NPR Losing Top Editor After Funding Cuts

NPR now has two big challenges: Its top newsroom leader said Tuesday she is stepping down later this year, a move that comes just after Congress stripped federal funding from public media. However, Edith Chapin says her exit is unrelated to the funding cut, adding that she informed superiors before the congressional vote, reports Deadline. "Two years with two big executive jobs has been a comprehensive assignment," Chapin wrote in a memo. (She also has held the role of chief content officer.) "I love journalism, it has been my life for more than 35 years, and I will keep championing it for many more years. I will reset after a few months of a career break."

Chapin has been steering NPR's newsroom since 2023. She joined the organization in 2012, after 25 years at CNN. Her exit comes as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting faces the loss of its entire $1.1 billion federal appropriation—part of a larger spending rollback backed by former President Trump. Rural NPR stations are expected to be hardest hit by the cutback. NPR chief executive Katherine Maher praised Chapin as a "steady leader" who "laid the foundation for a stronger public radio," per the Washington Post.