Many people believe news stories are always negative. NPR agrees, it’s why they’re creating a new position to find positive, uplifting stories.
NPR Chief Content Officer Edith Chapin shared in a memo to staffers that the network plans to appoint a “joy czar” to find more light-hearted stories to combat the negative coverage of politics, foreign wars, and financial affairs on broadcast radio.
“More than two-thirds of our broadcast audience is over 45, but for more than five years, the only age demographic that has grown in that audience are those over 65,” Chapin wrote in a memo obtained by Bloomberg. “All this supports our broader goal to better understand and serve the curious — an audience that reflects the full diversity of America and where we see enormous potential for growth across platforms.”
The “joy czar” will be based in the network’s Washington D.C. offices, and will help “ratchet up our ‘joy’ quotient across platforms.”
However, a spokesperson for the network says the stories will only pertain to its radio coverage and not its wide variety of digital platforms or programs.
