NPR's chief executive announced the network would lay off roughly 10% of its . What do you think are some characteristics of good leadership? Your email address will not be published. Follow Bloomberg reporters as they uncover some of the biggest financial crimes of the modern era. "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. The newsroom currently stands at just shy of 490 people, while programming has shot up to 230. 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. He was responsible for strategic and operational oversight and P&L of the $2.5 billion division of Scripps Networks Interactive, including the company's portfolio of six cable networks Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, DIY, Cooking Channel and Great American Country and the $100 million Scripps Networks Digital division. He also vowed to make sure job cuts do not fall disproportionately on employees of color. Lansing: We hope to have that completed within about eight to 10 weeks. NPR, the public radio and podcasting giant, has a new leader after years of growth and internal turmoil. 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. administration regarding the now former managers of his former place of employment (USAGM) but claims the mantle of private citizen to do so. If you had to create a podcast, what would it be about? We've made some good forward progress around hiring, with requiring that our hiring panels be diverse, requiring that our finalists have diverse representation at a minimum, but of course there's no maximum, in terms of a list of finalists. Unlike some predecessors, Lansing doesn't face a particularly fraught political landscape. Mohn had promised to attract major contributions to NPR before the end of his tenure; to date he has not landed the major eight- and nine-figure donations his stated aspirations suggested. So I would tell my younger self to be confident, calm down, it's all gonna work out. Arcbazar.com. 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. They lost their objectivity and are now just pushing leftist ideology. CEO John Lansing discusses NPRs diversity efforts, budget deficit and growing podcast competition. 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. "Nothing is nailed down yet except the principles and what we know we have to reach.". He served on the Bellarmine University Board of Trustees from 2010-2016 and was vice-chair 2014-2016. "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. John Lansing, the chief executive officer and director of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, will become NPR's CEO in mid-October. NPR takes only a few million dollars a year from federal sources for its programs. 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. advanced degree - political agility. He was previously head of cable TV company Scripps Networks, where he sold $10 million in stock after the company became the target of an SEC probe that was not known to the public. 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. It really stretched me to understand that flexibility is a good thing. Experts say the behavior could have constituted insider trading. 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. NPR To Layoff About 10% Of Current Staff - Deadline 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. 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. Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News. Just be tuned into our folks. National Public Radio will reduce its workforce by 10 percent as it grapples with what CEO John Lansing says is a "sharp . 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. Its something that we certainly support. NPR will cut 10% of its workforce, CEO John Lansing said Wednesday. "A really important strategic vector that we'll be talking about more within the company going forward is maximizing the value of the content wherever it can live and wherever the audience demands it," NPR Chief Operating Officer Will Lee says in an interview. Current: How much were those anonymous gifts? John Lansing, the chief executive officer and director of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, will become NPR's CEO in mid-October. I just think we have a special and unique thing as a company. John Lansing, CEO, photographed for NPR, 22 January 2020, in Washington DC. 2017-2022. 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. What would you go back and tell your younger self? NPR strives to create a more informed publicone challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and cultures. He soon made DEI the top priority at NPR. Lansing's tenure at the agency has not been without controversy. So its a constant commitment to communication, to training, to accountability. John Lansing will begin his term as President and CEO of NPR in October, 2019. John Lansing, CEO, photographed for NPR, 22 January 2020, in Washington DC. And weve seen that really help them grow. Lansing says he remains committed to podcasting "1,000 percent," as well as the network's hallmark news magazines, such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered. I think that's where we all wind up. 