Yet Mr. Mohns tenure was also marked by a sexual harassment scandal involving a senior news executive whom he had hired and a labor clash with hundreds of union workers. Because when you're all at work, you're all at work, and you go home to your individual situations. 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. It has become enshrined in our three-year strategic plan as the centerpiece of all of our work. But we made a firm commitment, as you know, to freeze station dues and fees. September 6, 2019. NPR's programming division, which produces its industry-leading podcasts, has more than doubled since 2019. Lansing: About 11 months ago, in February, a pilot group of 15 stations got together and put together an 18-month plan to begin the process. John Lansing testifying before a House Appropriations subcommittee in July. This is an edited transcript of the conversation among Lansing, Current Reporter Tyler Falk and Digital Editor Mike Janssen. Lansing: Thats a great question. NPR has a new CEO. 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. Weve had a couple of significant anonymous gifts that have helped shore up our forecast for the coming fiscal year. 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. CEO John Lansing cited the erosion. 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. 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. NPR has also been the nation's leading producer of podcasts since Podtrac started measuring audiences. We had begun a lot of work under [Chief Diversity Officer] Keith Woods' leadership to really move us forward. Coming into public media, which I love, I noticed something that would be unusual in commercial media, in that there really wasnt a great investment in marketing podcasting to outside audiences off of our platforms. "Bloomberg Opinion" columnists offer their opinions on issues in the news. We established the top priority [a.k.a. Their editorial independence is enshrined in federal law, though it sometimes came under attack. 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Then I moved on to manage TV stations and cable networks. Mr. Lansing rejected that accusation, saying that the agency was independent by law. 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. 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. President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speak to reporters as they depart the Senate Democrat policy luncheon at the Capitol on March 2. The ratings for our weekend magazine shows are actually slightly greater than they were a year ago pre-pandemic, so thats a bright spot.. And were pleased to work with them. He served on the Bellarmine University Board of Trustees from 2010-2016 and was vice-chair 2014-2016. And so that was the way I looked at the future for me. 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. "This will be a major loss.". 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. This documentary-style series follows investigative journalists as they uncover the truth. Listeners consider public radio an enriching and enlightening companion; they trust NPR as a daily source of unbiased independent news, and inspiring insights on life and the arts. 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. Were finishing up in the next two to three weeks the specific lists of actions and activities under these pillars. At the center of a graphic is our commitment to DEI, and all of our work in that circle is surrounded by four pillars. 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. hide caption. In a large part, the digital teams and the divisions will work together to reach a final model. 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. We collected a lot of data and we have a lot of good follow-up opportunities, and Ill continue to offer myself up as a direct resource in that pilot project. 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. That said, Mohn set higher annual expectations for the network in fundraising and agreed to be co-chairman of its 50th-anniversary capital campaign. "We were doing everything we could against the tide and couldn't keep clipping our costs as the revenue kept slipping," Lansing says. An NPR spokeswoman said final decisions on which jobs will be eliminated should occur by the week of March 20. 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. Others have waded into the podcast fray with a vengeance. I think we're moving forward. Mohn led NPR through five consecutive years of audience growth and budget surplus. Lansing says he does not yet know who within NPR will be affected, but said the job cuts would not fall evenly across the organization. It was about a $3 million cost to NPR for the fiscal year. "And we finally got to the point where there was nothing really that we could cut big enough to fill a hole like that.". 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. Lansing: We hope to have that completed within about eight to 10 weeks. So its a constant commitment to communication, to training, to accountability. Copyright 2023. Scripps Networks September 5, 2019; Washington, D.C. - The NPR Board of Directors announced today that it. So at the end of the day, its a commitment, but this also has to be accountability. That's the way I think about leadership here. Ever since I've started, I've noticed that you've been very vocal about the need for diversity. What we now call the North Star of our strategic plan is our DEI efforts as it filters through everything that we do with all of our work. NPR was seen to align itself with federal workers at VOA who essentially conducted an internal uprising on government time, while NPR made quite clear in its coverage where it stood. Ever since you started, you've been very vocal about it. Prior to that, Lansing was VP and GM of Scripps ABC affiliates. Way back when, I was a news cameraman. Being selective, having mentors both white and people of color mentors that you can have confidential conversations with and gain some thoughts to help you develop your strategy, standing up for yourself which essentially is what happened at NPR through the climate survey and holding leaders accountable for everything. advanced degree - political agility. And some stations who had a schedule to go down actually were allowed to go down. Vox Media cut jobs by 7%; Gannett and Spotify by 6%. 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. People, given the opportunity, will do the right thing in a way that hopefully makes them want to be here for a long time. So that would be mine. The union represents 570 people at NPR. 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. 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. In these comments, John Lansing slides by with a public swipe at the Trump I am still morning the loss of an objective NPR. 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. If it's not being solved from the top down, it shouldn't be a burden for people just trying to build their career. What was it like for you to watch that happen? Harvard Kennedy School. So mentally, how do you manage that? Current: What challenges have you faced in implementing your DEI plans? It didnt begin in the summer it accelerated in the summer. NPR will cut 10% of its workforce, CEO John Lansing said Wednesday. So if you have leaders talking about DEI as a priority, well, then, show me. Fearing a tepid economy, Lansing and his corporate team projected that revenue would stay flat for the fiscal year that began October 1. NPR has tapped longtime media executive John Lansing to become its next president and CEO. John Lansing, CEO, photographed for NPR, 22 January 2020, in Washington DC. Vegas PBS General Manager, Tom Axtell, announces his retirement. How do you think that the North Star, the strategic initiative, is going? I joined in October of '19. A new chief content officer will oversee NPR's news and programming divisions, which have frequently collaborated and almost as frequently clashed over resources and . . For several years, it eliminated salary increases and suspended retirement contributions.