Ellen McDonnell, NPR’s executive editor for news programming, will retire at the end of the year, Eyder Peralta reported for the network today.
McDonnell had been at the network for nearly 35 years and was “a part of NPR’s DNA,” NPR Chief Content Officer Kinsey Wilson said in an internal memo quoted in Peralta’s story:
“She has touched and transformed nearly every aspect of NPR News, her creativity and zeal surpassed only by her generosity of spirit. When you describe Ellen the words you hear over and over are transparent and authentic. She is the real deal.”
In July, NPR’s senior vice president for news, Margaret Low Smith, left the network to join the Atlantic as president of the company’s events division. NPR got a new president and CEO in Jarl Mohn in May. Mohn was chairman of Southern California Public Radio.
