Let's say, I was walking out of high school into college, I had no idea what I was going to do. It might come from my journalistic roots, and I think other journalists would say the same thing, I deal [with] and honor the truth. Follow Bloomberg reporters as they uncover some of the biggest financial crimes of the modern era. I established DEI as our top priority on Jan. 5 of 2020. 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. 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. And be a good listener. Current: Last year, the SAG-AFTRA union called out NPRs previous failures on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion and asked management to commit to accountability measures. 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. Or persons of color who are in our organization that are hearing [about] a lot of activity but arent experiencing what they believe they should be experiencing in terms of a workplace where they feel like they can grow and improve their work and improve their careers. Its a real business with real market dynamics.. Board Memberships & Affiliations. Current: You came to NPR after serving as CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Last year, President Trump appointed Michael Pack as USAGMs CEO. Today, we feature John Lansing, CEO of NPR. During the Donald Trump administration, he held roles in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and was acting Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Community Planning and Development. The ratings have tanked because all they talk about is race. Well, I like NPR Politics a lot. No. National Public Radio will reduce its workforce by 10 percent as it grapples with what CEO John Lansing says is a "sharp . The ratings for our weekend magazine shows are actually slightly greater than they were a year ago pre-pandemic, so thats a bright spot. 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. 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. Lansing blamed a slowdown in advertising dollars. Applicants to this years fellowship see its cancellation as a setback for journalists of color who want to work in public radio. Mike Morgan/Mike Morgan When you first got to NPR, what did you think? Vox Media cut jobs by 7%; Gannett and Spotify by 6%. It is our work our North Star and our work are the same thing. That content executive position has not yet been filled; its creation led to the departure of then-NPR chief news executive Nancy Barnes. And I had a lot of interest in how my former team was being treated, but more importantly, just as an American citizen, how the work of USAGM through VOA [Voice of America] and RFE/RL [Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] was threatening to undermine the interests of the United States government by politicizing journalism that was meant by law to be free of political interference. 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 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. 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. He is 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. 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. Prior to joining USAGM, he served for two years as the President and CEO of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), an organization that facilitates collaborative marketing initiatives for its members. John Lansing, CEO, photographed for NPR, 22 January 2020, in Washington DC. 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. Fear drives their path. 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. The roots of the VOA involved providing truthful reports to people under Nazi and Axis power rule during World War II. If you had to create a podcast, what would it be about? 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. I think as a white man, I know and have experienced that feeling of trepidation on discussions on issues of race, because there's an inherent fear that somebody is going to have a negative point of view about you. 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. After Lansing hopped over to NPR from USAGM in 2019, NPR had to be prompted by outside critics to include disclaimers on its USAGM/VOA stories to note Lansings past USAGM role. Video Snippet Lansing said he took pride in maintaining conventional broadcasts while appealing to new audiences, reaching about 25% more people each week. And I think we have to extend that lead. Courtesy of Allison Shelley for NPR. Lansing also spent almost 20 years working at Scripps, including eight years as President of Scripps Networks. Board Member. And the work goes on. The layoffs are in keeping with an increasingly grim landscape for media companies over recent months. NPR, the public radio and podcasting giant, has a new leader after years of growth and internal turmoil. NPR stands stronger than it did at the outset of Mohn's five-year term in 2014. My top goal is to support the women of color at NPR so that they feel like they have more upward mobility.. At the U.S. Agency for Global Media known until last year as the Broadcasting Board of Governors he presided over 53 percent growth in the weekly audience for the agencys networks over the last three years, to 345 million. Current: Why are NPR and its partners looking to sell the Pocket Casts podcast app? We still remain one of the top, if not the top, podcasters in America. And the fourth one is to diversify and grow our revenue models so that were not overly reliant on one or two revenue streams to help strengthen our future financials. What was it like for you to watch that happen? 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. How do you think that the North Star, the strategic initiative, is going? Lansing also elevated to chief strategy officer a former U.S. State Department staffer who recently pleaded guilty to having defrauded the U.S. Agency for Global Media out of more than $40,000 in government money in 2018, according to federal prosecutors. I joined in October of '19. Current: How else might NPR assist stations in the coming year? 2017-2022. 