NPR Chief Diversity Officer Keith Woods announced his retirement on Wednesday. He has been with NPR since 2010. Allison Shelley/NPR Hide Caption
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Allison Shelley/NPR
NPR Chief Diversity Officer Keith Woods announced Wednesday that he will retire after 46 years in journalism and 15 years in public broadcasting.
Woods, 66, presented his own decision. He told his colleagues he began preparing to retire in 2023. He put off it after Hurricane Helene destroyed a home in Tampa, Florida last year.
“After more than 40 years of journalism, I’m happy to finally be able to say the phrase ‘I’m retired’,” Woods said in a statement released by the network. “The attack on the work of diversity, equity and inclusion has taken away some of the joy from this moment.”
The effective retirement of Woods on May 2 comes when the federal government and some businesses return from their deserved commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. PBS closed its DEI office earlier this month and expelled two staff members, but says it is committed to telling stories of all Americans. With its federal funding, PBS said it concluded that the move was necessary for lawyers to comply with executive orders from President Trump. In January, he instructed federal agencies to terminate all “stock-related” grants or contracts. Another order required that federal contractors provide that such measures would not be promoted.
Since then, federal judges have largely blocked Trump’s orders. But Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, the chief advisor on his novel government programs, are calling for the elimination of all federal funds in NPR, PBS and public broadcasting. Congressional Republicans have introduced bills to do so. (NPR usually receives about 1% of federal funds from federal sources and about 3% indirectly from stations, according to a TV system spokesperson. PBS receives 16%.)
In the memo, network chief executive Katherine Maher praised Woods, telling staff and station executives that NPR is not heading out of commitment to diversity.
“NPR remains committed to supporting journalism that serves a diverse workforce, a comfortable workplace and representatives of the American people,” writes Maher. After Woods left, Vice President of NPR Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Whitney Maddox and aides report to the network’s Chief Operating Officer.
Woods came to NPR after a long stretch at the New Orleans Times Pikayun, a journalism school in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the Pointer Institute. He also worked with public radio stations around the country.
He found a solid alliance in former NPR CEO John Lansing, who passed away last year. Lansing declared diversity to be the network’s North Star, both as a moral proposition and business strategy. NPR increased the number of people of color in that rank, but the audience did not grow or change significantly. (NPR’s digital audiences tend to be much younger and more diverse than broadcast audiences.)
In last year’s essay, after foreseen his own departure from the network, former NPR senior business editor Uli Berliner argued that Lansing’s approach to diversity would block out ideological diversity in the network. That critique appears to serve as one of the springboards for US house hearings, which are expected to focus on NPR and PBS later next month.
Faced with Trump’s direction, Walt Disney and Meta have been drawn back from diversity, equity and inclusive efforts. Today, Paramount – CBS’ parent company, Paramount Film Studio, and several other properties – said it is also reducing its initiative. Paramount is seeking approval from federal regulators for Skydance Studio’s billions acquisition. Paramount shifts were first reported by the New York Times and confirmed by NPR.
Woods struggled to say at today’s staff meeting to say that the timing of his departure had nothing to do with the political moment.
“I might be doing a virtual cartwheel now, but for the context of my presentation,” Woods said.
Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Associate Business Editor Emily Kopp and Editor-in-Chief Vickie Walton-James. Under NPR’s protocol to report on its own, no corporate officials or news executives reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.
