NPR has promoted Liz Danzico to VP of design, a newly created position. Danzico previously held the role of creative director with NPR Digital Media.
In the position, Danzico will work with colleagues at NPR and member stations “to develop plans for understanding and collaborating with audiences, strengthening NPR’s design methodology, convening designers at NPR in order to connect and align product design experiences across platforms, and playing an active role in exploring fundraising opportunities for digital innovation at NPR,” according to an NPR press release.
“This move recognizes Liz’s many contributions to the Digital Media team and NPR over the past five years, her uncommon skills as a mentor, communicator and connector, and the fact that, increasingly, the principles and practices of human-centered design, of which Liz is a champion, are essential to the way we shape our strategies for growth and innovation,” said Chief Digital Officer Thomas Hjelm.
“There seems no more revolutionary time to be in design for public media — a time when access to local and national stories is multiplying across products and platforms, increasing the demand for rich and connected user experiences,” Danzico said. “The design of an experience has the potential to transform everyday life in expected and unexpected ways.”
Danzico joined NPR as creative director in 2013. She recently launched the Public Radio Incubation Lab and has led workshops on design and design thinking at member stations. She is chair and co-founder of the MFA in Interaction Design program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and is on the advisory board of the Journalism + Design Program at The New School and the Austin Center for Design.
WNED/WBFO in Buffalo, N.Y., has made a hire and several promotions within its executive ranks, the station announced Monday.
Sylvia Bennett returns to the station as senior VP and chief development officer, a newly created position. She previously worked as the station’s senior VP of development and corporate communications from 2007–17. For the past two years she has been director of development for the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.
Michael Holley, who joined the station as VP of development in June 2018, will become VP of corporate support. He replaces Gordon Bayliss, who recently retired as VP of sales and marketing.
Bree Bové will serve as VP of membership. Bové joined the station in 2000 as auction operations coordinator and has held the position of senior director of membership since 2003.
And Kathryn Larsen, who joined WNED/WBFO in January 2016 as director of TV and radio programming, will become VP of broadcast services.
All changes take effect Aug. 12.
“We are strategically positioning WNED | WBFO for the next five years to take advantage of fundraising, programming, and production opportunities at the local and national levels,” said CEO Donald K. Boswell in a release. “Making these changes will help us with plans for new series, such as Reading Rainbow and a Blues performance production, while also increasing our binational news coverage.”
Matt Pelsor is the host of All IN, a new statewide talk radio show produced by Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations in Indianapolis.
Pelsor joined WFYI in Indianapolis as local All Things Considered host in 2016. All IN debuts Tuesday on WFYI and will air Tuesdays and Thursdays. It will become a weekday show and air on all IPBS stations starting Sept. 30.
“This is a ground-breaking moment for public radio in Indiana,” said IPBS Executive Director Mark Newman said in a WFYI release. “This will be a show for all Hoosiers in every corner of our state. Stations have been sharing stories and information for a while, but to actually collaborate on a live, statewide daily program is new territory, and I think people throughout Indiana are really going to enjoy and appreciate it.”
Content
Ruth Tam and Patrick Fort are the hosts of Dish City, a new podcast from WAMU in Washington, D.C., about the city’s iconic foods. Tam and Fort were previously producers for the station’s Kojo Nnamdi Show.
James Kim left KPCC in Pasadena, Calif., for a job with Gimlet Media. He was a podcast producer at the station.
Rachel Iacovone joined Nashville Public Radio in Tennessee as morning host. She previously worked as a reporter and local All Things Considered host for WGCU in Fort Myers, Fla.
Events
Juliana Jervis left America’s Public Television Stations Monday to move to Arizona. Jervis worked for APTS as events and staff assistant since 2016.
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