Andrew Golis will exit his position as Chief Content Officer at New York Public Radio where he oversaw the content strategy and development for Public News/Talk 93.9 WNYC-FM/820 WNYC, Classical 105.9 WQXR, Gothamist.com, and the WNYC Studios podcast and syndication arm on Friday, September 15.
Golis joined NYPR in February 2019 after previously serving as General Manager of Vox.com and the Vice President of Network Development for Vox Media. He has also served as Director of Digital Media and a Senior Editor for PBS’ Frontline, Entrepreneur in Residence at The Atlantic, Founder and CEO of This, and Blog Editor and Political Editor of Yahoo News.
In a memo to staff, NYPR CEO LaFontaine Oliver wrote:
I’m writing to share the news that WNYC Chief Content Officer Andrew Golis has decided to
leave New York Public Radio. I’ve only worked personally with Andrew for the last eight months, but I know he has contributed greatly to the content and culture of WNYC during his four years at NPR. He has been a steady hand through a period of institutional and industry-wide change, and he’s been a valued partner to me as I’ve charted my own first year here at NYPR.As head of WNYC Content at a moment of increasing saturation and competition in the podcast market, Andrew brought a strategic focus to growing our always-on shows and supporting talent. He oversaw development, acquired, and greenlit a wide range of creative, award-winning programming, including Dolly Parton’s America, Blindspot, Brian Lehrer’s Impeachment podcast, Radiolab special series and spinoffs including The Other Latif, The Vanishing of Harry Pace, Mixtape, and Terrestrials, Dead End, La Brega, the restructure and national launch of Notes from America, The Experiment, and the relaunch of More Perfect. And, he hired our current Senior Vice President of WNYC Studios, Kenya Young, who has infused the Studios culture with a greater sense of cross-show collaboration and a renewed focus on reaching new audiences.
Andrew has also steered WNYC through some big challenges. Editorially, that’s included everything from how we approached live coverage of President Trump in the aftermath of the 2020 election, to how we kept our journalists safe and supported as they covered the pandemic at its worst here in New York City.
Operationally, that’s included some big changes on some of our shows. Most notably, Andrew built and executed a multi-year succession plan to ensure that Radiolab, one of our signature franchises, would thrive after the departures of its founding hosts.
Andrew has also been a collaborative and strategic partner to our colleagues on the revenue, audience development, and DEI teams, an empathetic and thoughtful manager and leader, and a great champion of our organizational and public media values.Andrew’s last day will be Friday, September 15.
With his departure, we will take an opportunity to consider the best structure for WNYC Content leadership moving forward. In the interim, Kenya Young (SVP, Studios), Audrey Cooper (SVP, News), and Jacqueline Cincotta (WNYC Program Director) will report directly to me. The Radiolab team will now report to Kenya.I want to thank Andrew for being such a generous and considerate colleague, and for helping to make my first months here easier with his insights and knowledge. I hope you’ll join me in wishing him the very best in his future endeavors.
