I recently called out NPR on its plans to axe editors in Seattle and San Diego (Expand, Don't Shrink, NPR Bureau Chief System) fearing loss of connection with stations in the West. NPR responds today with a rather robust defense. Tell us what you think.
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From Steve Drummond, Senior National Editor and Philip Bruce, Managing Director, NPR West
To Our Member Stations:On October 1st, we are ending the job-sharing arrangement for the Western Bureau Chiefs. That position, currently shared by Kate Concannon and Alisa Barba, will become a single, full-time job based at NPR West.
Over the past couple of years, as the pace of news and the demands for coverage have accelerated, we’ve seen a growing need to rethink this position, as we have others in the news division. We continue to have a very high regard for Alisa and Kate and the service they’ve given us all. Both have played valuable, key roles for NPR and the Western member stations for a long time. What we are doing now stems from longstanding operational considerations that have grown even more pressing as NPR grows into a 24/7 news operation. Making an operational change that affects any member of the staff directly is a serious matter, something that we do not take lightly. But the time has come to make that change.
A major reason is simply that this job-share no longer works. The razor-sharp deadlines of Newscast, Morning Edition and All Things Considered demand of us that we respond immediately to breaking news online and on-air. These pressures are intensified by the Western time zones and the vastness of the region. As NPR is increasingly a primary and immediate news source throughout this region, it’s clear that a part-time editing schedule with alternating days is no longer viable.
We’ve offered the full-time job to Kate and Alisa, with the hope that one of them will be able to assume this new role at NPR West. If not, we strongly wish to maintain our relationship with these two fine journalists as new opportunities and projects arise. And we will find someone new to serve the Western stations, with the same editorial skills and the same deep interest and passion for the region that Kate and Alisa have demonstrated.
As we move forward, we’re very mindful of our member stations’ concerns. The Bureau Chief position is a crucial one for covering the news, coordinating with the stations and developing journalistic talent. We give you our personal and professional assurance that this change will not diminish our editorial focus on the West. Nor will it reduce our commitment to NPR’s member stations.
Even during tough economic times, NPR has not only maintained but increased the number of editors on the National Desk dedicated to working with member stations and their reporters. Two recent examples: Danyell Irby, who serves as ‘Impact of War’ editor, and Jason DeRose, who runs the economic training project. These first-ever editing positions are devoted mostly to crafting material for broadcast on member stations. We’d like to see that kind of collaboration and cooperation grow. Our goal is to continue to grow our capacity to work with stations and to partner in bringing stories from the West to a national audience.
In the coming months, we will develop the Western Bureau Chief position into one that offers more support to stations and deepens the coverage from this region on all of NPR’s many different platforms in a 24/7 world. NPR West plays a major role in this. The Bureau Chief joins the core editorial staff there that’s already focused on covering the sprawling region. These editors and other decision makers are veterans who’ve lived and worked in the region for years. Adding the Western Bureau Chief to this mix gives the stations a very strong voice and allows us to achieve the rapid response, collaborative environment we envision.
Some have expressed concerns that basing the bureau chief position in Los Angeles will somehow diminish our connection with the Western region. First, our great member stations across the West are now and will always remain our eyes and ears. You are the ones on the ground in Arizona and Wyoming and Colorado and Alaska and Hawaii---and all points in between. You are the ones who find great stories and bring them to us. Please know that regardless of where a bureau chief is based, we always depend on you to keep us connected—and that will not change.
We have benefited greatly from your fine work over the years, even though NPR has never had a full-time bureau chief assigned to the West. Now, we look forward to more great collaborations as we strengthen our editorial core.
Nor will the commitment to personal involvement with individual member stations diminish. A major part of the Western Bureau Chief’s assignment will remain traveling to, and maintaining close contact with news leaders and reporters at individual stations, as is the case with Bureau Chiefs in the Midwest, Northeast, and South.
We ask that you remember our promise to always remain strongly committed to the West and to all of you. Nothing has changed. And we expect you to hold us to that pledge, knowing well that you’ll tell us if we fall short in the days to come. We know many of you may still have questions, so we’re planning a conference call/interconnect next month to talk with you in depth.
Best-
Steve and Phil
