Block. (Photo courtesy NPR)
Melissa Block, the globe-trotting journalist who has anchored NPR’s “All Things Considered” for more than 12 years, announced Monday that she’s leaving the flagship news program to become a special correspondent for the network.
We asked Block, who has been at NPR for 30 years, to reflect via email on her time as host, the next steps of her career and the transformative changes that have taken place at NPR in the last year.
After 10 years at the helm of “All Things Considered,” what went into your decision to leave?
It’s actually been twelve-plus years since I first started hosting ATC, and a full thirty years all told that I’ve worked at NPR. In those three decades, I’ve done just about every radio job in this building, from editorial assistant to senior producer to correspondent to host, and have loved every one. Being the host of ATC is truly a journalist’s dream: we have an enviably broad canvas and millions of devoted listeners who rely on us for both depth and joy. Part of what I love best about hosting are the many opportunities I’ve had to get out of the studio and do in-depth reporting from the field. Whether it was documenting the devastating Sichuan earthquake of 2008, visiting with people whose lives were flattened by Hurricane Katrina, or profiling fascinating figures in all walks of life, these stories have provided the most meaningful and enriching moments of my career. The new gig as special correspondent is an opportunity to devote myself fully to this same kind of storytelling that I love so much, and that is NPR’s trademark: in-depth, radio-rich, and illuminating.
NPR has gone through some big transitions lately. The network has seen a new CEO, a new news head, several executive moves and the launch of its flagship mobile property, NPR One — all in the last year or so. How do you view all those changes, given your storied career there? And how do they align with your new job?
This has been a time of tremendous churn here, but I’ve been at NPR long enough to know that throughout many changes over the decades, this institution has proved resilient, flexible and adaptive. And our loyal listeners are the bedrock of everything we do. That’s the constant.
To the extent that you can be replaced, who will replace you on “All Things Considered?”
That’s a decision for management to make. Just as I followed in the huge footsteps of ATC hosts Susan Stamberg, Noah Adams and Linda Wertheimer, I’m sure the next host will preserve and enhance the great traditions and reputation of this program. We have a huge amount of on-air talent at NPR to draw from.
Is this the first special correspondent job created at NPR? Is this job similar to any others at the network?
A number of other NPR hosts – Susan Stamberg, Noah Adams, Linda Wertheimer, Michele Norris, and Michel Martin – have all taken on correspondent roles of varying stripes after they stopped hosting. It’s a solid tradition, and I plan to learn from all of them!
It seems like you have an impressive portfolio of work laid out for you. How will you balance the various responsibilities of a special correspondent, which seem to include a mix of reporting,
development, hosting and writing?
Very carefully! Look, I think anyone who’s been able to juggle the many things thrown at you daily as ATC host can figure out the multi-tasking part of this new role fairly easily.
How did you go about determining your new duties?
What’s especially exciting about my new role is that I’ve outlined a broad range and scope of what I want to cover. I’ve always been interested in a wide range of stories (they don’t call it All Things Considered for nothing!), so I anticipate a broad mix of reporting: profiles of compelling figures at the forefront of thought and culture; incisive reporting that’s at the heart of the news; and long-form features that “celebrate the human experience,” a goal that was was first laid out in NPR’s original mission statement back in 1970. I’ll also be delighted to step back into the host role on occasion, and am very excited about podcast possibilities.
The announcement says you might be developing podcasts based on your reporting. Do you have any ideas for specific storylines you think would make good podcasts?
Stay tuned!
Will you be supervising anyone once you begin the special correspondent role?
Thankfully, no! Just my own self, and my soon-to-be-teenaged daughter.
