BELMONT NATIVE Margaret Low is getting quite a homecoming —a job heading Boston public radio powerhouse WBUR-FM.
Her role as the outlet’s general manager and chief executive officer begins January 13.
She spent more than three decades at NPR, starting out as an overnight production assistant on “Morning Edition,” making $16,000 a year and ending her tenure in 2014 as senior vice president of news.
Low, 61, most recently spent five years improving The Atlantic’s events division as a senior vice president. The Atlantic Festival, a multiday leadership event, was rebranded and now has over 3,000 attendees, with high-hitting speakers like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway.
The event has become known as one of top incubators for debate on race, justice, and politics. An expanded role for live programming seems to be exactly what WBUR leadership is seeking, making Low’s deep background in public radio and public events a great fit for the station’s next leader. WBUR opened its live events hall CitySpace earlier this year.
“WBUR is a jewel in the public radio crown,” Low said in an interview. “I never thought I’d be lucky enough to come home again,” adding that she left the area at the age of 17.
Low comes to WBUR more than eight months after the departure of Charlie Kravetz, who oversaw the station during eight years of tremendous growth as well as episodes of upheaval, including the dismissal of “On Point” host Tom Ashbrook amidst reports of abusive behavior to employees. Ashbrook was ousted after Boston University conducted two investigations. Kravetz said he felt responsible for the fact that Ashbrook’s conduct didn’t change despite employee complaints.
In a statement released by WBUR, Low cited the immense challenges facing local journalism programming as an incentive for her new role. “This is an extraordinary opportunity and I can’t wait to work with my new colleagues to make WBUR an even more vital force in Boston and beyond.”
WBUR reaches more than 850,000 monthly radio listeners in the Boston market and 9 million nationwide with national programs like “On Point” and “Here & Now.”
Interim general manager Sam Fleming, who helped conduct the search for the position, praised Low’s previous work with NPR and her dealings with the station. “Margaret was instrumental in forging WBUR’s unique editorial partnership with NPR and ‘Here & Now’ in 2013, a mid-day news destination that continues to thrive,” said Fleming in a statement.
As senior vice president of news from 2011 through August 2014, Low oversaw coverage of major news events from the Arab Spring to the wars in Syria and Libya, the killing of Osama Bin Laden, Hurricane Sandy, the reelection of Barack Obama and the Boston Marathon bombing.
She also opened new foreign bureaus, launched programs, developed new beats, and improved the digital transition of radio to the web.
Kravetz oversaw a 91 percent increase to the station’s operating revenue to $39.5 million, and the addition of 61 staffers. “Charlie inherited a place half the size it is now,” Low said, crediting him for WBUR’s rapid expansion. “I’m inheriting a big and powerful institution.”
Low will have to contend with ongoing contract negotiations between Boston University, WBUR management, and the newly formed employee union. Although she is unsure of what her role will be related to negotiations, Low said she was part of a union at NPR for many years.
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Freelance reporter, Formerly worked for CommonWealth
About Sarah Betancourt
Sarah Betancourt is a long-time Latina reporter in Massachusetts. Prior to joining Commonwealth, Sarah was a breaking news reporter for The Associated Press in Boston, and a correspondent with The Boston Globe and The Guardian. She has written about immigration, incarceration, and health policy for outlets like NBC, The Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, and the New York Law Journal. Sarah has reported stories such as a national look at teacher shortages, how databases are used by police departments to procure information on immigrants, and uncovered the spread of an infectious disease in children at a family detention center. She has covered the State House, local and national politics, crime and general assignment.
Sarah received a 2018 Investigative Reporters and Editors Award for her role in the ProPublica/NPR story, “They Got Hurt at Work and Then They Got Deported,” which explored how Florida employers and insurance companies were getting out of paying workers compensation benefits by using a state law to ensure injured undocumented workers were arrested or deported. Sarah attended Emerson College for a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Communication, and Columbia University for a fellowship and Master’s degree with the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism.
About Sarah Betancourt
Sarah Betancourt is a long-time Latina reporter in Massachusetts. Prior to joining Commonwealth, Sarah was a breaking news reporter for The Associated Press in Boston, and a correspondent with The Boston Globe and The Guardian. She has written about immigration, incarceration, and health policy for outlets like NBC, The Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, and the New York Law Journal. Sarah has reported stories such as a national look at teacher shortages, how databases are used by police departments to procure information on immigrants, and uncovered the spread of an infectious disease in children at a family detention center. She has covered the State House, local and national politics, crime and general assignment.
Sarah received a 2018 Investigative Reporters and Editors Award for her role in the ProPublica/NPR story, “They Got Hurt at Work and Then They Got Deported,” which explored how Florida employers and insurance companies were getting out of paying workers compensation benefits by using a state law to ensure injured undocumented workers were arrested or deported. Sarah attended Emerson College for a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Communication, and Columbia University for a fellowship and Master’s degree with the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism.
“It’s important for a CEO to have a healthy relationship with the union,” she said. “My job will be, in part, to be a people leader and make sure that WBUR always feels like a magnificent place to work.”
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