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. So those are the four pillars that rotate around the centerpiece, we call it the North Star, of our commitment to DEI. Did you plan for this or did it kind of just happen? 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. I think you have to be transparent and be able to explain what you're doing, even if it's unpopular. Mr. Mohn was pressed about his leadership in a tense NPR interview and later apologized to employees for not taking action sooner. Current: How have your priorities for NPR changed since you became CEO? And some stations who had a schedule to go down actually were allowed to go down. 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. And theyre all expected to articulate a DEI goal thats measurable, actionable, and that they can be held accountable for and will be. CEO John Lansing cited the erosion of advertising dollars, particularly for NPR podcasts, and the tough financial outlook for the media industry more generally. Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News. The network's fight for listeners' time has become more feverish. Its new president and chief executive is John Lansing, a former cable executive who for the last five years has run the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the federally funded organization behind broadcasters like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The only route to a successful engagement on this issue is to deal with it, to talk about it, and to take action. 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. I'm kind of a politics junkie. He won praise for doing so and says he informed leaders of SAG-AFTRA on Tuesday about the impending job cuts. He is passionate about NPR's public service mission and the role of a free and independent media in a strong democracy. Lansing: Back in May and June, it was an alarming decline in radio ratings. 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. He began his career in media at age 17 when he was hired as a studio technician and cameraman for WPSD TV in Kentucky. Will there be another stimulus? hide caption. The second pillar is to transform our workplace culture. Weve also seen very positive upticks in development. When you first got to NPR, what did you think? NPR faces financial pressures from two fronts. You have shows like All Things Considered and Morning Edition, which will continue to be broadcasting tent poles, Mr. Lansing said. Current: Companies like Spotify and Amazon have been pouring big money into podcasting. "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: Its on social media platforms or YouTube or through media partnerships. Current: Do you have any examples of how digital operations would be integrated into divisions throughout the organization? What would you go back and tell your younger self? And the pandemic hit six months later in March of '20. A graduate of Bellarmine University, he was named to the Bellarmine University Gallery of Distinguished Graduates in 2010. NPR has tapped longtime media executive John Lansing to become its next president and CEO. Lansing: We hope to have that completed within about eight to 10 weeks. Leading the organization through it all is CEO John Lansing, a longtime media executive who has been on the job since October 2019. 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 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. This is an edited transcript of the conversation among Lansing, Current Reporter Tyler Falk and Digital Editor Mike Janssen. 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. The union represents 570 people at NPR. . 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. Were they targeted to specific spending areas or just for general costs? "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.". While they do not broadcast within the U.S., the Voice of America and the other media outfits Lansing has overseen typically adhere to traditional concepts of factual, nonideological journalism, with the frequent exception of Radio Mart historically an anti-Castro and anti-Cuban communist outlet. 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. NPR's president of operations, Loren Mayor, was the leading internal candidate for the chief executive position. NPR CEO Jarl Mohn To Step Down After 5-Year Term Ends In June, Tensions Build In NPR Newsroom Over Handling Of Sexual Harassment Allegations, NPR Announces Newsroom Job Cuts Amid Restructuring. 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. 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.. We'd like to revisit a story that first broke yesterday and . Anyone can read what you share. Mr. Lansing rejected that accusation, saying that the agency was independent by law. Under standard procedures for reporting on NPR matters, NPR's corporate and news executives were not allowed to review the report until it was posted. Well, what we're doing right now, I think communication. Both Lansing and Sheikholeslami say he is adamant about pressing forward with reforms to the workplace culture at NPR that Mayor has already started to put in place. So Im pleased to see that that short era is over. Michael was a senior marketing executive at Scripps for Food Network and HGTV and really brings a lot of media marketing expertise. 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. "We are delighted to welcome John, whose deep experience as a media industry executive and practicing journalist make him ideally suited to lead NPR into its next chapter," said Paul Haaga, Chair of the NPR board. Bellarmine alumnus and former trustee John Lansing, a veteran cable television and government broadcast executive, is the new CEO of NPR. We saw a lot of companies react to the [murder of] George Floyd and we did too. 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. Now with the magazine shows on weekdays were about 20% behind last year, which is a significant improvement over where we were about eight months ago. Required fields are marked *. He took over a troubled organization beset by infighting and bureaucratic inefficiency. It's interesting. I think there's an awareness, like in the way you asked the question about 'our North Star.' 