Nikki Jones was promoted to VP of change management and transformation at NPR.
Jones will work to ensure NPR “delivers on its business and cultural aspirations, develops more inclusive decision making and transparent ways of setting project plans and accountabilities, and builds stronger support systems for cross-departmental collaboration,” according to a press release. Jones’ new team will become a stand-alone department adjacent to human resources and will report to Chief HR Officer Carrie Storer.
“My priority is to focus on the people side of change by encouraging and empowering diverse voices, ownership, independence and accountability,” Jones said in the release, adding, “My goal is to do everything I can to incorporate those diverse, equitable, and inclusive pillars to shape the future of NPR.”
Jones joined NPR in 2019 and has served as director of agile transformation and program management in the digital media division. Jones previously worked for SiriusXM Radio, serving as a senior program manager and later as director of program management. She has also served as a technical program manager for National Geographic Digital Media, a program manager for Secured Sciences Group and a project manager for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cameo George was hired as EP of American Experience, produced by WGBH in Boston.
George succeeds Mark Samels, who retired in February. She is leaving her job as head of development for longform projects at ABC News. Before that, she served as the head of digital video and television for OZY Media and was a producer for CNN and NBC News. George also worked with filmmaker Stanley Nelson of Firelight Films and has been a co-EP with WGBH for the debate series Third Rail with OZY.
“Cameo brings a unique combination of skills to the series,” said John Bredar, VP for national programs at WGBH, in a news release. “She has a passion for history and is clear-eyed about how it informs the present. She also has a canny sense of the power of social and digital media to advance American history to a broad audience. Understanding our own history, whether redeeming or shocking, knits all of us together and couldn’t be more important right now.”
Terri Murray was promoted to VP and chief content officer for WHYY in Philadelphia.
Murray joined the station in 2017 as VP for program production. She has led the development of television series You Oughta Know, Movers and Makers and Check, Please! Philly. Before WHYY, Murray was director of original programming and development at Scripps Networks. She was also an EP for Discovery Inc.
“She is the ideal candidate to lead WHYY’s programming as we continually roll out new programs and services to keep growing the size and diversity of our audiences,” said WHYY CEO Bill Marrazzo in a news release.
Development
Malinda Walker is retiring from her position as membership director for Smoky Hills PBS in Bunker Hill, Kan. Walker joined the station in 1992. “Malinda has made a huge impact within the communities we serve in central and western Kansas,” said Interim GM Michael Quade in a news release. “She has not just brought members to our station but turned those members into friends. That’s what she has done throughout her impressive 28-year career, left a strong legacy, and her kindness and smile that our members turned to throughout the years is going to be greatly missed!”
Content
Laura McCallum was hired as an editor for Twin Cities PBS in St. Paul, Minn. She will work on Next Avenue, a content vertical geared towards older Americans. McCallum took a voluntary buyout from MPR News in May. She joined MPR News as a reporter in 1993 and held several roles there, including interim director and managing editor for daily news. McCallum also worked as a reporter, anchor and news director for Prairie Public Radio in Fargo, N.D.
Duke Meyer, a host for WFPK in Louisville, Ky., announced his semi-retirement after 50 years working in radio. Meyer’s last day hosting weekday mornings will be Friday, but he will continue to host the Saturday classic rock program Relics. Beginning Monday, Mel Fisher will host weekday mornings from 6–9 a.m., and Otis Junior will host weekday afternoons from noon–3 p.m. Meyer joined WFPK in 2002. He became an on-air host in 1970 when he was in the Army Reserves. He joined his first commercial radio station in 1973 and later became a host for WLRS in Louisville, Ky. He also served as the music director for WQMF, also in Louisville, Ky.
N’Jeri Eaton, the former deputy director of programming for NPR, joined Apple Podcasts. She announced earlier this month on Twitter that she was leaving public media.
Fellowships
Harvard University’s Nieman Foundation selected 16 fellows for its 2020-21 class, which will be conducted virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. The cohort includes Yasmin Amer, a senior podcast reporter and producer for WBUR’s iLab in Boston, Emily Corwin, an investigative reporter and editor for Vermont Public Radio and Samantha Broun, a managing editor for Atlantic Public Media’s Transom.org.
The Association of Independents in Radio announced its 2020 New Voices Scholars, a five-month program starting in July that will be organized virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cohort members with experience in public radio include:
- Jade Abdul-Malik, a producer for Georgia Public Broadcasting
- Sojourner Ahebee, a former intern for WHYY in Philadelphia
- Pablo Arauz, a reporter and host for KTOO in Juneau, Alaska
- Derek Arthur, a producer for NPR’s Rough Translation podcast
- Laura Marina Boria, an instructor for the University of Texas at Austin and alumna of PRX
- Hafsa Fathima, a recent intern for NPR’s It’s Been a Minute With Sam Sanders
- Elizabeth Gabriel, a fellow with KLCC in Eugene, Ore.
- Ameeta Ganatra, a former NPR intern based in Berlin
- Thomas Lu, a producer for NPR’s Hidden Brain
- Manolo Morales, a former intern for Latino USA
- Miguel Perez, an arts and culture reporter and producer for KERA in Dallas
- Courtney Wise Randolph, host of Covid Diaries for WDET in Detroit
- Noah Taborda, a former intern for KCUR in Kansas City, Mo.
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