NPR Board elects Margaret Low to the NPR Board of Directors

NPR has announced the election of WBUR CEO Margaret Low to the NPR Board of Directors.

"It's a privilege to be on the NPR Board," said Low. "I've devoted my entire professional life to journalism in the public interest. This work has never been for the faint of heart. Now it's even harder. We must see around corners, find new ways to connect with audiences and make ends meet. I hope I can make a difference for NPR and Member stations at this critical juncture — so that we can all thrive for decades to come."

Low was elected by the Board at its last quarterly meeting on April 12 and seated on May 3 to serve as a member director for a term expiring in November 2025. NPR's 23-member Board of Directors is comprised of 12 member directors who are managers of NPR Member stations and are elected to the Board by their fellow Member stations, nine public directors who are prominent members of the public selected by the Board and confirmed by NPR Member stations, the NPR Foundation Chair and the NPR President & CEO.

Low joined WBUR as chief executive officer in January 2020. WBUR is an award-winning producer of high-quality journalism on air, online, on demand and on stage at CitySpace. WBUR has one of the strongest local newsrooms in the country, with dozens of journalists covering the most pressing issues in the city and the region. WBUR reaches seven million listeners across the country each week with its two national programs, Here & Now — a midday newsmagazine produced with NPR – and On Point. WBUR is also a pioneering podcaster, with critically acclaimed shows like Endless Thread, Circle Round, Violation, Anything for Selena, Last Seen, Modern Love and The Common.

Before joining WBUR, Low was president of AtlanticLIVE, The Atlantic's events division, which during her tenure produced more than 100 conferences a year across the country. Low joined The Atlantic in the fall of 2014 and in a short time transformed the events business into a live journalism juggernaut that set the standard for the news industry.

Prior to The Atlantic, Low enjoyed a storied career at NPR, spanning decades. She first walked through the doors as an overnight production assistant on Morning Edition and rose through the ranks to become senior vice president for news — NPR's top editorial job. In that role, she oversaw the work of some 400 journalists worldwide and coverage of major news events from The Arab Spring and wars in Syria and Libya to the reelection of Barack Obama and the Boston Marathon bombings. She opened new foreign bureaus, launched new shows, developed new beats and led the digital transformation of the newsroom, steering the audio strategy for digital platforms and quickening the response to breaking news.

Earlier at NPR, Low was vice president for programming with responsibility for all non-news shows, injecting a high degree of editorial sophistication into program development and acquisitions. Among Low's most notable accomplishments was the reinvention of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, transforming a studio-based radio quiz show into a live, award-winning road show and business success story.

During her tenure, NPR earned some of the most prestigious honors in journalism, including multiple Peabody Awards, duPont-Columbia Awards and an Edward R. Murrow Award. Margaret serves on the board of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. She is vice chair of the board of The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a board member of Wallace House Center for Journalists at the University of Michigan, home to the Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowships. In 2017, she was the commencement speaker for the School of Communications at her alma mater, the University of Michigan, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

About NPR

NPR's rigorous reporting and unsurpassed storytelling connects with millions of Americans every day — on the air, online and in person. NPR strives to create a more informed public — one challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas and cultures. With a nationwide network of award-winning journalists and 17 international bureaus, NPR and its Member stations are never far from where a story is unfolding. Listeners can find NPR by tuning in to their local Member stations (npr.org/stations), and now it's easy to listen to our stories on smart speaker devices. Ask your smart speaker to "play NPR" and you'll be tuned into your local Member station's livestream. Your speaker can also access NPR podcasts, NPR One and NPR News Now, and the Visual Newscast is available for screened speakers. Get more information at npr.org/about and by following NPR Extra on Facebook and Instagram.

About the NPR Board of Directors

The NPR Board of Directors is responsible for the governance of our 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. The Board sets the policies and overall direction for NPR management, monitors the performance of NPR, and provides financial oversight.