After 30 years with NPR, Anya Grundmann will step down from her role as Senior Vice President of Programming and Audience Development at the end of the year.
Grundmann joined NPR in 1994 as an intern after working at KNAU Flagstaff AZ while in grad school. During her tenure with the company she served as Executive Director of NPR Music for eleven years where she helped launch features including All Songs Considered and Tiny Desk Concerts and then rose to her current role overseeing all content in 2015, where she oversaw NPR’s expansion into podcasting.
No successor has been named yet. In a memo to staffers, Grundmann stated, “After 30 years at NPR, I have decided it’s time for my next adventure.”
In a news story about the exit, NPR media reporter David Folkenflik notes there was conflict between Grundmann and former SVP/News Nancy Barnes following NPR CEO John Lansing’s intention last year to unify news and programming under a single Chief Content Officer position (which has yet-to-be filled). Barnes would then depart NPR to join the Boston Globe. NPR made significant programming cuts in February, stating the erosion of advertising revenue to their podcasts and tough financial outlook for the media industry.
