Nancy Barnes Lays Out Her Initial Vision For NPR Newsroom
Nancy Barnes started as NPR's senior vice president of news and editorial director in late November, replacing the yearlong interim newsroom leader Christopher Turpin (who replaced the ousted Michael Oreskes). Barnes has been quiet about her priorities for NPR since, citing a desire to listen and learn during her first three months.
That period is up, and Barnes, who came to NPR from the Houston Chronicle, last week sat down with me to talk about her initial impressions and where she's steering NPR. (For more on her background and the transition in NPR's newsroom, see NPR's earlier reporting.) In our wide-ranging conversation, she addressed the changing mix of stories on NPR's newsmagazines and newsroom diversity, and shared some initial thoughts about how NPR will cover the already-upon-us presidential election season.
A delicate balance
In what I'm certain will be seen by some NPR listeners as good news, Barnes said she is looking at what she called the "delicate balance" between live interviews and reported pieces and indicated she would like it to swing away from quite so many live interviews. "Even before I walked into the newsroom, I've been hearing the concern about this push for news [that] makes us sound or act more like CNN," she said.
In a memo sent to the newsroom March 8, Barnes' first listed priority was to "develop more distinct, diverse and essential news stories and and ), and in many ways it is at the core of a good number of the concerns we hear from listeners who reach out to the Public Editor's office.
