New Hampshire Public Radio has announced the appointment of Jim Schachter as President/CEO.
Schachter joins NHPR from WNYC New York where he has served as Director of News since 2012. He has also spent seventeen years at the New York Times as senior editor in the business and culture departments and at The New York Times Magazine and Associate Managing Editor.
He fills the opening created by the retirement of Betsy Gardella at the end of 2018 after thirteen years with the station.
New Hampshire Public Radio today announced that its board of trustees chose veteran news executive Jim Schachter as the new president and chief executive officer of NHPR, effective Oct. 15. As the organization’s next leader, Schachter will craft and execute a vision and strategy for NHPR that maintains its journalistic excellence and sustains its mission of ‘expanding minds, sparking connections, and building stronger communities.’
“On behalf of the NHPR board of trustees, I’m delighted to announce Jim’s appointment as our next president and chief executive officer” said Peter Burger, chair of the NHPR board. “His experience and perspective reporting from some of our nation’s great newsrooms and managing high-performing teams will be an asset as we work to build upon NHPR’s tradition of excellence, deep community engagement and value to listeners.”
Schachter comes to New Hampshire from the nation’s largest public radio station – WNYC in New York City. There, he served for seven years as vice president for news, managing a staff that grew to 120 people producing national and local radio programs. During his tenure, WNYC’s reporting prompted federal, state and local investigations and earned some of the most prestigious honors in journalism – including Peabody, DuPont, Polk, national Edward R. Murrow, Third Coast and Sigma Delta Chi Public Service awards. Other achievements included driving diversity efforts in both staff and on-air positions and launching national call-in programs.
Before his experience in public media at WNYC, Jim spent 17 years at The New York Times, working as a senior editor in the business and culture departments and at The New York Times Magazine before rising to the masthead position of associate managing editor. Earlier in his career, Jim reported and edited for 10 years – primarily on the business beat – at the Los Angeles Times. He also covered labor issues for The Kansas City Star. Jim got his start in journalism at the Jacksonville Journal after graduating from Columbia University in New York.
“As a successful and forward-looking media organization, NHPR plays an indelible role in New Hampshire’s civic and cultural life, using the power of journalism to help build stronger communities and connections all over the state,” said Schachter. “I so look forward to working with my new colleagues and all of our stakeholders to sustain this remarkable institution and advance its growth. Over the next few months, I’m anticipating many conversations with trustees, donors, community advisory board members, sponsors, partners, my talented staff and listeners – to hear more about the role they each play and discuss how we can work together to help the organization thrive.”
Schachter continued: “The people of New Hampshire are fortunate that NHPR pairs ambition with heart, creativity with competence, and accountability with responsibility. I’m honored to have the great opportunity to be a steward of those principles.”
Jim and his wife Pam, a special educator, have four adult children. The Schachters have spent time in the Granite State for family vacations and college visits and are looking forward to exploring the state further.
Schachter’s appointment follows a national search for a new chief executive, prompted by the retirement of longtime NHPR president and CEO Betsy Gardella in December 2018. Gardella served as NHPR’s top executive for 13 years, overseeing a period of innovation and accolades that transformed a relatively small, radio-focused entity into a more expansive multi-media organization. For the past year with the CEO search underway, former board member Mark Kaplan of Portsmouth led the organization as interim executive director.
The national executive search firm Isaacson, Miller managed the executive search process on behalf of New Hampshire Public Radio. A search committee comprised of current and former NHPR board members and an NHPR staff representative worked alongside Isaacson, Miller throughout the recruitment process.
