), a Delegate from New York; born in Albany, N.Y., January 30, 1754; studied law in Albany and in New York City; was admitted to the bar in 1775; secretary to General Schuyler 1776 and 1777; engaged in the practice of law in Albany in 1778; member of the State assembly 1781-1784, 1786, and 1789, and served as speaker in 1786 and 1789; Member of . The layoffs are in keeping with an increasingly grim landscape for media companies over recent months. Applicants to this years fellowship see its cancellation as a setback for journalists of color who want to work in public radio. Weve had a couple of significant anonymous gifts that have helped shore up our forecast for the coming fiscal year. Lansing said he took pride in maintaining conventional broadcasts while appealing to new audiences, reaching about 25% more people each week. "Management is about committing to strategy, making tough decisions.". 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. 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. 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. Your email address will not be published. He served on the Bellarmine University Board of Trustees from 2010-2016 and was vice-chair 2014-2016. 2016 John Lansing leading a moderated a discussion with the members of the International Media Coordinating Council (ICC) about a unified strategy for the future. Tech companies that also rely heavily on advertising are undergoing layoffs too. He began his career in media at age 17 when he was hired as a studio technician and cameraman for WPSD TV in Kentucky. Mohn fired head of news Michael Oreskes on Halloween 2017. Current: How else might NPR assist stations in the coming year? This is simply disingenuous. Current (https://current.org/2021/02/ceo-john-lansing-discusses-nprs-diversity-efforts-budget-deficit-and-growing-podcast-competition/). 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. My top goal is to support the women of color at NPR so that they feel like they have more upward mobility.. 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. 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. What makes you so open and vocal about the need for diversity? All rights reserved. That said, Mohn set higher annual expectations for the network in fundraising and agreed to be co-chairman of its 50th-anniversary capital campaign. Arcbazar.com. NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. NPR's president of operations, Loren Mayor, was the leading internal candidate for the chief executive position. 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. There were three of them, each for $1 million. So were now into the new fiscal year. So I think that it has caused me to be more tuned in to hearing and understanding our employees. 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. 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.