Herb Scannell, President and CEO of Southern California Public Radio, is retiring after three and a half years. Scannell announced the news to the nonprofit’s board and employees today and clarified that a number of personal reasons, including the death of his brother and living across the country from his wife and daughter, led to the decision.
“It’s really a matter of wanting to have another chapter of life where you’re with the ones you love and doing things that you’ve always wanted to do,” he said before adding, “I’m so proud of the work that was done here.”
The board will begin looking for a replacement CEO immediately.
Scannell has been credited with a growth of 38% during his time leading the station, and he also spearheaded the rebrand from KPCC to LAist 89.3 earlier this year. He kept the station going during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and pushed for more diverse hiring following the police killing of George Floyd.
But his time at the station was sometimes rocky. The station includes LAist 89.3, the largest NPR affiliate in the region, LAist.com, and LAist Studios. There was an outcry in June 2023 when it was revealed that the station laid off 12% of its journalists as former CEOs made more $500,000 a year up to 2021.
The layoffs were the largest in the history of the station and resulted in 21 lost jobs. Staff were surprised by the cuts, especially as they took place following a successful fundraising campaign. At the same time, Scannell was paid $625,000 in base pay and bonuses.
The station has also suffered as a result of the dual SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. Scannell told the board and employees that revenue from underwriting is down in part because “Hollywood is the cash crop of our underwriting.”
Prior to joining SCPR in 2019, Scannell enjoyed a long career in cable TV at Nickelodeon and MTV.