Merrill College to Become Home of NPR Public Editor

The University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism and NPR on Thursday announced a multiyear partnership to host the nonprofit broadcasting organization’s public editor beginning in January. The incoming public editor will also serve as a visiting professor at Merrill College specializing in trust, transparency and media ethics. 

As the public’s representative at NPR in matters of journalism and journalism ethics, the public editor raises questions about NPR’s work, highlights where NPR succeeds and falls short in its mission, and examines the editorial dilemmas NPR’s journalists face and the decisions they make. 

“We are thrilled to embark on this new partnership with NPR, one that will benefit our students, the entire Merrill College community and journalism as a whole,” Merrill College Dean Rafael Lorente said. “It is imperative that we as journalists connect with the public in order to rebuild trust and make sure that journalism successfully serves its important role in a free and democratic society. Bringing the public editor to the University of Maryland allows us to foster open conversation with news consumers.” 

This transition marks the conclusion of NPR’s nearly seven-year partnership with The Poynter Institute to host the role, which began in 2020 when Poynter Senior Vice President Kelly McBride was appointed public editor. McBride announced her upcoming departure and the role’s transition to UMD in her Thursday newsletter. Moving the public editor role, which was previously internal at NPR, to Poynter established a strong model of external editorial independence that set the foundation for this next academic chapter at UMD.

“Independent public accountability is essential to maintaining trust in public media, and Kelly McBride’s rigorous evaluation and exceptional leadership over her tenure at Poynter elevated the visibility and impact of this role,” said NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher. “As we look to the future, partnering with Merrill College allows us to build on that strong foundation — combining their academic rigor with proximity to our Washington headquarters — while continuing to uphold robust external editorial accountability.”

The college will post the position with applications open soon. Merrill College will also hire staff to support the work of the public editor.