LaFontaine Oliver to step down as New York Public Radio CEO 

New York Public Radio announced Tuesday that CEO LaFontaine Oliver will transition away from leading the station and step into the role of executive chair, effective immediately. 

Oliver will serve in both roles as NYPR seeks a new leader, he said in a Tuesday email to staff.  

The new role is a staff position reporting to the board, according to an NYPR spokesperson. 

Oliver said the board asked him to serve in the new role as threats to public broadcasting mount. 

NYPR Board Chair John Rose wrote in an email to staff that the station needs “to reimagine how public radio can adapt and thrive in this moment.” To address that “urgent task,” Rose said, the board needs someone “not consumed by the day-to-day operation of the business.” He said Oliver was the right person given his experience at stations throughout the system and leadership background, including serving as NPR’s board chair. 

The transition “reflects our commitment to supporting that change and will help us re-imagine how NYPR and the public broadcasting system can continue to be vibrant and impactful in the years to come,” Rose wrote.

In the executive chair role, Oliver said he would “redouble my efforts to cultivate funding from alternative sources, including major funders, foundations, members, and other public sources. And I’ll be exploring ways that NYPR can work with both NPR and our sister stations to achieve sustainability across the system in this new and unprecedented era.” 

“New challenges require new solutions,” he added, “and while I wish we weren’t in a place where this new work was even necessary, I appreciate that our Board has the vision and foresight to prioritize and invest in it.”

Earlier this year, the station cut more than 7% of its workforce, and it has laid off staff in each of the last four years due to financial challenges. As of September, NYPR had a deficit of $12 million. 

Oliver joined NYPR in 2022 after leading WYPR in Baltimore. Prior to that role, he was GM of WMFE in Orlando, Fla., and of WEAA in Baltimore.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that Oliver’s new role is on NYPR’s board. It is a staff role reporting to the board.