LANSING, John, Jr. | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives 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. 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. Mike Morgan/Mike Morgan Considering the demise of local newspapers around the country and the growth of our member stations newsrooms around the country, were really working hard to support their local journalism, because its so important to us. John F Lansing, National Public Radio Inc: Profile and Biography 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 has tapped longtime media executive John Lansing to become its next president and CEO. NPRs search for a new CEO is finally over! 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. He promises NPR will build on its mission and values but adds, ""This will be a major loss." My story: npr.org NPR says it's cutting jobs by 10% as ad revenue drops 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. NPR strives to create a more informed publicone challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and cultures. Apple is reportedly building a podcast subscription service. NPR's chief executive announced the network would lay off roughly 10% of its . ", Lansing, formerly a top television executive for the E.W. 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. Let's say, I was walking out of high school into college, I had no idea what I was going to do. John Lansing - Quick Profile. Because when you're all at work, you're all at work, and you go home to your individual situations. Current. Doing that just requires that were putting more emphasis on the diversity of our decision makers, our leadership, our story selection, our source selection. 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? NPR Press Release. "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. And it really opened the funnel. The only route to a successful engagement on this issue is to deal with it, to talk about it, and to take action. Pompeo Interview Dispute With NPR Sends Conflicting Message on - VOA 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. Prior to that, Lansing was VP and GM of Scripps ABC affiliates. NPR Facebook Post with Comments. As we moved through the summer, that deficit remained at about $25 million. Lansing: We arent in a position to answer that until we know for sure when the pandemic is going to subside. What is the outlook for the rest of the fiscal year? CEO John Lansing says ad revenue for podcasting shriveled even as general economy seems on mend. I think you have to be willing to take hard questions. Pozen Fellow At the Shorenstein Center. Again, I think it's about getting it intertwined into everything we do. We are not just putting out regulations or policies and paperwork. I think we're moving forward. 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. In what ways do you think NPR has forced you to grow, and in what areas are you growing that you weren't before NPR? John Lansing, a media executive with government broadcast and cable television experience, has been named by NPR's board to succeed its current chief, Jarl Mohn who announced the plan to step down after his 5-Year term ended. John Lansing, CEO, photographed for NPR, 22 January 2020, in Washington DC. Then I moved on to manage TV stations and cable networks. I got this part time job at a TV station to make a little money while I was going to college. There were three of them, each for $1 million. 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. 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. 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. And weve seen some significant success with that. 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, the chief executive officer and director of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, will become NPR's CEO in mid-October. "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. 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. 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. Not exactly. NPR will cut 10% of its workforce, CEO John Lansing said Wednesday. The various challenges everybody's having from working at home, for example, you realize that everybody's situation is different when you're working. Share Your Design Ideas, New JerseysMurphy Defends $10 Billion Rainy Day Fund as States Economy Slows, What Led to Europes Deadliest Train Crash in a Decade, This Week in Crypto: Ukraine War, Marathon Digital, FTX. 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. Lansing, 62, who is currently chief executive officer of the government agency that oversees Voice of America, Radio and Television Mart and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, among others . I think there are interesting trends to follow and try to understand. Inquiry Exonerates USAGM Executives Suspended By Trump Appointee - NPR Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News. 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. NPR maintains 17 national bureaus and 17 bureaus abroad. Such distinctions between news and programming are tricky, however, as programming oversees podcasts, including those that perform journalistic functions, such as Code Switch, It's Been A Minute, Planet Money, and Throughline. Lansing has earned an advanced degree in political agility. Why did you undertake this? 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. He soon made DEI the top priority at NPR. NPR, the public radio giant that employs hundreds of journalists, is about to get a new chief executive. NPR stands stronger than it did at the outset of Mohn's five-year term in 2014. There was one the year before I was here, then this was the follow-up. I'm sure that's true even today. So Im pleased to see that that short era is over. Lansing: I guess I would comment just as a citizen watching from outside. Applicants to this years fellowship see its cancellation as a setback for journalists of color who want to work in public radio. But thats our commitment. NPR hosts' departures fuel questions over race. The full story is When that happened, it energized us to really double down on understanding where our weak spots were, what we needed to work on. And be a good listener. And the work goes on. Last fall, when announcing the earlier cuts, Lansing said the network would have to make tough choices - and to "do less with less." 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. Lansing: They were for general. administration regarding the now former managers of his former place of employment (USAGM) but claims the mantle of private citizen to do so. He took over a troubled organization beset by infighting and bureaucratic inefficiency. That's the way I think about leadership here. "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.". We discovered in our most recent climate survey that that was an area that we needed to put more effort into. "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.". NPR's total workforce has grown by about 50 percent since before that crisis. 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. 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. 2017-2022. Lansing will start in his new position in mid-October. Current (https://current.org/2021/02/ceo-john-lansing-discusses-nprs-diversity-efforts-budget-deficit-and-growing-podcast-competition/). 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. 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. Others have waded into the podcast fray with a vengeance. The union represents 570 people at NPR. 