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. NPR Were certainly not over, were not at a finish line. The ratings have tanked because all they talk about is race. He joined NPR after serving as CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Now, he says, it must drum up more creative income sources, like the licensing of the popular show How I Built This to Amazon's streaming services, which he says generates $8 million annually. Were finishing up in the next two to three weeks the specific lists of actions and activities under these pillars. And it really opened the funnel. . It goes on to say that Mr. Lansing, 62, is currently the chief executive of the government agency, The U.S. Agency for Global Media, that oversees Voice of America, Radio and Television Marti, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, among others. The work of those pillars will be done through the lens of improving our efforts on DEI. You can't escape 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. Weve seen a gradual comeback. He won praise for doing so and says he informed leaders of SAG-AFTRA on Tuesday about the impending job cuts. And were pleased to work with them. And so that was the way I looked at the future for me. Our third pillar is to optimize content and meet audiences where they are. NPR chief news executive Nancy Barnes to depart as network reshapes top NPR's Michel Martin asks NPR's CEO, John Lansing, to respond to an All Things Considered interview with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. But now we're seeing authoritarian regimes expanding around the globe, with media repression in places like Turkey and Venezuela, Cambodia and Vietnam.". And its tied to the same variables you would know yourselves, which is, how fast can the vaccines be deployed? I'm from Minneapolis, and my parents are buried about six blocks from where George Floyd was killed. That with a combination of expense cuts, including our employees and our management all taking voluntary pay cuts and benefit cuts, helped close that deficit gap. Were working with them to do joint investigative reporting. Live from. Discovery, CNN cut hundreds of jobs and killed off its brand-new streaming service, CNN+. Current: You came to NPR after serving as CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media. You have shows like All Things Considered and Morning Edition, which will continue to be broadcasting tent poles, Mr. Lansing said. US Media Propaganda. Drawing "Liberals" and "Leftists" into the CIA's 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. 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. Essentially, the success of the company falls in your hands. How has that effort been progressing? Talk about a force of nature. "Your mobility becomes extremely important to be involved and connected to audiences that are mobile and that tend to be, frankly, younger and, as we think of it at USAGM, future leaders, who can influence the rise of free and open societies.". NPR will cut 10% of its workforce, CEO John Lansing said Wednesday. Being a changemaker is awesome, but can have its own challenges as you're just trying to improve your career. Again, I think it's about getting it intertwined into everything we do. And what a breath of fresh air Whitney brings into the organization. NPR stands stronger than it did at the outset of Mohn's five-year term in 2014. This is an edited transcript of the conversation among Lansing, Current Reporter Tyler Falk and Digital Editor Mike Janssen. "What we've shown with podcasting is that we can take some of our core journalistic assets and we can create new formats and new programs around them and actually reach new audiences. John Lansing testifying before a House Appropriations subcommittee in July. CEO John Lansing discusses NPR's diversity efforts, budget - Current 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. "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.". Lansing: I guess my head turns first to the journalism of our member stations. And I still think we have a long way to go. But we made a firm commitment, as you know, to freeze station dues and fees. It puts a filter on that helps us explain even unpopular decisions, how they link to our mission. NPR Names Veteran Media Executive John Lansing As Its New CEO I'm kind of a politics junkie. 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. "This will be a major loss.". Their editorial independence is enshrined in federal law, though it sometimes came under attack. 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. Yet the tech and media industries' prospects stand at odds with a tight labor market and low unemployment more broadly. In a memo to. He held off a push by House Republicans to spin off Voice of America into a nongovernmental broadcaster. That said, Mohn set higher annual expectations for the network in fundraising and agreed to be co-chairman of its 50th-anniversary capital campaign. In late November, the network announced $20 million in cuts, including a near-freeze on hiring, elimination of most travel, and suspension of internships. Not exactly. Anyone can read what you share. Lansing, who is 62, is. Our DEI efforts at the beginning of 2020 were not a project or an extracurricular activity; it really became our work. This is just dishonest, especially since NPR became what amounted to a voice of the opposition in its coverage of this dysfunctional federal agency. 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. What advice would you give to young journalists of color when navigating these white spaces, but attempting to make a change? I'm sure that's true even today. 