NPR Names Juana Summers as Co-Host of ‘All Things Considered’

Many of the hosts who left NPR in recent months come from racial or ethnic groups that are underrepresented in U.S. newsrooms. Ari Shapiro, a co-host of “All Things Considered,” wrote on Twitter that the network was “hemorrhaging hosts from marginalized backgrounds,” referring reporters to Isabel Lara, the network’s head of communications, for comment. Ms. Lara said hosts who had been brought in to replace those who left were from underrepresented backgrounds and had extensive public radio experience.

Ms. Summers, who is Black, said she thinks NPR has a good track record on promoting journalists from underrepresented backgrounds, pointing to Ms. Cornish’s decade-long stint hosting “All Things Considered” and her own career at NPR, where she has risen through the ranks. But she said every company in America, including NPR, had more work to do on that front.

“I always think that more can be done to recruit and retain and to cultivate women, people of color and people from marginalized communities,” Ms. Summers said. “That’s the work that we all need to be doing every single day.”

In recent years, NPR has repackaged popular shows such as “All Things Considered” and “Morning Edition” in digital formats like podcasts. Ms. Barnes said those efforts, along with the network’s push to diversify its staff, were part of an effort to make itself relevant to changing American audiences.

“You can’t do that without having a diverse staff that actually represents the whole of America,” Ms. Barnes said. “In addition, we know that the audiences of the future are on new and different platforms. And if we want to reach younger and more diverse audiences, we have to be there with them.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/08/business/media/npr-juana-summers-all-things-considered.html