"First of all we talk really fast, and here's what we do. We make sure that everybody in the organization throughout the world understands everything's that's going on. What we're doing in the digital space, what we're doing in the radio space, who our audience is, what looks good, what's the user experience, and then we let them experiment like crazy. We're big into test-and-learn, it's okay to fail. Just keep trying stuff. As long as it's true to our core values, as long as it's about quality journalism, as long as it's about great user experience, then just go for it. And am I out of thirty seconds now? Because I really could tell you some other stuff." -- Vivian Schiller
How do you generate ideas?
Vivian Schiller, President & CEO, NPR+
A media executive and journalist with more than 20 years experience in the industry, Vivian Schiller joined NPR as President and CEO on January 5, 2009. She comes to NPR from The New York Times Company where she served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of NYTimes.com.
As President and CEO, Schiller oversees all NPR operations and initiatives, including the organization's critical partnerships with our 800+ member stations, and their service to the more than 26 million people who listen to NPR programming every week.
Schiller is charged with assuring the fiscal and operational integrity of NPR, offering a clear and strong commitment to continuous strategic growth, and building the organization and its philanthropic base in ways that support the mission of NPR and stations.
During her tenure at The New York Times, she led the day-to-day operations of NYTimes.com, the largest newspaper website on the Internet, overseeing product, technology, marketing, classifieds, strategic planning, and business development.
Before joining NYTimes.com, Schiller spent four years as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Discovery Times Channel, a joint venture of The New York Times and Discovery Communications. Under her leadership, Discovery Times Channel tripled its distribution while achieving critical acclaim for its award winning journalistic programming.
Previously, Schiller served as Senior Vice President of CNN Productions, where she led CNN's long-form programming efforts. Documentaries and series produced under her auspices earned multiple honors, including two Peabody Awards, two Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Awards, and five Emmys. Schiller began her career as a simultaneous Russian interpreter in the former Soviet Union, which led her to documentary production work for Turner Broadcasting.
As President, Schiller is also an ex officio member of the NPR Board.