Current:Home > MarketsNPR veteran Edith Chapin tapped to lead newsroom -PureWealth Academy
NPR veteran Edith Chapin tapped to lead newsroom
View
Date:2025-04-25 07:10:32
NPR has moved to shore up its leadership at a time of significant transition, naming veteran news leader Edith Chapin as its senior vice president for news and editor in chief. She has been serving in the position on an acting basis since fall 2022.
"NPR has extraordinary journalists who tell stories and getting to participate in the leadership of that journalism is a tremendous privilege," Chapin said in a brief interview Monday morning. "We all aim every day to serve our audience with information and moments of joy that are useful and relevant."
Chapin has helped lead NPR for more than a decade, joining in 2012 as foreign editor and then rising to become executive editor, the effective top deputy for the news division. Previously, she had been a journalist for CNN for a quarter century, working her way up from intern to vice president. As a producer and assignment editor she covered Nelson Mandela's election to the presidency of South Africa, the first Gulf War, genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia, and then helped lead her network's coverage of Hurricane Katrina and a deadly tsunami in south Asia.
"During a turbulent time, she has been a steady hand and wise counsel to me," NPR chief executive John Lansing said in an interview. "Her editorial leadership has helped NPR produce some of the most excellent journalism that we've ever had."
Lansing also cited Chapin's qualities as "her experience in terms of leading our international coverage, her experience in leading NPR's collaborative journalism with our member stations, her day-to-day leadership as executive editor, and her outstanding work as stepping in as head of news after Nancy [Barnes] left."
Financial troubles and leadership departures have rocked NPR's newsroom
Barnes left last fall as senior vice president for news — becoming editor in chief of the Boston Globe -- after Lansing announced he would hire a chief content officer above her. That new executive is to set NPR's strategy in an age of streaming, when podcasts have become nearly as important to the public broadcaster's bottom line as traditional radio shows. The content chief will also oversee NPR's programming and music divisions, which encompasses most, although not all, of its podcasts.
Lansing's predecessor, Jarl Mohn eliminated a similar content chief position shortly after he arrived in 2014, seeking to ease tensions between the radio and digital sides of the network. In recent years, however, NPR's news and programming divisions clashed frequently over their priorities, resources and need to innovate.
Barnes' departure was followed in ensuing months by the announcement NPR would freeze much of its spending due to a sharp drop in podcast revenues; the subsequent need to lay off and buy out about 10 percent of the network's staff; the departure of the network's chief financial officer, Deborah Cowan; the departure of Chapin's top deputy, Terence Samuel, to become editor in chief of USA Today this month; and, most recently, the announcement on July 14 that NPR's chief operating officer, Will Lee, will leave the network after less than two years for a new corporate position as yet unannounced.
Not all of those developments are related; taken together they spell a steep challenge for Lansing and the network. According to three people with direct knowledge, NPR had fixed on Alex MacCallum, a former senior executive at CNN and The New York Times, to be its chief content officer. Earlier this month, however, she accepted a position as chief revenue officer for The Washington Post.
Lansing said Monday that NPR had other finalists but has decided to reopen its search. He said the network has taken the painful steps necessary to ensure its financial stability given difficult realities of the industry.
"We're starting to click on all cylinders again," he said.
Chapin pointed to NPR's work covering the upcoming presidential election, its past coverage of the pandemic drawing on teams covering international affairs, public health and politics, as part of the efforts to bolster its reporting through collaboration with local stations.
"The distinct proposition that public radio has is knitting together local, regional, national and international," Chapin said. "We've shown success with the work so far. And now we need to scale that up."
Disclosure: This story was reported by NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp. No senior news executives or corporate officials were allowed to review this article before it was posted publicly.
veryGood! (17327)
Related
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- College students are flocking to the Marriage Pact, mostly for fun, but some find lasting love
- Former Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías faces misdemeanor charges after domestic violence arrest
- Giannis Antetokounmpo exits Bucks-Celtics game with non-contact leg injury
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- Michigan man convicted in 2018 slaying of hunter at state park
- Jay Leno Granted Conservatorship of Wife Mavis Leno After Her Dementia Diagnosis
- 'I hurt every day': Tiger Woods battles physical limitations at the Masters
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- Rape case dismissed against former Kansas basketball player Arterio Morris
Ranking
- US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
- Watch this soccer fan's reaction to a surprise ticket to see Lionel Messi
- New York City to end its relationship with embattled migrant services contractor
- Stanford's Tara VanDerveer, NCAA's all-time winningest basketball coach, retires
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- Columbus Crew advances to Champions Cup semifinals after win over Tigres in penalty kicks
- Here are the questions potential jurors in Trump's hush money trial will be asked
- The Beauty Tools You’ve Always Wanted Are Finally on Sale at Sephora: Dyson, T3, BondiBoost & More
Recommendation
Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
Authorities offer $45,000 for info leading to arrest in arson, vandalism cases in Arizona town
US Postal Service seeking to hike cost of first-class stamp to 73 cents
2 Republicans advance to May 7 runoff in special election for Georgia House seat in Columbus area
Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
Water charity warns Paris Olympic swimmers face alarming levels of dangerous bacteria in Seine river
Mega Millions winning numbers in April 9 drawing: Jackpot climbs to $97 million
Are casino workers entitled to a smoke-free workplace? The UAW thinks so.