NPR’s chief government, John Lansing, stated on Tuesday that he would retire on the finish of the 12 months, ending a rocky 4 years atop the general public broadcaster.
In an electronic mail to the employees on Tuesday, Mr. Lansing stated that he had knowledgeable the board of his choice in May, and that NPR was now within the early phases of a nationwide seek for his successor. He stated that he had made the choice to retire after discussions together with his spouse, Jean.
“Having begun my career as a studio technician in 1975, and having since had the privilege of working with some of the most iconic organizations in American media, the timing feels right to me, and we are looking forward to it as a family,” he wrote.
A veteran media government, Mr. Lansing joined NPR as its chief government in 2019 after operating the U.S. Agency for Global Media. During his tenure, NPR confronted critical monetary difficulties, a few of them introduced on by the pandemic. In early in 2020, executives together with Mr. Lansing took pay cuts to assist with funds gaps. In February of this 12 months, NPR laid off 10 % of its employees, greater than 100 individuals, to make up for a $30 million funds shortfall that Mr. Lansing attributed to slowing promoting income and fewer company sponsorships.
NPR was additionally on the middle of questions on the way it handled individuals from various backgrounds after plenty of its high-profile hosts who have been ladies of coloration, together with Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Noel King and Audie Cornish, left the broadcaster.
In a news launch on Tuesday, NPR stated that underneath Mr. Lansing’s management, greater than 40 % of NPR’s government staff now included individuals of coloration, up from 9 % in 2019, whereas 42 % of the broadcaster’s work power recognized as individuals of coloration, up from 33 % in 2019. During Mr. Lansing’s tenure, NPR received greater than 90 awards for its journalism, together with its first Pulitzer Prize award in 2021.
Source: www.nytimes.com