In a bid to strengthen its leadership amid significant changes, NPR has appointed Edith Chapin as Senior Vice President for News and Editor-in-Chief. Chapin has been serving in the role on an interim basis since Fall 2022. Nancy Barnes, the former Senior Vice President for News, left NPR to become the Boston Globe’s Editor-in-Chief.
Chapin, who joined NPR in 2012 as foreign editor, has since risen through the ranks to become executive editor, serving as a crucial figure in the news division. Before her tenure at NPR, Chapin worked at CNN for 25 years, where she progressed from intern to vice president. She has covered significant global events like Nelson Mandela’s election, the first Gulf War, and the genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia.
NPR’s CEO, John Lansing, praised Chapin’s leadership skills, particularly her international coverage experience, collaboration with member stations, and overall work as executive editor. Lansing also highlighted her stellar work as interim head of news following the departure of Nancy Barnes.
NPR has been navigating choppy waters with financial issues, leadership exits, and internal clashes over priorities and resources. Significant departures include the network’s CFO, Deborah Cowan, and Chapin’s top deputy, Terence Samuel. The network also recently announced a spending freeze and a staff reduction of approximately 10%.
“During a turbulent time, [Chapin] has been a steady hand and wise counsel to me,” commented NPR President John Lansing. “Her editorial leadership has helped NPR produce some of the most excellent journalism that we’ve ever had.”
In the meantime, Chapin is focusing on enhancing NPR’s coverage of the upcoming presidential election and the pandemic, while promoting collaboration with local stations. She stated, “We’ve shown success with the work so far. And now we need to scale that up.”
“NPR has extraordinary journalists who tell stories and getting to participate in the leadership of that journalism is a tremendous privilege. We all aim every day to serve our audience with information and moments of joy that are useful and relevant,” Chapin said.
This is the latest high-level hiring in a series for NPR. In June, Daphne Kwon took the role of the public broadcaster’s Chief Financial Officer.
