I think you have to be transparent and be able to explain what you're doing, even if it's unpopular. 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. That said, Mohn set higher annual expectations for the network in fund-raising and agreed to be co-chairman of its 50th anniversary capital campaign. So if you have leaders talking about DEI as a priority, well, then, show me. I just think that somebody's truth is the truth. 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. We still remain one of the top, if not the top, podcasters in America. Your email address will not be published. Lansing: Thats a great question. He served for four years as the SVP, Television for the E.W. You'll find out about what they do and what they're inspired by on the daily. Lansing, who is 62, is. Lansing: That was conducted back in September. 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. How has that effort been progressing? We couldnt be more proud of the quality and the depth of the journalism thats coming from the member stations, and it really has strengthened the entire system enormously. If it's not being solved from the top down, it shouldn't be a burden for people just trying to build their career. Current: Why are NPR and its partners looking to sell the Pocket Casts podcast app? 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. 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. So mentally, how do you manage that? Lansing, who is 62, is currently the chief executive of the government agency that oversees Voice of America, Radio and Television Mart and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, among others. Weve had a couple of significant anonymous gifts that have helped shore up our forecast for the coming fiscal year. Lansing previously held positions overseeing the Scripps Co.'s local television stations and then its national cable channels, which include the Food Network and HGTV, among others. At a young age, my biggest goal at the time was to someday be a news director for a local TV station. What makes you so open and vocal about the need for diversity? So those are the four pillars that rotate around the centerpiece, we call it the North Star, of our commitment to DEI. 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. It shouldn't be on any journalists of color, or anybody of color, to have to go and 'solve this problem' in somebody's company. 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. And our work began then. Lansing says the agency referred Haroon Ullahs 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. A member of the Republican Party, Gibbs was a software engineer and missionary before entering politics. 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. What would you go back and tell your younger self? Scripps Company, where he managed the company's portfolio of ten broadcast television stations across the country. Last summer, we definitely had a racial reckoning. 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. And probably the most important accountability is that, first of all, I hold myself accountable with my goals that I report to the board. Why did you undertake this? Dear NPR President John Lansing, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for the powerful letter you wrote to NPR staff and the public about the horrific extrajudicial killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. 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. Selected by the NPR board of directors, Lansing will start in October, succeeding outgoing head Jarl Mohn, Lansing: Lets go back in time. John Lansing, a veteran government broadcast and cable television executive, has been selected by NPRs corporate board to succeed its current chief, Jarl Mohn. 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. How are you working to shore up NPRs place in the podcasting landscape and compete with deep-pocketed tech companies? Pack then took a number of actions that raised fears about the independence of the agency, which includes Voice of America. It is our work our North Star and our work are the same thing. Lansing: You have to imagine a picture, if you will. And the pandemic hit six months later in March of '20. "We managed to get through that year, tough as it was, and to end the year break even," Mr. Lansing said. At the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Lansing championed a free press even as leaders of many nations move against it. While serving as chief operating officer, she took on a greater role during two of Mohns medical leaves and in the aftermath of the sexual harassment scandal. Current: With broadcast listening declining during the pandemic, what is NPR doing to address and adjust to those trends? Mohn fired head of news Michael Oreskes on Halloween 2017. And The New York Times has won praise and new fans through its weekday podcast The Daily, with in-depth interviews of reporters and newsmakers. Lansing also spent almost 20 years working at Scripps, including eight years as President of Scripps Networks. 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. Follow Bloomberg reporters as they uncover some of the biggest financial crimes of the modern era. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images NPR's chief executive announced the. The work of those pillars will be done through the lens of improving our efforts on DEI. Video Snippet That said, Mohn set higher annual expectations for the network in fundraising and agreed to be co-chairman of its 50th-anniversary capital campaign. 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. We can help you keep up. Every time I hear it, I think that's a success by itself because we all have that as our guiding light. It began to improve a little bit as we moved into August and September, as corporate sponsorships began to recover a little bit. Its a real business with real market dynamics.. Mr. Lansing will start in October, replacing Jarl Mohn, who has run NPR since 2014. Did you plan for this or did it kind of just happen? 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. So its a constant commitment to communication, to training, to accountability. So it's kind of inseparable, that coming in as CEO of NPR, and then six months in having the coronavirus, followed by a major economic downturn in the country and for NPR, and then the reckoning that summer. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Well, what we're doing right now, I think communication. According to Nielsen data supplied by NPR, its programs and newscasts had an overall audience of 27.4 million in spring 2019. 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. ", "I am thrilled to work with NPR's exceptional management team, staff and journalists," said Lansing. Its something that we certainly support. hide caption. Applicants to this years fellowship see its cancellation as a setback for journalists of color who want to work in public radio. Government support for the public radio system isn't in any immediate jeopardy. 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 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. Current: How much were those anonymous gifts? Scripps Networks I'm from Minneapolis, and my parents are buried about six blocks from where George Floyd was killed. John Lansing will begin his term as President and CEO of NPR in October, 2019. Weve also seen very positive upticks in development. NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. ", He continued: "Citizens in countries from Russia to China, from Iran to North Korea, have been victimized for decades. 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. 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. And some stations who had a schedule to go down actually were allowed to go down. But we felt like it was an important investment to make in our member stations to support them during the pandemic. Experts say the behavior could have constituted insider trading. NPR takes only a few million dollars a year from federal sources for its programs. Current: What are some of the highlights of that strategic plan? Ever since I've started, I've noticed that you've been very vocal about the need for diversity. Last year, President Trump appointed Michael Pack as USAGMs CEO. 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 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. 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. 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.. So I brought in Michael Smith as our new chief marketing officer almost a year ago. Podtrac, which measures the audiences of podcast publishers, has consistently placed NPR at the top of its monthly rankings. U.S. Agency for Global Media Chief Executive Officer and Director of the, Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing, Florangela Davila to Become KNKX News Director, NPR Hires Noelle LaCharite As VP Digital Technology. Listen now. I hear that all the time. All of those underlying effects generally lead to whatever effects were going to have in corporate sponsorship. "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. Apple is reportedly building a podcast subscription service. Ever since you started, you've been very vocal about it. Our newsletters bring you a closer look at the stories that affect you and the music that inspires you. 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.". Lansings tenure at the agency has not been without controversy. Your email address will not be published. It puts a filter on that helps us explain even unpopular decisions, how they link to our mission. Since then, sponsorship revenue has returned, Mr. Lansing said, and NPR was able to navigate the pandemic without cutting staff. 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. If not the top, podcasters in America the modern era plan for this or did it kind of happen... 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