Visionary NPR leader Kevin Klose, who presided over a golden era, has died

Obituaries Visionary NPR leader Kevin Klose, who led network to new heights, has died April 15, 202612:19 PM ET David Folkenflik Former NPR President and CEO Kevin Klose died Wednesday at the age of 85. During his tenure, NPR received a multimillion-dollar gift from the late Joan Kroc that enabled the network to weather financial crises. Jacques Coughlin/Jacques Coughlin/NPR hide caption toggle caption Jacques Coughlin/Jacques Coughlin/NPR Former NPR President and CEO Kevin Klose, a buoyant and transformative leader who helped to propel the public broadcaster into the top ranks of major U.S. networks, died Wednesday morning in his sleep from complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 85. His death was confirmed by WBUR CEO Margaret Low, a family friend and former leader of NPR's news and programming divisions. Klose demonstrated a keen and personal understanding of the news mission at NPR's core. His shock of white hair bobbed with excitement as he spoke with reporters and editors in the corridors of the network's Washington, D.C. headquarters. He would leave voicemails and fire off emails in appreciation for specific stories. And he was a champion for the central role international news played in NPR's identity. Sponsor Message Law Federal judge finds Trump violated free speech by ordering NPR defunded "Long before it was on the tips of everyone's tongue, Kevin talked about the importance of quality journalism in a healthy democracy," Low said Wednesday. The job encompassed enormous challenges. It required a vision and strategy for the network, the skills to manage fractious internal divisions and relations with the hundreds of independently owned public radio stations that air NPR's shows. It also demanded a drive to elevate its journalism to the ranks of its commercial and better-financed peers, and a deft touch in raising money to keep it in the black. "There used to be a belief in some quarters that the job of president of NPR was too large to handle," says t...