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. CEO John Lansing cited the erosion. What steps does NPR still need to take in this area? That's something that perceptive journalists should be able to pick up pretty quickly. You go to college and all the sudden you're like 'wait a minute, I've got to do something when this is over.' LANSING, John, Jr. | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives Sometimes you have to hear other people's truth and accept it for what it is, not translate it into your truth, therefore it's no longer what it is. What advice would you give to young journalists of color when navigating these white spaces, but attempting to make a change? 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. Just be tuned into our folks. Mohn will continue on as President Emeritus & Co-Chair of the 50th Anniversary Campaign. At a young age, my biggest goal at the time was to someday be a news director for a local TV station. But after the pandemic hit in mid-March, we got together with our cohort and said, Why wait 18 months? He guided the organization in becoming a leading developer of unique content across television, digital, mobile and radio platforms. So that would be mine. I thought, wow. And as a CEO, and also as a white man, I want to know, how did you handle it when all eyes were on you? 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. In an email to the staff on Friday, John Lansing, who joined the nonprofit as chief executive in September, projected that NPR would fall $12 million to $15 million short of the amount it had . Video Snippet Age: 62, Born on July 31, 1957, in Minneapolis ", "It's always difficult in these situations, and I don't want to minimize the impact that it will have on our colleagues and in some cases, you know, our ability to do what we do," Lee says. 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. Faces Of NPR showcases the people behind NPR--from the voices you hear every day on the radio to the ones who work outside of the recording studio. "When I think of NPR and I think of the member stations collectively, I think really of journalism as a public service, not tied to a profit motive," Lansing told NPR News. In a memo to. Podtrac, which measures the audiences of podcast publishers, has consistently placed NPR at the top of its monthly rankings. Government support for the public radio system isn't in any immediate jeopardy. Lansing, who is 62, is. 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. And as the year unfolded, we began to develop our three-year strategic plan. 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. So if you have leaders talking about DEI as a priority, well, then, show me. And Im holding myself accountable with my board and Ive been and am holding my direct reports accountable to me. 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. 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. Its an inclusive process. Scripps Co., says whenever an economic slowdown appears imminent, marketing budgets get slashed. It began to improve a little bit as we moved into August and September, as corporate sponsorships began to recover a little bit. She really has helped us, and she's brought discipline to a process that in the past might have been people talking past each other a little bit and waiting for things to blow over. And theyre all expected to articulate a DEI goal thats measurable, actionable, and that they can be held accountable for and will be. 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. "This will be a major loss.". "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. Again, I think it's about getting it intertwined into everything we do. How cool is it to be at NPR? Lansing: Thats a great question. Well, what we're doing right now, I think communication. Its something that we certainly support. You have shows like All Things Considered and Morning Edition, which will continue to be broadcasting tent poles, Mr. Lansing said. 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. 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. We saw a lot of companies react to the [murder of] George Floyd and we did too. John Lansing - Quick Profile. NPR undertook a strategic reorganization last fall, reinstating the position of a chief content officer overseeing both the newsroom and the programming division. "We're not seeing signs of a recovery in the advertising market," Lansing says in an interview. 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. What was it like for you to watch that happen? And probably the most important accountability is that, first of all, I hold myself accountable with my goals that I report to the board. CEO John Lansing says ad revenue for podcasting shriveled even as general economy seems on mend. Lansing, who is . And so that was the way I looked at the future for me. An NPR spokeswoman said final decisions on which jobs will be eliminated should occur by the week of March 20. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Not exactly. John Gibbs is an American far-right political commentator and politician. But it was not from a standing start. Mr. Lansing will start in October, replacing Jarl Mohn, who has run NPR since 2014. He is passionate about NPR's public service mission and the role of a free and independent media in a strong democracy. Unlike some predecessors, Lansing doesn't face a particularly fraught political landscape. It didnt begin in the summer it accelerated in the summer. NPR - Wikipedia (On NPR's radio side, advertising takes the form of underwriting, as corporate sponsors are not permitted to call for listeners to purchase goods or services.). 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. September 6, 2019. It has become enshrined in our three-year strategic plan as the centerpiece of all of our work. NPR will cut 10% of its workforce, CEO John Lansing said Wednesday. 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. NPR, the public radio and podcasting giant, has a new leader after years of growth and internal turmoil. To be a part of creating the future of such an important institution is humbling, exciting, and a distinct honor.". The various challenges everybody's having from working at home, for example, you realize that everybody's situation is different when you're working. So we took that very, very seriously. Certainly in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder on Memorial Day weekend, our efforts accelerated and we doubled down on communication, training and listening. 