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. The network has won acclaim for its coverage of wars and disasters, yet suffered its own crisis and tragedy in 2016 when its David Gilkey and Zabihullah Tamanna were killed while on assignment in southern Afghanistan. NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. Current: Is there a timeline for that process? NPR Press Release. We established management commitments to the women of color so that we address specifically their concerns. 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. Family Status: Married with 4 Children (Jean Rausch Lansing) He will be the 11th permanent president or chief executive in the radio network's nearly 50-year history. hide caption. So at the end of the day, its a commitment, but this also has to be accountability. I think you have to be in front of your teams. Mohn led NPR through five consecutive years of audience growth and budget surplus. That was revised as a result. 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. Lansing: We arent in a position to answer that until we know for sure when the pandemic is going to subside. He joined NPR after serving as CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media. I'm just passionate about how good leadership can lead to good outcomes, and that led me here. I think leaders are accountable for walking the walk, for doing what they say they're going to do. Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnlansing. So we took that very, very seriously. 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. "Management is about committing to strategy, making tough decisions.". I would enjoy being on a podcast talking about politics. 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. 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. Again, I think it's about getting it intertwined into everything we do. 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%. A review by the House Foreign Affairs Committee faulted the agency for insufficient oversight but noted that an internal task force was already having an impact. In an interview, Mr. Lansing called the ads a rogue incident and said it had been corrected. Talk about a force of nature. Current: NPRs budget also took a hit because of the pandemic. At Colorado Public Radio, I think there was a $300,000 donation that came out of that. 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. You go to college and all the sudden you're like 'wait a minute, I've got to do something when this is over.' document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Current is an editorially independent, nonprofit service of the American University School of Communication. "And I want to look for areas that I can provide leadership to bring resources together as needed strategically to find the right priorities that make the most sense for growing NPR this year and then into the future.". I dont know if youve been on the highway recently, but theres a lot more traffic on the highway today than there would have been last May and June. In a memo to. It puts a filter on that helps us explain even unpopular decisions, how they link to our mission. After becoming part of Warner Bros. During 2021, we worked on that with Keith and with Diversity and Inclusion Manager Whitney Maddox. Mayor is said to be staying on at the network as a top executive and deputy to Lansing, retaining the enhanced portfolio she took on after Mohn's health crises. 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. Ever since you started, you've been very vocal about it. But also, what are the larger things that are happening? NPR maintains 17 national bureaus and 17 bureaus abroad. He also vowed to make sure job cuts do not fall disproportionately on employees of color. 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. John Lansing, the chief executive officer and director of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, will become NPR's CEO in mid-October. And were pleased to work with them. One thing I would say is, research the places you're looking at to either begin your career or advance your career and understand where they are on these issues. 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. Were finishing up in the next two to three weeks the specific lists of actions and activities under these pillars. So I brought in Michael Smith as our new chief marketing officer almost a year ago. First, we're a nonprofit. The work theyve done during the pandemic has been nothing short of miraculous in many cases, particularly given the summer of racial reckoning, the most unusual presidential election in memory and everything thats gone on since. The agency has an annual budget of $808 million. 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. Lansing said in an interview with Current Thursday that one of his first observations upon joining NPR was that we needed to double down our efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion. At a young age, my biggest goal at the time was to someday be a news director for a local TV station. The other is the fight for donors. Lansing: When we look at our strategic plan and our commitment to growing our audience of the future, its clear to us that every corner of NPR has a digital on-demand initiative thats critical to our success and that it makes more sense to have the digital assets closer to the work thats influencing our audiences and growing our audiences. 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. So I think that it has caused me to be more tuned in to hearing and understanding our employees. And probably the most important accountability is that, first of all, I hold myself accountable with my goals that I report to the board. 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. Just be tuned into our folks. Podtrac, which measures the audiences of podcast publishers, has consistently placed NPR at the top of its monthly rankings. Last year, the network booked $134 million in such corporate underwriting, a record built on strong growth in podcasting revenue in recent years.