{"id":1585,"date":"2026-06-08T15:08:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1585"},"modified":"2026-06-08T15:08:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:08:42","slug":"npr-hires-nadine-zylstra-former-youtube-and-pinterest-exec-as-chief-content-officer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1585","title":{"rendered":"NPR Hires Nadine Zylstra, Former YouTube and Pinterest Exec, as Chief Content Officer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nNadine Zylstra is trading her Pinterest vision board to try to get her head around the future of public media.<\/p>\n

Read more Fatma Al-Ghanim, Former Qatar Women\u2019s Soccer Captain, on Her Tribeca Short About Breaking Taboos in Arab Sports: \u2018I Couldn\u2019t Avoid Dealing With This Trauma Anymore\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe seasoned media exec most recently was Pinterest\u2019s global head of programming and original content, and before that worked in top programming jobs at YouTube and Sesame Workshop. Zylstra will join NPR as chief content officer in July 2026, based out of its Culver City, California, offices. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis the job of a lifetime,\u201d Zylstra told Variety<\/em> in an interview. She said she loves her job at Pinterest and that \u201cit had to be a super-special opportunity for me to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve been training for this job all my life,\u201d she said. To Zylstra, heading NPR\u2019s content teams presents the opportunity to serve the public with meaningful storytelling: \u201cIn terms of having a positive impact on the world \u2014 that\u2019s literally what gets me out of bed in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tZylstra joins NPR at a critical moment for public media. Last year, Donald Trump\u2019s effort to defund NPR and PBS passed through Congress, with Republicans alleging their programming is \u201cwoke\u201d and biased against conservatives. That eliminated hundreds of millions of dollars from their budgets. A federal judge ruled that Trump\u2018s executive order to end funding for PBS and NPR violated the First Amendment, because it represented \u201cviewpoint discrimination and retaliation.\u201d But for now it\u2019s unlikely the U.S. government will restore funds to the public media orgs.<\/p>\n

\n\tNPR has responded by rallying for listener donations. And in April, it announced gifts\u00a0totaling $113 million ($80 million investment from philanthropist Connie Ballmer, wife of Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer, and $33 million from an anonymous donor). Those funds are earmarked \u201cto accelerate our digital innovation and strengthen the sustainability of the NPR network,\u201d according to NPR CEO Katherine Maher.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe are obviously cognizant of the downward pressure it\u2019s put on our stations in terms of the loss of federal funds,\u201d Maher said in an interview. She said NPR is committed to its mission of producing content in the public interest and expanding its reach in new digital formats. \u201cThe best way to engage our audience is to produce programming that creates joy and delight,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn NPR\u2019s search for a chief content officer, Zylstra \u201cimmediately jumped off the page as somebody who understands what mission-driven media can do,\u201d Maher said, citing the exec\u2019s decade-plus tenure at Sesame Workshop, including serving as VP of production and programming for \u201cSesame Street.\u201d The NPR CEO also was impressed with the work Zylstra has done in original programming at YouTube, where she was global head of originals and also led kids and learning originals. In addition, Zylstra currently serves on the board of PBS SoCal, which she joined in January 2024.<\/p>\n

Read more Anthony Jeselnik Announces Stand-Up Comedy Tour (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tWith Zylstra\u2019s hire, \u201cwe\u2019re interested in what the next generation of public media should look like,\u201d Maher said.<\/p>\n

\n\tNPR started out in linear broadcast, and it\u2019s still \u201cvery strong\u201d in the medium, Maher said. Now there\u2019s an opportunity for the pubcaster to expand its digital footprint \u2014 including with video programming, Maher said, citing its recent \u201cWild Card\u201d and \u201cNewsmakers\u201d video-first podcasts.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs NPR\u2019s chief content officer, Zylstra will be responsible for the organization\u2019s content strategy, leading an organization of more than 600 journalists and storytellers that include news, arts and cultural programming, podcasts and NPR Music (including the popular Tiny Desk Concerts series). She is tasked with \u201caligning NPR\u2019s expansive content portfolio with future audience needs and distribution opportunities,\u201d according to the public media org.<\/p>\n

\n\tZylstra takes over the role from Edith Chapin, formerly NPR\u2019s editor in chief and interim chief content officer, who left the organization last fall. In September, NPR announced the hiring of Thomas Evans, a veteran CNN who formerly served as its London bureau chief, as editor in chief. Evans will report to Zylstra.<\/p>\n

\n\tZylstra joined Pinterest in July 2022. Before joining YouTube in 2015, she spent 11 years at Sesame Workshop in New York. Earlier in her career, she worked as a producer at VH1. Zylstra holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in drama and dramatics\/theatre arts from the University of the Witwatersrand in in Johannesburg, South Africa.<\/p>\n

\n\tShe said another major factor in deciding to take the NPR job was having met many of the journalists and producers at the public media company, and getting the chance to work with an \u201ciconic collection of talent.\u201d And Zylstra sees similarities between the culture at NPR and a place like YouTube: \u201cIt\u2019s the same. It\u2019s about serving an audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more U.K. Heavyweight Doc Player Jane Ray Boards Argentina\u2019s \u2018The Nights\u2019 by Ana Bovino Ahead of ECAM Forum (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nadine Zylstra, a media exec who’s worked at YouTube, Pinterest and Sesame Workshop, is taking the helm of NPR’s content operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1457,1458],"class_list":["post-1585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biz","tag-nadine-zylstra","tag-npr"],"yoast_head":"\nNPR Hires Nadine Zylstra, Former YouTube and Pinterest Exec, as Chief Content Officer - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1585\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NPR Hires Nadine Zylstra, Former YouTube and Pinterest Exec, as Chief Content Officer - 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