Boston Radio: Margaret Low To Lead WBUR

Veteran news executive Margaret Low will be the next chief executive and general manager of WBUR 90.9 FM Boston.

Margaret Low

Low, 61, joins WBUR from The Atlantic, where for the past five years she has served as senior vice president and head of the magazine’s live events division. WBUR opened its own event hall, CitySpace, earlier this year.

Low previously spent more than three decades at NPR, rising from overnight production assistant to senior vice president for news, the network’s top editorial position.

In an interview, she described her new post at WBUR as “the job of jobs.”

"I love the power and intimacy of audio, and WBUR is a jewel in the public radio crown," Low said.

"This station, and all of you, have so much going for you: a deep reporting bench, strong local and regional coverage, an utterly devoted local audience, not to mention millions of listeners across the country to your national shows."

WBUR’s interim general manager, Sam Fleming, helped conduct the search for a new station chief and called Low a “perfect” fit.

Low takes over a larger and more influential organization than the one her predecessor, Charlie Kravetz, inherited in 2010. Since then, WBUR has roughly doubled its revenue and physical space, added dozens of staffers to a current 225, established itself as a leader in podcasting, and grown the locally produced Here & Now program into NPR’s national midday show. Low’s tenure as head of news at NPR coincided with the Here & Now partnership.

Kravetz’s exit in March was one of several major changes at the station in recent years. It followed closely after reporters, producers, editors and hosts voted to form a union. Some at the station viewed the labor action as an indictment of Kravetz’s leadership, though Boston University, which owns WBUR’s broadcast license, said the vote was not the cause of Kravetz’s departure.

The union and the university are negotiating a contract. Low said she is unsure what her role in the talks will be. She noted that she was a union member at NPR before becoming a manager.