WNYC’s Dean Cappello moved into advisory role

Print More

WNYC is restructuring its leadership after allegations of sexual harassment, according to WNYC News.

Chief Content Officer Dean Cappello, who has overseen both WNYC News and WNYC Studios, will serve in an advisory role and the divisions will be managed separately. Cappello will continue to report to President and CEO Laura Walker, and will no longer manage WNYC staff. The changes were announced at a staff meeting Friday, according to WNYC News.

The change does not effect leadership of WNYC’s newsroom. VP Jim Schachter continues to oversee news content and reports directly to Walker, according to a statement from spokesperson Jennifer Houlihan Roussel.

Three VPs of on-demand content — Emily Botein, Tony Philips and Paula Szuchman — work together to lead WNYC Studios, reporting to both Walker and COO John Chao as they search for a new leader. In his advisory role, Cappello will provide “creative guidance for WNYC Studios on a variety of projects,” according to the statement.

“We will continue to look at ways to improve our operations as we complete our internal reviews,” Walker said at the meeting.

WNYC has faced a number of allegations of harassment against top hosts. In December, the station fired Leonard Lopate and Jonathan Schwartz after an investigation found that the longtime hosts had violated the station’s standards “for providing an inclusive, appropriate, and respectful work environment,” according to a statement.

Those dismissals followed allegations against John Hockenberry, former host of The Takeaway, who was the subject of complaints from multiple women alleging sexual harassment, bullying and fostering a toxic work environment.

New York Public Radio, which operates WNYC-FM/AM and classical WQXR, has hired outside experts to investigate harassment claims and advise on newsroom culture.

This story has been updated with additional reporting. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *