JARL MOHN REVEALS A BIG REASON FOR HIS SUCCESS AS CEO OF NPR: IT IS ALL ABOUT THE MEMBER STATIONS

Jarl Mohn (image courtesy LA Times)

Today we have part two of our conversation with Jarl Mohn, President and CEO of NPR. You can read part one here.

There are many reasons why Jarl Mohn has been, in our opinion, the most successful President and CEO of National Public Radio (NPR). During our recent interview, Mohn summed it up in a single sentence:

“We can’t be successful unless the member stations are successful.”

Mohn is the eighth President/CEO of NPR in the network’s 48-year history. 

But he is the only one who came to the job with extensive experience in radio and electronic media. 

This matters because member stations are the essential  architecture of the public radio system.

NPR member stations are the source of the largest share of the organization’s revenue.   

NPR’s ratings are actually a compilation of the ratings of the stations.

Increasingly, NPR News is becoming a seamless mix of reporting by the network and local stations.

Some past Presidents of NPR never got past the lobby of a member station. Mohn drove to stations, rolled up sleeves and saw content created. Plus, he became acquainted with the people who make the magic on a daily basis.

Station leaders know his commitment and respect him for it. As we learned during our interview, Mohn has loved almost every minute he has spent at stations and his excitement is contagious:

Mohn: One the reasons I’ve got along with leaders of the NPR member stations is because I grew up in radio, I’m station people give me the benefit of the doubt because I was a radio guy. We’ve tried to get the mindset within NPR that our greatest single strategic advantage is the stations. The reason is, the stations are the way we reach people in their communities. I treasure the affinity NPR has now with its member stations.

Spark News: When did you realize the importance of the relationship between NPR and its member stations?

Jarl Mohn visiting WMKY in Kentucky

Jarl Mohn: “I spent 13 years at a member station, on the board of Southern California Public Radio. Early in my tenure I twice travelled the country to visit member stations. The second national trip was a “driving tour” and it was great fun. I think that seeing the world from their perspective is important. The people I met liked the fact that I took the time to talk with them, listen to them, engage with them, helped improve relations with stations.”

SN: Some people are dismissive about terrestrial radio’s future. Are you?

JM: “Unlike many of my predecessors, I still remain bullish on terrestrial radio. Some times when I give a speech, I talk about the history of predictions that radio will be killed by new competition. Think of all of the ways it has been said that radio was on the way out. Television, the 8-track tape, cassettes, CDs, Napster, Internet radio, Pandora and satellite radio were all expected to kill radio, but that didn’t happen.”

Jarl Mohn visiting West Virginia Public Radio

“For several years I was on the board of SiriusXM satellite radio. They offer good services but they are not ubiquitous like terrestrial radio. 

Public radio has unique advantages. It is noncommercial and easily available to listeners for free.”

“Certainly, any time there is a new technology it is going to take away some market share. But radio still reaches 93% of the entire US adult population every seven days.”

SN: Some observers say that podcasts will hurt radio. But NPR has had success with content that does well in both podcasts and on the air.  Why is this multi-platform approach important to NPR?

JM: “At NPR we have quite a few shows that began as podcasts and then transitioned to radio. They are doing remarkably well on both platforms.

“Podcasts are important to NPR’s brand and they are bringing people in the younger demos to NPR the radio. We are seeing that people are discovering spoken word programming because of podcasts.”

“I am very bullish on podcasts.  They are great source of revenue for us and the market is growing like crazy. Podcasts are a great doorway, an on-ramp, to our community service journalism”.

SN: You will be leaving your CEO job in the near future. What is next for you?

JM: “My contract ends at the end of June 2019, but I am going to stay in the job until the board finds my replacement. As you know, historically there have not always been smooth transitions of CEOs at NPR. I promised my management team and the board that until the transition is complete.”

Jarl Mohn at Wyoming Public Media

“Whoever replaces me as CEO needs to understand that we are a media organization and be aware of all aspects of the business.  It is important for the next CEO to have the desire to communicate with member stations and what there needs are.

“The board has given me the title of President Emeritus. NPR has its 50^th anniversary coming up in 2021 and I want to continue to raise money for the organization. I still see myself being deeply engaged with NPR.  I have a couple of ideas how I might be helpful to the whole system. Plus, I’d like to be helpful to some member stations.”

SN: We have one last question. It used to be that many commercial radio broadcasters looked down on NPR but that seems to have changed a bit.  What is the perception of NPR and public radio by commercial broadcasters?

The Mohn Broadcast Center, home of KPCC in Los Angeles

JM: (laughs) “Thanks for bring that up. About a year and a half ago I attend a private industry confab that was attended by the managers and programmers of the leading commercial radio News/Talk stations. Someone asked me how things were going at NPR and I told them about all the markets where we are now the number one radio news source in the market.”

“Then I told them my goal for NPR – that in five years every news-oriented NPR station should be the top radio news source in every rated market.  There were gasps in the room.”

“As the meeting ended, a commercial radio programmer I have known for years told me 'It is amazing what is happening with NPR. I wish you good luck, but maybe not too much luck.’”