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. Well, I'm fortunate that we have a terrific executive committee and leadership team, so we all share the daily ins and outs of managing a big organization. And so in late 2019 we began working on a set of priorities for the calendar year 2020 that included promoting Keith Woods to chief diversity officer; putting more energy behind our effort to have 100% sourcing and notating the diversity of our sources; and hiring, leadership, unconscious bias training, et cetera. Current: Do you have any examples of how digital operations would be integrated into divisions throughout the organization? The ratings for our weekend magazine shows are actually slightly greater than they were a year ago pre-pandemic, so thats a bright spot. "North Star"] for NPR on my arrival as supporting the diversity, equity, and inclusion of our staff so that we could become more relevant to our audiences and grow the diversity of our audiences. 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. NPR Layoffs: Radio and Podcaster Will Cut 10% of Workforce - The 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. That's the way I think about leadership here. NPR is funded by the CPB/PBS which are funded in part by the U.S. government. We are different from other federal agencies, said Grant K. Turner, the agencys chief financial officer. 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. Lansing describes himself as a citizen watching from the outside A private citizen? Current. 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. hide caption. I have a negative reaction to what is fundamentally unfair in life, whether it be pay equity, promotions and advancement, training and hiring, or making sure leadership represents people of color and our staff. 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.. And it gives the lie to NPRs claim, through disclaimers, that it is simply reporting on its own the implication of the disclaimer being that there is no editorial control or direction from the CEO. New podcasts Up First, Consider This and State of Ukraine sit on both sides. Pat O'Donnell, the executive director of the union's Mid-Atlantic unit, could not be reached for comment for this story. John Gibbs (government official) - Wikipedia Fearing a tepid economy, Lansing and his corporate team projected that revenue would stay flat for the fiscal year that began October 1. NPR hosts' departures fuel questions over race. The full story is No. It was a reckoning for all of us together collectively at NPR. So I wouldn't create a politics podcast because there are too many, and we have the best one of many already. I think we're moving forward. hide caption. The budget for the new fiscal year is set below last years actual based on our forecasts on continued downward pressure on corporate sponsorship. We are not just putting out regulations or policies and paperwork. Lansing, who is . I think you have to be transparent and be able to explain what you're doing, even if it's unpopular. She also has led initiatives to reform hiring practices and to sweep far more temporary positions into permanent slots, often working closely with the network's chief unions to do so. Let's say, I was walking out of high school into college, I had no idea what I was going to do. And I would do a board-level review for the donor or donors as to where the business was, the value of the work we were doing, the things we were adding in terms of covering the pandemic. Vox Media cut jobs by 7%; Gannett and Spotify by 6%. All of those underlying effects generally lead to whatever effects were going to have in corporate sponsorship. Mohn led NPR through five consecutive years of audience growth and budget surplus. September 5, 2019; Washington, D.C. The NPR Board of Directors announced today that it selected John Lansing to become its next President and Chief Executive Officer. "The combination of his health issues plus the situation with Mike Oreskes did derail his plans.". Lansing started his news industry career at age 17 as a studio technician and cameraman at WPSD TV, Paducah, KY, where he was promoted to news photographer after two years. Last year, the network booked $134 million in such corporate underwriting, a record built on strong growth in podcasting revenue in recent years. 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. "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.". So hes doubling down on lack of diversity, does that mean he wants his audience to reflect the other half of the country, the conservatives in flyover country? Current: Is there a timeline for that process? 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. As we got to April of last spring, we saw a massive deficit develop for NPR on the order of about $25 million. 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. 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. John Lansing, NPR's President and CEO, defended Kelly last weekend during an interview on NPR's All Things Considered program, saying that Kelley "is one of the most respected, truthful . 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. NPR has tapped longtime media executive John Lansing to become its next president and CEO. Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnlansing. This is essentially the DEI work writ large, but also our culture of respect, safety, upward mobility, training and making NPR a world-class organization for which to work. NPR's John Lansing Discusses the Importance of Integrity in Journalism I have read and agree to the terms & conditions, Senior Vice President for Television in the broadcasting division of the E.W. And its where our focus needs to be right now. He took over a troubled organization beset by infighting and bureaucratic inefficiency. 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.