NPR information chief Edith Chapin to step down days after Congress votes to strip funding : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5000x3333+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc6%2Fc9%2F5ce927b64744ba9526302dabf5a2%2Fvoss-echapin-6final.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5000x3333+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc6%2Fc9%2F5ce927b64744ba9526302dabf5a2%2Fvoss-echapin-6final.jpg" class="img" alt="NPR’s chief news executive and acting content chief Edith Chapin told colleagues Tuesday morning that she has decided to step down." fetchpriority="high"/> NPR's chief information govt and performing content material chief Edith Chapin advised colleagues Tuesday morning that she has determined to step down.

Stephen Voss/NPR cover caption

toggle caption

Stephen Voss/NPR NPR's editor in chief and performing chief content material officer Edith Chapin advised colleagues Tuesday morning that she has determined to step down.

The veteran information chief's announcement comes simply days after the Republican-led Congress, pushed largely by President Trump's claims of liberal bias at NPR, voted to strip public broadcasting of all federal funding.

Chapin says the selection was hers and never pushed by the motion in Congress. In a short interview, she says she shocked NPR CEO Katherine Maher together with her resolution two weeks in the past.

"I've had two massive govt jobs for 2 years and I wish to take a break. I wish to be sure my efficiency is all the time top-notch for the corporate," Chapin says. She says she expects to remain at NPR till September or October.

In a observe to workers, Maher thanked Chapin for her work. "Edith has been an indispensable associate throughout my first 12 months at NPR, a gradual chief for a big a part of this group, and a improbable collaborator as a member of the chief staff," she wrote. She didn't provide any particulars about transition planning and interim management, saying she would share extra as soon as she had it.

Chapin joined NPR from CNN in 2012 as chief worldwide editor and rose within the ranks of newsroom management. She was promoted to guide the newsroom on a day-to-day foundation, and was subsequently elevated to senior vp of stories and editor in chief over all the division.

In 2023, then-NPR CEO John Lansing united reporting, reveals and podcasts. He named Chapin to briefly maintain the brand new position of chief content material officer overseeing the brand new division. She turned the content material job down on a everlasting foundation, saying that somebody with a distinct talent set wanted to chart NPR's technique for what materials to current to audiences and easy methods to fulfill its mission.

Practically two years later, Chapin nonetheless holds that position on an performing foundation.

"It isn't time to do it, nevertheless it's by no means time," Chapin says of her selection to go away. "I wanted to choose a date and share my resolution."

The ramifications of the Congressional vote may have penalties for years to return for public broadcasting, which goals to serve all the U.S. inhabitants. Earlier this week, in interviews with the Standing media e-newsletter's Oliver Darcy and with Texas Public Media, Maher mentioned that NPR would cut back its working finances by $8 million within the 12 months forward to move that alongside as price aid to essentially the most affected stations.

NPR sometimes receives lower than 2% of its funds from federal sources. However federal funding makes up a larger share of member stations' income — on common about 8-10%. Some stations, significantly these serving rural or tribal audiences, obtain greater than half of their funds from the U.S. authorities. PBS and its member stations obtain, on common, about 15% of revenues from U.S. taxpayers.

That's to cease on Oct. 1, the start of the following fiscal 12 months.

In an interview final week on NPR's Morning Version with hosts Michel Martin and Steve Inskeep, Maher mentioned she had not given up hope that public broadcasting may finally persuade lawmakers on Capitol Hill to revive some federal funding.

Periodic accusations of bias, particularly from conservatives, erupted final 12 months when a veteran NPR enterprise editor wrote an essay within the Free Press asserting that the community had embraced a progressive outlook.

Chapin led the trouble to rent a brand new staff of senior editors to evaluate broadcast segments, digital tales and podcasts earlier than their launch — each to make sure that the tales had been honest and correct, but in addition that the steadiness of tales was proportionate to the information of the day.

"The perfect factor we will do is do the most effective work doable day by day," Chapin says now in regards to the debate over bias. "We have to hear from all types of individuals — and that's our job. And we should be as clear and clear as we presumably can, and our audiences can resolve how helpful we're for them."

That enterprise was sponsored by the Company for Public Broadcasting, the not-for-profit by way of which federal funding has been funneled to stations and the networks for many years.

Beneath Chapin, NPR has helped to foster the creation of seven regional newsrooms — every distinct in its focus — during which the community's editors have helped to supervise collaborative reporting with stations. A type of efforts, The Texas Newsroom, has damaged a number of tales and supplied intensive protection in the course of the lethal floods in Texas.

"One of many issues that was enticing once I got here right here was this philosophy of all issues thought of," Chapin says, taking part in off the identify of NPR's signature night newsmagazine. "There may be room for a lot right here in a approach there's not in so many locations. In providing that fulsome package deal of issues, some persons are going to search out issues they do not discover of curiosity or agree with — and that is okay. I believe we have now to proceed with that philosophy of all issues thought of."

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Correspondent David Folkenflik. It was edited by Deputy Enterprise Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editors Gerry Holmes and Vickie Walton-James. Beneath NPR's protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR company official or information govt reviewed this story earlier than it was posted publicly.