WaPo Thinks NPR Has A Growing Crisis

In recent years, NPR has taken pride in its efforts to diversify its ranks of on-air hosts, with the hiring of many Black and Latino journalists to lead its signature news programs, including voices such as Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, Noel King, Michele Norris and Audie Cornish.

But now, The Washington Post reports the public-radio giant is contending with an exodus of the very same talent.

On Tuesday, it was Cornish, the co-host since 2012 of NPR’s daily newsmagazine, “All Things Considered,” who announced she would be leaving at the end of the week, destination unspecified. “I have never considered the host chair a tenured position,” she said, though many of her predecessors have enjoyed decades-long runs in the job. “It’s time for me to try my hand at new journalism projects and embark on new adventures.”

Other prominent on-air personalities of color to depart NPR’s airwaves recently include “Weekend Edition Sunday” host Garcia-Navarro, who left in September to host a New York Times podcast; “Morning Edition” host King, who left in November for Vox Media; and former “1A” host Joshua Johnson, who joined MSNBC.

In addition, NPR has in recent months lost the stars of two weekly programs and podcasts — Maddie Sofia (who hosted the science program “Short Wave”) and Shereen Marisol Meraji of “Code Switch,” which discusses race in America.

Some see a pattern — and a problem, according to WaPo.   Cornish’s announcement, in particular, unleashed a public airing of grievances from within NPR about its treatment of minority journalists.

“If NPR doesn’t see this as a crisis, I don’t know what it’ll take,” tweeted Ari Shapiro, Cornish’s “All Things Considered” co-host. He wrote that the organization was “hemorrhaging hosts from marginalized backgrounds.”

Garcia-Navarro tweeted, “I’m sad to see this happening but it is not unexpected.” She and Sanders declined further comment, as did Cornish.

NPR may be ‘public’ radio, but it’s feeling the economic pain of the pandemic. More trouble lies ahead, according to the WaPo story.

NPR’s chief spokesperson, Isabel Lara, said Tuesday the Washington-based organization regrets losing familiar journalists, although she pointed to other journalists of color who are filling the ranks of the departed. 

Lara contended that many of those who’ve left were scooped up by deep-pocketed companies that are building podcasting businesses in direct competition with NPR. “It used to be that hosting a newsmagazine at NPR was the pinnacle” of radio journalism, she said. “Now there are so many opportunities” at Apple, Audible, Netflix, the New York Times and others creating audio-news and nonfiction programming divisions. “It’s a very competitive landscape.”

But Garcia-Navarro pointedly disputed this in her tweet. “People leave jobs for other opportunities if they are unhappy with the opportunities they have and the way they have been treated,” she wrote.