john lansing npr political party john lansing npr political party

How cool is it to be at NPR? NPR Facebook Post with Comments. Because when you're all at work, you're all at work, and you go home to your individual situations. Applicants to this years fellowship see its cancellation as a setback for journalists of color who want to work in public radio. In these comments, John Lansing slides by with a public swipe at the Trump 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. Last summer, we definitely had a racial reckoning. We're funded by your subscriptions, your donations, advertising, and a generous grant from the Wyncote Foundation. But an example of that one that weve already created is the Consider This podcast, which is just a terrific example of taking the national-local partnership into the on-demand future. 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. And I was very proud of the progress we were making. "I don't anticipate that it would be like a haircut across every division, because that's just not management," Lansing says. 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. 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. 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. He guided the organization in becoming a leading developer of unique content across television, digital, mobile and radio platforms. I'm just passionate about how good leadership can lead to good outcomes, and that led me here. Last year, President Trump appointed Michael Pack as USAGMs CEO. He took over a troubled organization beset by infighting and bureaucratic inefficiency. "However, when you think how we look out longer term, right, not just for 20 years, but several years out, it's really about building a sustainable financial future for NPR.". 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. It is intended to align the strategy of its often fractious member stations with one another and NPR itself and to allow NPR, for the first time, to raise money digitally from its audience in concert with those stations. I think the work Keith has been doing long before I got here on diversity in tracking sources and the storytelling that we're doing around the company has really been effective in the area of DEI on radio, podcasting, and digital. Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Acting Chief Business Editor Emily Kopp. Arcbazar.com. 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. At a young age, my biggest goal at the time was to someday be a news director for a local TV station. hide caption. 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. 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. "This will be a major loss.". John Ten Eyck Lansing Jr. (January 30, 1754 - vanished December 12, 1829), a Founding Father of the United States, was an attorney, jurist, and politician. And what a breath of fresh air Whitney brings into the organization. It was a reckoning for all of us together collectively at NPR. And its something that I think will strengthen the ability for news programming, marketing and member services to be more responsive and to offer greater service to audiences in a more agile way. And our number one goal is to improve our audience diversity. Way back when, I was a news cameraman. I just think we have a special and unique thing as a company. At the same time, we have to think creatively. In recent remarks online, Johnson, who is Black, focused on a more competitive landscape for NPR journalists, including people of color. 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. NPR has a new CEO. We'd like to revisit a story that first broke yesterday and . Current: Is there a timeline for that process? 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 . I hear that all the time. It really stretched me to understand that flexibility is a good thing. It began to improve a little bit as we moved into August and September, as corporate sponsorships began to recover a little bit. "Bloomberg Opinion" columnists offer their opinions on issues in the news. If it's not being solved from the top down, it shouldn't be a burden for people just trying to build their career. Required fields are marked *. Vegas PBS General Manager, Tom Axtell, announces his retirement. That said, Mohn set higher annual expectations for the network in fundraising and agreed to be co-chairman of its 50th-anniversary capital campaign. 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. For July, NPRs 60 active shows among them Planet Money, Fresh Air and Wait Wait Dont Tell Me! were downloaded 141 million times and had nearly 21 million listeners in the United States, according to Podtrac. But also, what are the larger things that are happening? 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Current is an editorially independent, nonprofit service of the American University School of Communication. You go to college and all the sudden you're like 'wait a minute, I've got to do something when this is over.' Mr. Lansing rejected that accusation, saying that the agency was independent by law. David Westin speaks with top names in finance about the week's biggest issues on Wall Street. Learn more at npr.org/about or by following NPR Extra on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. John Lansing will begin his term as President and CEO of NPR in October, 2019. Our third pillar is to optimize content and meet audiences where they are. He will be the 11th permanent president or chief executive in the radio network's nearly 50-year history. Lansing: Were still working on it right now. NPR faces financial pressures from two fronts. Current. Current: Why are NPR and its partners looking to sell the Pocket Casts podcast app? I think you have to be willing to take hard questions. My top goal is to support the women of color at NPR so that they feel like they have more upward mobility.. Mr. Mohn was pressed about his leadership in a tense NPR interview and later apologized to employees for not taking action sooner. How cool is it to be at. 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. John Lansing will begin his term as President and CEO of NPR in October, 2019. At Colorado Public Radio, I think there was a $300,000 donation that came out of that. Weve seen significant growth in Code Switch, in Louder Than a Riot, in Sam Sanders podcast [Its Been a Minute], in part because for the first time in a while, were really investing in marketing support for those podcasts. According to Nielsen data supplied by NPR, its programs and newscasts had an overall audience of 27.4 million in spring 2019. 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 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. Well, I like NPR Politics a lot. Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnlansing. He will now lead the nation's top audio producer and broadcaster. Why did you undertake this? Podcasting in particular allows NPR to reach audiences that are not necessarily tied to a radio., Paul Haaga, the chairman of NPRs board, said in a statement that Mr. Lansing was 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.. 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. 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. 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. Scripps Company, where he managed the company's portfolio of ten broadcast television stations across the country. NPR plans to lay off about 10% of its current staff due to the soft ad market and a drop in revenue from corporate sponsors, as well as uncertainties in the global economy overall. A graduate of Bellarmine University, he was named to the Bellarmine University Gallery of Distinguished Graduates in 2010. Doing that just requires that were putting more emphasis on the diversity of our decision makers, our leadership, our story selection, our source selection. How has that effort been progressing? I'd say if there's anything that I focused on, and still am focused on during the pandemic, it is to make sure that whatever the situation is, we are supporting staff to do their best work, supporting them when they're having other challenges and making sure that we're attentive and tuned in to employees that need help, that need a break, that need to be heard, whatever that may be. He also vowed to make sure job cuts do not fall disproportionately on employees of color. Lansing describes himself as a citizen watching from the outside A private citizen? And the work goes on. Leading the organization through it all is CEO John Lansing, a longtime media executive who has been on the job since October 2019. So we were pleased to see SAG-AFTRA join our efforts. 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. That's a big thing too: having a common understanding of what management's committed to, what the Board supports, the work that's in front of us to live up to it, and ultimately diversifying our audience which leads to the business purpose. Copyright 2023. administration regarding the now former managers of his former place of employment (USAGM) but claims the mantle of private citizen to do so. 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 . Or 'How are we doing on the North Star?' 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. Again, I think it's about getting it intertwined into everything we do. Current: When was the climate survey conducted? I had been gone for the better part of a year or so. When that happened, it energized us to really double down on understanding where our weak spots were, what we needed to work on. Were working with them to create regional newsrooms in Texas and California and the Midwest and in the Gulf. So we took that very, very seriously. 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 . I can't speak for other people, CEOs. And as the year unfolded, we began to develop our three-year strategic plan. 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. Let's say, I was walking out of high school into college, I had no idea what I was going to do. Will there be another stimulus? 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. 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 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. "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. It's not just what happened this week on the Hill, although that's important. "And we finally got to the point where there was nothing really that we could cut big enough to fill a hole like that.". 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. He soon made DEI the top priority at NPR. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. As President, he held strategic and operational oversight of Scripps Networks Digital division and Scripps Networks Interactive, which includes six cable networks: Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, DIY, Cooking Channel and Great American Country. Pack then took a number of actions that raised fears about the independence of the agency, which includes Voice of America. And weve seen some significant success with that. But it was not from a standing start. Weve seen a gradual comeback. 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. NPR's search for a new CEO is finally over! Born and raised in Albany, New York, Lansing was trained as a lawyer, and was long involved in politics and government.During the American Revolution he was military secretary to General Philip Schuyler. Scripps Co., says whenever an economic slowdown appears imminent, marketing budgets get slashed. "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. And Im holding myself accountable with my board and Ive been and am holding my direct reports accountable to me. It puts a filter on that helps us explain even unpopular decisions, how they link to our mission. The various challenges everybody's having from working at home, for example, you realize that everybody's situation is different when you're working. Lansing blamed a slowdown in advertising dollars. Current: NPRs budget also took a hit because of the pandemic. Apple is reportedly building a podcast subscription service. Its pretty clear to me that the ratings decline in radio is driven by commuting patterns. "The result, I believe, is a war on truth. I subscribe to the notion of leadership as a servant leader, that the role of leaders is to support the team to do their best work. So mentally, how do you manage that? NPR undertook a strategic reorganization last fall, reinstating the position of a chief content officer overseeing both the newsroom and the programming division. What steps does NPR still need to take in this area? Mr. Mohn led the push into podcasting and helped stabilize the organization after years of management turnover and budget deficits. And so that was the way I looked at the future for me. I, and the management team, all of us, we determined that was going to be a priority for the year 2021. So at the end of the day, its a commitment, but this also has to be accountability. 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. He spent two decades at Scripps Networks, starting as a station manager in the Detroit, MI affiliate; eventually becoming President of Scripps cable networks company from 2005 to 2013. I think that's where we all wind up. It did not drive a lot of immediate donations, but there were some. 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. 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.