WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former NPR Chief Executive Officer John Lansing died on Wednesday (8/14) at his Wisconsin residents, some six months after departing from the role.
NPR reports that Lansing’s cause of death was not immediately known. However, Lansing in March 2021 was away from NPR for several weeks to recover from heart surgery.
Lansing, 67, enjoyed a career that involved navigating some media organizations through bumpy periods in their history. This included his time at NPR, which began in October 2019.
News of Lansing’s departure came in September 2023, when word came of his retirement at the end of the year. The announcement came just weeks after RBR+TVBR reported that the chief programming executive at NPR will conclude her tenure at the end of the year, ending a nearly 30-year tenure that includes on-demand audio innovations. This came after the June 2023 arrival of Daphne Kwon as Chief Financial Officer.
According to NPR reporter David Folkenflik, who shared news of Lansing’s passing on Friday, the former CEO had a five-year contract set to expire at the end of September 2024.
In a note to staff sent by Lansing at the time, he commented, “We have been through a lot together over the past four years, and you have made me proud every day. During the pandemic, we were there when America needed us most, reporting truthful life-saving information when disinformation was rampant. And we were there when America went through an overdue racial reckoning. Our journalists did remarkable work covering the efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and when Russia launched its war against Ukraine. We were also there when our audiences needed joy, laughter and connection in those moments that felt so bleak. All of you — and I mean every person working in every role at every level of this company — played a role in serving our audiences and the public interest at a time of incredible need. You should all stand proud, and it has been the honor of my career to have you as colleagues.”
Prior to joining NPR, Lansing was the CEO of United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) overseeing several global networks including Voice of America, the international voice of the U.S. government.
Lansing started his news industry career at age 17 as a studio technician and cameraman at WPSD-TV in Paducah, Ky. He would later spend two decades at Scripps Networks, and was a Station Manager of WXYZ-7 in Detroit before landing the role of President of Scripps Networks from 2005-2013, leading Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, DIY, Cooking Channel and Great American Country.
In a statement, current NPR President/CEO Katherine Maher said the organization and the “entire public media system mourn the loss” of Lansing. “John had a tremendous impact on NPR’s workplace culture and led the organization through some of its most difficult times,” she said. “His commitment to improving NPR’s audience and staff diversity has left an indelible positive impact. He cared deeply about diversity and inclusion; he lived by his values every day, resulting in a staff and leadership team markedly more diverse than when he arrived. John understood the importance of NPR’s mission to support democracy by informing the American public, and led the organization to rise to the challenge of an unprecedented global pandemic. His speed and decisiveness during that difficult period enabled NPR to maintain uninterrupted, high-quality programming at a moment when trustworthy news was a lifeline to Americans. He inspired those around him with his integrity and compassion, and his loss will be felt deeply by our staff and across the public radio system.”