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 subscribe to the notion of leadership as a servant leader, that the role of leaders is to support the team to do their best work. It's interesting. "Governments around the world are increasingly cracking down on the free flow of information; silencing dialogue and dissent; and distorting reality," Lansing said in a speech he delivered in May to the Media for Democracy Forum. According to Nielsen data supplied by NPR, its programs and newscasts had an overall audience of 27.4 million in spring 2019. (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 Cuts Executive Pay as Corporate Sponsors' Payments Fall I can't speak for other people, CEOs. John Lansing Jr. - Wikipedia 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. Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnlansing. CEO John Lansing cited the erosion. 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. Lansing, who is 62, is. During the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, NPR was at risk of laying off staff when sponsors canceled their spots on the network, said John Lansing, NPR's chief executive. After becoming part of Warner Bros. America needs public radio more than ever. 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. Who is the NPR CEO? John Lansing Profile - Public Media Now And how's that being measured and accounted for? John Lansing , CEO of NPR NPR President John Lansing '09 is Bellarmine's 2021 commencement speaker, Honorary Degree recipient April 22, 2021 NPR P. I'm just passionate about how good leadership can lead to good outcomes, and that led me here. So those are the four pillars that rotate around the centerpiece, we call it the North Star, of our commitment to DEI. Lansing blamed a slowdown in advertising dollars. I think that's where we all wind up. Were still looking at a deficit, but were hopeful that by the time we get into March, well have a pretty clear-eyed view of how the year is going to end up. In recent remarks online, Johnson, who is Black, focused on a more competitive landscape for NPR journalists, including people of color. Its a real business with real market dynamics.. 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. Vox Media cut jobs by 7%; Gannett and Spotify by 6%. The ratings for our weekend magazine shows are actually slightly greater than they were a year ago pre-pandemic, so thats a bright spot. It began to improve a little bit as we moved into August and September, as corporate sponsorships began to recover a little bit. 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. They lost their objectivity and are now just pushing leftist ideology. Mr. Mohn was pressed about his leadership in a tense NPR interview and later apologized to employees for not taking action sooner. Yet Mr. Mohns tenure was also marked by a sexual harassment scandal involving a senior news executive whom he had hired and a labor clash with hundreds of union workers. Oh wait. "I have been an avid fan of NPR for many years. NPR's president of operations, Loren Mayor, was the leading internal candidate for the chief executive position. When will that freeze be lifted? 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. Scripps Co., says whenever an economic slowdown appears imminent, marketing budgets get slashed. John Gibbs (government official) - Wikipedia Reliable Sources: NPR names new chief executive | CNN Business Lansing: Thats a great question. Instead, Whitney really helped us to buckle down with discipline, understand what's going on, and meet with women of color [in the organization], as we're doing tonight in our executive committee meeting, which we do regularly now. Were working with them to create regional newsrooms in Texas and California and the Midwest and in the Gulf. "We're not seeing signs of a recovery in the advertising market," Lansing says in an interview. The layoffs are in keeping with an increasingly grim landscape for media companies over recent months. How is it a priority? hide caption. But were going to continue to follow up on that going into this year. If it's not being solved from the top down, it shouldn't be a burden for people just trying to build their career. Lansing blamed a slowdown in advertising dollars. August 20, 2022 August 20th is National Radio Day. New podcasts Up First, Consider This and State of Ukraine sit on both sides. Required fields are marked *. hide caption. Copyright 2023. He is passionate about NPR's public service mission and the role of a free and independent media in a strong democracy. We'd like to revisit a story that first broke yesterday and . "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. Lansing, who is 62, is. 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. Current: Is there a timeline for that process? 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. Lansing clearly had an ongoing interest in the USAGM story and the notion that that at some point along the line he did not provide his take, at minimum, to NPR reporting staff, on the story beggars belief. That said, Mohn set higher annual expectations for the network in fundraising and agreed to be co-chairman of its 50th-anniversary capital campaign. 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. 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%. Last year, President Trump appointed Michael Pack as USAGMs CEO. John Lansing '09, former Scripps executive, is new CEO of NPR So I think that it has caused me to be more tuned in to hearing and understanding our employees. But we made a firm commitment, as you know, to freeze station dues and fees. But here, Lansing basically jumps over those disclaimers using the lame attribution of private citizen.. 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. "Management is about committing to strategy, making tough decisions.". Since then,. "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. Or 'How are we doing on the North Star?' Lansing: I dont know how long that may or may not take, but our emphasis right now is on our own internal digital strategy, digital production, digital storytelling. He is. 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. Current: What are some of the highlights of that strategic plan? 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. The budget for the new fiscal year is set below last years actual based on our forecasts on continued downward pressure on corporate sponsorship. 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. All rights reserved. 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. This is an edited transcript of the conversation among Lansing, Current Reporter Tyler Falk and Digital Editor Mike Janssen. Current: Can you be more specific about what that looks like in terms of how you reach people who may not already know about NPRs podcasts? The last time NPR faced such stark choices, it was 2008. I have read and agree to the terms & conditions, Senior Vice President for Television in the broadcasting division of the E.W. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images The ratings for our weekend magazine shows are actually slightly greater than they were a year ago pre-pandemic, so thats a bright spot.. Mr. Lansing will start in October, replacing Jarl Mohn, who has run NPR since 2014. Now Lansing says he wants to draw on the intellectual and creative impulses of his new staffers as he leads a domestic journalistic powerhouse with an international reputation and reach. NPR undertook a strategic reorganization last fall, reinstating the position of a chief content officer overseeing both the newsroom and the programming division. 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