NPR has laid off 10 journalists, including some veteran reporters, in an attempt to save money and reorganize the newsroom.
It also is buying out at least 18 news staffers who voluntarily accepted offers to depart, according to three people with direct knowledge. (The people spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of speaking publicly about internal network matters.) The network intends to leave eight empty positions unfilled.
NPR Editor-in-Chief Thomas Evans expressed regret in a note to staff.
"Today has been incredibly heavy, and I want to acknowledge how difficult it is to say goodbye to our colleagues," Evans wrote.
He said the total reductions amounted to 4 percent of NPR's content division, which includes the newsroom and podcasts, and pledged that the network would maintain high standards. No staff of news programs or podcasts were affected.
The moves are part of NPR's effort to grapple with the economic consequences of Congress' vote last summer to eliminate federal subsidies for public media. While NPR relied directly on federal funds for about 1 percent of its budget, the cuts deeply hurt public radio stations who pay for the radio giant's programs like Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher and Evans announced the cuts last week, describing them as targeted and necessary to save $8 million when the network anticipates a drop of $15 million in member station fees. Waves of layoffs have hit public radio and television stations across the country, along with PBS, since Congress clawed back the funding.
Yet in the past year, donors have stepped up to support public radio stations and NPR itself. NPR lodged two of the largest philanthropic contributions in its history this spring. A $33 million gift, contributed anonymously, partly went to help NPR cover $8 million in previously announced emergency relief to stations, the network says.
"The extraordinary generosity of donors across the nation has really mitigated some of the hardest impacts of the loss of federal funding," Maher said last week in announcing the layoffs. "I am relieved that that is the case. And now it is our responsibility to ensure that we take that gift that they have given us and use this time to get to a place where we are sustainable for the future."
Some NPR News veterans accept buyouts
Among those accepting buyouts are veteran NPR journalists, including National Political Correspondent Don Gonyea, Managing Editor Vickie Walton-James and Investigations Correspondent Joe Shapiro. Each has confirmed their departures. The company is not disclosing the names of those who are leaving.
"Proud of my stories, their impact. Grateful for the best audience" Shapiro, who has been at the network since 2001, posted on Facebook. "Talented journalists will lose jobs. But fewer laid off, we're told, for each who takes buyout."
"People love science," NPR Science Correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce, who was laid off Wednesday, says in an interview for this story. "It's such a break from the political and economic and often grim news to have something more inspiring and curiosity-driven. I thought it was a great blessing to have the opportunity to give that to people."
Greenfieldboyce has been reporting for NPR since 2005. She says she is philosophical about her own departure as the threat of layoffs has loomed over her three decades in journalism.
"NPR has a great science team. I hope they keep continuing that. And emphasizing that," Greenfieldboyce says. "They have a plan and I think Tommy [Evans] has got good instincts. He's obviously a good news person.
"That's the news business."
Disclosure: This story was written and reported by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by NPR Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editor Gerry Holmes. Under NPR's protocol for reporting on itself, no corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.
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