We have many miles to go. Current: Is there a timeline for that process? And Im holding myself accountable with my board and Ive been and am holding my direct reports accountable to me. 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.. NPR stands stronger than it did at the outset of Mohn's five-year term in 2014. "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. I think you have to be willing to take hard questions. 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. John Lansing is a former Obama appointee who was named president and CEO of NPR on Thursday. John Lansing will begin his term as President and CEO of NPR in October, 2019. The other is the fight for donors. "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. I had no idea what was out there. This is an edited transcript of the conversation among Lansing, Current Reporter Tyler Falk and Digital Editor Mike Janssen. I was very pleased to see Code Switch named as Apples top podcast of the year. He will be the 11th permanent president or chief executive in the radio network's nearly 50-year history. Their editorial independence is enshrined in federal law, though it sometimes came under attack. 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. 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. 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. 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. NPR Names Veteran Media Executive John Lansing As Its New CEO, News That Matters, Delivered To Your Inbox. Vegas PBS General Manager, Tom Axtell, announces his retirement. At the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Lansing championed a free press even as leaders of many nations move against it. 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. All Rights Reserved. Let's say, I was walking out of high school into college, I had no idea what I was going to do. Were consulting with digital media, were consulting with the division heads, and were doing it as an all-hands project so that we get it right. If it's not being solved from the top down, it shouldn't be a burden for people just trying to build their career. 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. Scripps Company, where he managed the company's portfolio of ten broadcast television stations across the country. Lansing, who is 62, is. For the year that ended last September, NPR reported $241 million in expenses. Since then, sponsorship revenue has returned, Mr. Lansing said, and NPR was able to navigate the pandemic without cutting staff. Mohn fired head of news Michael Oreskes on Halloween 2017. 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. 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. Current: When was the climate survey conducted? You'll find out about what they do and what they're inspired by on the daily. 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. But we made a firm commitment, as you know, to freeze station dues and fees. Lansing: I guess my head turns first to the journalism of our member stations. 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. I'm from Minneapolis, and my parents are buried about six blocks from where George Floyd was killed. 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 were happy to see SAG-AFTRA agree with us and to join up. And some stations who had a schedule to go down actually were allowed to go down. Current: How much were those anonymous gifts? The network had run deficits in six of the seven previous years; under Mohn, it has achieved a slight surplus for each year during his tenure, even as the annual budget grew by more than 40%. Because when you're all at work, you're all at work, and you go home to your individual situations. administration regarding the now former managers of his former place of employment (USAGM) but claims the mantle of private citizen to do so. 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. Not exactly. How is it a priority? 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. NPR faces financial pressures from two fronts. 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. Lansing: I dont know how long that may or may not take, but our emphasis right now is on our own internal digital strategy, digital production, digital storytelling. 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. You have stated that DEI is your top priority at NPR. In these comments, John Lansing slides by with a public swipe at the Trump That survey happened in the fall of 2020. So mentally, how do you manage that? NPR only takes a few million dollars a year from federal sources for its programs. Weve had a couple of significant anonymous gifts that have helped shore up our forecast for the coming fiscal year. Theres no question about it. John Lansing, president and CEO Chair of the NPR Foundation John McGinn Public members of the board Carlos Alvarez, CEO, The Gambrinus Company Fred Dust, designer, speaker, and consultant Paul G. Haaga Jr., retired, Capital Research and Management Company - Chairman of the NPR Board of Directors 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. Hes 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. This is just dishonest, especially since NPR became what amounted to a voice of the opposition in its coverage of this dysfunctional federal agency. 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 weve seen that really help them grow. The only route to a successful engagement on this issue is to deal with it, to talk about it, and to take action. Current. 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. Jarl would be the first to say that it is the area where he feels that his work was not complete, Sheikholeslami said. I thought, wow. John Lansing testifying before a House Appropriations subcommittee in July. There were three of them, each for $1 million. 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. Lansing, who is 62, is. Bloomberg Markets European Close. It was a reckoning for all of us together collectively at NPR. John Lansing, the chief executive officer and director of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, will become NPR's CEO in mid-October. Its not something weve baked and were just going to hand it down. 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. 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