Anya Grundmann has been named as National Public Radio’s vice president of programming and audience development, following a term filling the role in an interim capacity. She will report to Chief Management Officer and Senior Vice President for Audience Development Emma Carrasco and Senior Vice President of News and Editorial Director Michael Oreskes.
Grundmann will lead NPR’s programming center to create and acquire content that will engage and grow audience on member stations’ and on digital platforms, a release said.
During her interim time, she oversaw the launch of several additions to the content development pipeline, including the debut with NPR News of the “Hidden Brain” and “NPR Politics” podcasts and the second season of “Invisibilia,” as well as an on-air promotion campaign for “All Things Considered.”
“Anya has distinguished herself from both a creative and audience development perspective for many years,” said Carrasco. “She is ideally suited to develop a comprehensive content development strategy that guides the growth and direction of NPR programs for the next decade, taking into consideration changes in our nation’s demographics, audience behaviors and competitive media landscape.”
Grundmann previously spent eight years as the head of NPR Music. Under Grundmann’s direction, the division has helped in the growth of national radio programs and specials, including WXPN’s “World Café” and developed new programs such as multiplatform radio and video documentary series “Jazz Night in America.” She has collaborated with NPR News on music initiatives and overseen NPR Music’s expansion into video, events and digital. Additionally, “All Songs Considered” continues to hold its spot as the most popular music podcast in iTunes, and NPR Music has added “Microphone Check,” “Alt.Latino” and KCRW’s “Metropolis.”
After completing an undergraduate degree in English at Grinnell College, Grundmann moved to Flagstaff, Ariz., where she first worked as a programmer and music announcer at member station KNAU(FM). Grundmann joined NPR in 1994 as an intern, and then was named associate editor and subsequently supervising editor of the classical music program “Performance Today,” winning a Peabody Award. In 2013, she was a fellow in the Sulzberger Leadership program at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where she was also a fellow in the National Arts Journalism Program from 2002–2003. For seven years, Grundmann co-directed the NEA Institute for Classical Music and Opera writers.
