NPR announced on Thursday that it had appointed a new top editor, Thomas Evans, who will take over as the news organization faces the elimination of federal funding.
Mr. Evans, 49, who had previously served as a managing editor, will take on the role of editor in chief and oversee the global newsroom, NPR said.
NPR’s “value is built on the finest journalists in the nation,” Mr. Evans said in a statement. “I am proud to have been asked to lead this newsroom at this crucial time as we continue to serve our listeners and the pursuit of truth.”
Mr. Evans joined NPR in 2024 to lead an editorial review team, which included a program to review the radio network’s journalism before it published. The initiative, announced in May last year, came after fallout from an essay that accused the network of having a liberal bias.
Before joining NPR, Mr. Evans was a vice president and London bureau chief at CNN, overseeing international operations in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.
NPR also announced that Marta McLellan Ross, 45, who since 2021 had led a team that pushes for public media and freedom of the press, will take over as its chief of staff.
Ms. McLellan Ross had previously worked as a policy adviser for two senators and as the director of legislative affairs at the Defense Logistics Agency.
Both Mr. Evans and Ms. McLellan Ross will begin their new roles on Sept. 15.
The appointments come several months after Edith Chapin said she would step down as NPR’s editor in chief. That announcement came a week after Congress approved cuts to annual federal funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, a decision that contributed to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting saying it will close. That organization backs NPR and its members, although NPR gets a relatively small portion of its annual budget from the corporation.
“NPR and public radio play a vital role in American public life,” Ms. McLellan Ross said in a statement. “I look forward to supporting the organization in transforming its service to the public and connecting more people to its trusted work.”
Emmett Lindner is a business reporter for The Times.
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