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. He soon made DEI the top priority at NPR. NPR Laying Off 10 Percent of Its Workforce - townhall.com Inquiry Exonerates USAGM Executives Suspended By Trump Appointee - NPR The work of those pillars will be done through the lens of improving our efforts on DEI. In an interview on Friday, Mr. Lansing, 62, praised NPR as a home of high-quality journalism and audio production, and said that in addition to supporting traditional radio broadcasting he wanted to help NPR further its expansion into areas like podcasts, where the radio network has already been a leader. ", Lansing, formerly a top television executive for the E.W. Lansing: You have to imagine a picture, if you will. 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. Everybody at NPR knows exactly what you mean when you say, 'What's our North Star?' "The result, I believe, is a war on truth. The staffing cut, which will cost at least 100 people their jobs, comes in response to the "erosion" of advertising revenue, particularly for the network's podcasts, NPR reported. NPR's rigorous reporting and unsurpassed storytelling connect with millions of Americans everydayon the air, online, and in person. In recent remarks online, Johnson, who is Black, focused on a more competitive landscape for NPR journalists, including people of color. Today, we feature John Lansing, CEO of NPR. Yet the tech and media industries' prospects stand at odds with a tight labor market and low unemployment more broadly. Required fields are marked *. 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. Four years ago, Lansing was named by President Barack Obama to be the first chief executive of the broadcasting outfit that was renamed the U.S. Agency for Global Media. NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. Or 'How are we doing on the 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. CEO John Lansing discusses NPR's diversity efforts, budget - Current 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. I will say in the last three or four weeks weve seen a little bit of an uptick in a positive way on corporate sponsorship. I'm just passionate about how good leadership can lead to good outcomes, and that led me here. NPR Names Veteran Media Executive John Lansing As Its New CEO 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: Is there a timeline for that process? And what a breath of fresh air Whitney brings into the organization. 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. 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. Why did you undertake this? Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Acting Chief Business Editor Emily Kopp. ", "I am thrilled to work with NPR's exceptional management team, staff and journalists," said Lansing. Being a changemaker is awesome, but can have its own challenges as you're just trying to improve your career. Current: NPR and a group of stations started a pilot project around collaborative fundraising in 2019. We are not just putting out regulations or policies and paperwork. So I brought in Michael Smith as our new chief marketing officer almost a year ago. NPR maintains 17 national bureaus and 17 bureaus abroad. So sad to me. Last year, President Trump appointed Michael Pack as USAGMs CEO. Fearing a tepid economy, Lansing and his corporate team projected that revenue would stay flat for the fiscal year that began October 1. The first pillar is to expand the power of the national-local partnership into the on-demand future. Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world. 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. A member of the Republican Party, Gibbs was a software engineer and missionary before entering politics. NPR's chief executive announced the network would lay off roughly 10% of its . There was one the year before I was here, then this was the follow-up. NPR Names Veteran Media Executive John Lansing As Its New CEO NPR Start Date: Mid October, 2020 In late November, the network announced $20 million in cuts, including a near-freeze on hiring, elimination of most travel, and suspension of internships. And I think we have to extend that lead. What do you think are some characteristics of good leadership? John Lansing, CEO, photographed for NPR, 22 January 2020, in Washington DC. Lansing is a media executive with a deep understanding of journalism, having spent two decades as an award-winning journalist, successful newsroom leader and major market local media executive before becoming a global chief executive officer. You'll find out about what they do and what they're inspired by on the daily. 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. Leading the organization through it all is CEO John Lansing, a longtime media executive who has been on the job since October 2019. Weve seen a gradual comeback. 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. When you first got to NPR, what did you think? It was about a $3 million cost to NPR for the fiscal year. Here's what to do in a worst case scenario. NPR's Michel Martin asks NPR's CEO, John Lansing, to respond to an All Things Considered interview with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. John Lansing testifying before a House Appropriations subcommittee in July. It's interesting. Current: What are some of the highlights of that strategic plan? 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. If you had to create a podcast, what would it be about? 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. 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. Others have waded into the podcast fray with a vengeance. NPR strives to create a more informed publicone challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and cultures. Well, I like NPR Politics a lot. Oh wait. Current: How else might NPR assist stations in the coming year? CEO John Lansing discusses NPRs diversity efforts, budget deficit and growing podcast competition. 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. John F Lansing, National Public Radio Inc: Profile and Biography - Bloomberg Markets Live Now Bloomberg TV+ Bloomberg Daybreak Middle East Bloomberg Daybreak Middle East. Lansing: I guess I would comment just as a citizen watching from outside.
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