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The NPR board of directors approved an ambitious plan Friday for the network and its member stations to work together on a host of new digital initiatives, including a forthcoming podcast subscription bundle tied to station membership. The plan, titled the “NPR Network,” directs NPR to use its digital properties...

NPR promoted Yolanda Sangweni to VP of programming and new content development. Sangweni joined NPR in 2020 as senior director of programming. She has since overseen the launch of The Limits with Jay Williams and the creation of a radio show for the history program Throughline. She is also overseeing changes at It’s Been a Minute following the departure of host Sam Sanders.

The board of directors for KEXP in Seattle has appointed COO Ethan Raup as CEO, according to a Tuesday announcement. Raup succeeds longtime CEO Tom Mara. Mara announced his retirement from the station last year after more than 20 years leading the Triple A station. A search committee interviewed about...

With the release of a new documentary executive-produced by Ken Burns, public TV stations across the country are working with WETA in Washington, D.C., on engagement campaigns to address the stigma around youth mental illness. Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness is airing on PBS stations Monday and Tuesday...

When journalists at GBH in Boston stepped up efforts to ask local residents about the most pressing issues in their community, one question kept coming up: Why are rents rising so high?. “There is a question that our people, our newsroom, have heard repeatedly. … ‘Why? Why is this happening?’”...

Heather L. Reese was named executive director of Wisconsin Public Media, the organization that manages Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin’s statewide network of radio and television stations. Reese succeeds Gene Purcell, who died last year at the age of 61 due to injuries sustained in a traffic crash....

NPR hired Veralyn Williams as EP of It’s Been a Minute and The Limits with Jay Williams. Williams previously worked as senior editor of LWC Studios, where she developed and launched the Trials To Triumphs podcast and podcasts for the Oprah Winfrey Network. In addition to being a producer for Slate, Williams has held several positions with New York Public Radio.

The Contributor Development Partnership announced a partnership this month with ROI Solutions to provide a new customer relationship management system for public media organizations. ROI Solutions, based in Medford, Mass., will provide its Revolution Online CRM system to help stations that work with CDP improve fundraising efforts through data analytics....

Julie Shapiro, VP of editorial for PRX and Radiotopia, is leaving the organizations. Shapiro is set to become executive creative director of Novel, a UK-based podcast studio. “Looking ahead, I’m deeply impressed by Novel’s creative ambitions and dedication to craft, and I’m thrilled to be joining their team,” Shapiro said in a news release. “I’m keen to bring my experience and artistic vision into this international podcast environment, and to continue working with creators to explore podcasting’s endless capacity to express big ideas and impart beautiful and impactful stories.”

PBS’ board of directors unanimously approved an operating plan and budget for fiscal year 2023 Thursday that increases station dues by 4%. Income from station assessments for FY23 is set to increase by $8.1 million year over year to reach $211.9 million. Station dues revenue in FY2022 was $203.7 million, up from $201.7 million in FY2021 and FY2020.

Vermont Public Radio and Vermont PBS, which formally merged last year, will be collectively known as Vermont Public. “Our new name pays homage to our past while signaling a new mission for the future,” said CEO Scott Finn in a news release Thursday. “Across TV, radio, and digital platforms, we will engage a broader and more diverse audience, through stories that bring our community together.”

Public media veteran Kevin Crane was named station manager of WHQR Public Media in Wilmington, N.C., its licensee announced Wednesday. Crane will take over in the role July 18. He succeeds Kurt Wilson, who stepped down in February. Crane will be the station’s fourth station manager since 2017. He...

A grant program facilitated by Philadelphia music stations doubled its funding for local Black artists this year, culminating in an event Sunday that showcased their reflections on the city’s artistic heritage. Now in its second year, the Black Music City project awarded nearly $100,000 in grant money to 46...

Spencer Jenkins was named CEO and executive director for the Utah Education and Telehealth Network, which operates KUEN in Salt Lake City. Jenkins succeeds Ray Timothy, who previously announced that he would retire this summer. “Jenkins stood out above other candidates because of his exceptional experience in working with the...

Nathan Vandiver, GM for KUAR and classical music station KLRE in Little Rock, Ark., will resign from the stations. Vandiver and his family are moving to Portland, Ore., where his wife has accepted a job with the city’s federal public defender office. Vandiver’s last day with KUAR is July 8.

When Asian competitors in the auto industry drew jobs away from blue-collar workers in a Rust Belt city, the bitter xenophobia of white residents crystallized into violence. At the height of this populist fury, two white men killed Vincent Chin, a 27-year-old Chinese-American man from Highland Park near Detroit. The...

WFAE in Charlotte, N.C., appointed new executives. Debra Turner Bailey was hired as chief people officer. Turner Bailey most recently served on the station’s board of directors. She previously worked as global diversity officer and held human resources roles for Corning Inc. Since 2013 she has been a leadership and diversity consultant.

NPR has selected B.A. Parker as a host for Code Switch, the network announced Thursday. Parker will host the radio show and podcast on race and identity alongside Gene Demby, one of the show’s founding hosts, starting in July. Shereen Marisol Meraji, who was also a founding host, left NPR in August.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee for Homeland Security recommended level funding Thursday for public broadcasting’s Next Generation Warning System. The Next Gen Warning System, funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, received its first appropriation of $40 million earlier this year, for fiscal year 2022. America’s Public Television Stations first lobbied for the system’s creation in 2020, arguing that public broadcasting needed infrastructure improvements to assist with public safety projects.

I love All Things Considered. It always has been, and remains, my favorite public radio program. All Things Considered was the first public radio program I ever heard driving around in the back seat of my parents’ car. My first real job was as a board operator at WKSU in Kent, Ohio, during the local broadcasts of ATC. I had just turned 20 years old.