PRI/PRX has named Andrea Crossan EP of PRI’s The World, a role she had held on an interim basis since November 2018.
Crossan joined the show in May 2004 and served as series director for PRI’s Across Women’s Lives project. In 2017 she created the 50 States project, which covered the impact of globalization in the U.S. She began her career with The World as a BBC producer in the London bureau and has also worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., The Associated Press and NBC News.
“I’m thrilled to lead this outstanding team of journalists for the next chapter of The World,” Crossan said. “It’s an exciting time of change for the show.”
Crossan replaces former EP Andrew Sussman.
The 2020 class of Nieman Fellows announced Friday includes three public radio journalists.
Fellows begin two semesters of study at Harvard University in the fall.
Carrie Johnson, who covers national justice for NPR, “will study the disappearing promise of the Sixth Amendment rights to counsel and trial in the United States and the implications of that on public confidence in judicial accountability and the integrity of the justice system,” according to the press release.
Two of the fellows are Abrams Nieman Fellows for Local Investigative Journalism. Under the program, they will conduct fieldwork after their time at Harvard, working on a public-service reporting project and participating in specialized journalism education.
Johnny Kauffman, a reporter for WABE in Atlanta, will focus on voting and methods for analyzing election policy and security. For his fieldwork, Kauffman will examine disenfranchisement and election technology in Georgia.
And Tennessee Watson, an education reporter with Wyoming Public Radio, “will study how journalists can best cover the challenges young people face beyond moments of crisis—such as school shootings and teen suicides—in order to produce more nuanced reporting,” according to the Nieman release. Her fieldwork will involve studying Wyoming’s juvenile justice system.
Content
NPR added Franco Ordoñez to its Washington Desk’s White House team, the network announced Monday. Ordoñez now covers the White House for McClatchy. He starts at NPR June 3. “I’m a listener and have gotten to know several NPR reporters over the years working in Washington and at the White House,” he said in an email quoted in NPR’s release. “The chance to join the Washington Desk was a no-brainer.”
Fernanda Camarena joined Latino USA as senior editor. She is a reporter and producer for Reveal and was previously a national correspondent for Noticiero Telemundo, Telemundo’s prime-time newscast.
WAMU in Washington, D.C., hired Ashley Lisenby as morning news producer/editor. She previously reported for WUSF in Tampa, Fla., and for St. Louis Public Radio.
Esmy Jimenez is now an immigration reporter at KUOW in Seattle. Jiminez previously reported for Northwest Public Broadcasting in Yakima, Wash.
Kevin Stark joined KQED in San Francisco as a digital producer focusing on science coverage. Stark previously reported for the San Francisco Public Press. His work has also appeared on the Energy News Network, the Center for Investigative Reporting’s Reveal and WBEZ in Chicago.
Development
Vegas PBS added two staffers to its development department. Clark Dumont is interim director of development and strategic relations. He was previously VP of communications and public affairs for the opening of the Nevada Cancer Institute. And Jim Ludwig joined the station as major gifts officer. He was most recently regional philanthropy officer for the Red Cross in Nevada and Utah.
Governance
Carlos Alvarez began a term as a public director on NPR’s board this month. Colleagues on the board elected him to the position in March, filling an unexpired term vacancy left when Gary Fernandes left the board in November. Alvarez was also elected to a three-year term beginning in November, subject to confirmation by NPR members this summer. Alvarez is chairman and CEO of the Gambrinus Co., which owns Texas’ Spoetzl Brewery, brewer of Shiner Bock, and the Trumer Brewery in Berkeley, Calif. Alvarez is a member of Texas Public Radio in San Antonio and donated $2 million to the station’s campaign to relocate to new headquarters and expand its operations.
The executive committee of the National Educational Telecommunications Association selected new officers last month for fiscal year 2020. Vickie Lawson, CEO of East Tennessee PBS in Knoxville, will become board chair in July. She succeeds Molly Phillips, GM of Iowa Public Television in Johnston, will remain on the committee as past-chair. Ron Pisaneschi, GM of Idaho Public Television in Boise, was recently elected by NETA’s board to serve as the next vice-chair/chair-elect. The committee also selected Gene Purcell, director of Wisconsin Public Media in Madison, to serve a second term as board treasurer and Laura Hunter, COO of the Utah Educational Network, to serve a second term as board secretary.