When NPR’s “Morning Edition” celebrates its 35th anniversary in November, Ellen McDonnell will be the only original staffer still involved with the revered public radio news program.
That said, the Jessup native’s long and accomplished tenure at the network will come to a close soon thereafter.
At the end of this year, Ms. McDonnell will leave her post as NPR’s executive editor for news programming. Based in Washington, D.C., she currently oversees all of its news programs, including “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered,” “Talk of the Nation,” “Tell Me More” and “Weekend Edition.”
Ms. McDonnell said in a phone interview Friday that she came to the decision to leave at the beginning of the year, but NPR waited until this month to make the news public.
“I just thought about it, and I began to think that it’s a really good time to turn the page,” said Ms. McDonnell, noting NPR’s senior vice president for news recently left and that network should have the opportunity to bring in a new team to lead the news operation.
Ms. McDonnell said she’ll remain with NPR through December to help with the transition. Though she’s not retiring, she expects to take an extended period to relax and spend time with her husband, two grown daughters and family members back in Northeast Pennsylvania, including her father, Jessup resident Francis X. “Mac” McDonnell.
“As things go, I’m a free agent,” she said. “I’m looking at lots of different things.”
Ms. McDonnell started her career at NPR in 1979 as a news writer. She eventually rose to become executive producer of “Morning Edition,” a position she held from 1998 to 2007. In 1999, the program was honored with a George Foster Peabody Award for exemplary journalism.
Ms. McDonnell said she’s had a lot of time to reflect on her time at NPR. Among other things, she’s proud of the fact that she made it a mission to hire more women and people of color.
Though she admitted there’s a fair bit of sadness to her departure, Ms. McDonnell said she’s excited about the next chapter of her career.
“I think I’ve left a strong legacy at NPR,” she said. “I’m really proud to be part of an organization where content rules. And the kind of journalism we do is very special.
“It’s been a good run.”
Contact the writer: jmcauliffe@timesshamrock.com, @jmcauliffeTT on Twitter