Texas Public Radio President and CEO Joyce Slocum, who led the San Antonio public radio station for a decade, died surrounded by family and loved ones. She was 66.
Slocum, a lawyer and former NPR executive, died Sunday, days after transitioning to hospice care after she was hospitalized due to complications from colon cancer, according to TPR.
Slocum led the organization since 2014 and was instrumental in launching the capital campaign to build TPR’s new headquarters as part of the San Pedro Creek redevelopment downtown. She oversaw expansion at the station, including more staff and a focus on more local content, podcasts and Spanish-language news.
Slocum’s absence is a tremendous loss for TPR and the public media sector, said Lori Castillo, Texas Public Radio’s board chair.
“Joyce was admired and respected across the industry,” Castillo said in a press release. “Moreover, her ambitious vision for TPR has made it one of the leaders among public media organizations.”
TPR said Slocum used her intelligence and principles as a moral force to shepherd news organizations through turbulent times, leading the station into “a new era for public media.”
Slocum was a Dallas native and graduated from Southern Illinois University and the St. Louis University School of Law. After several years in private practice focused on business law in the Dallas area, Slocum served as legal and business advisor to convenience store chain 7-Eleven. Later she became executive vice president for global legal and business affairs and general counsel for HIT Entertainment, which produced children’s TV shows “Barney & Friends” and “Bob the Builder.”
Before leading TPR, she stepped in as interim CEO of National Public Radio (NPR) in Washington, D.C., for nine months in 2011 after serving as NPR’s general counsel since 2008. Executives asked her to lead NPR following a period of financial turmoil and morale issues.
“She understood the importance of our public service mission like few do, from the vantage point of having served in so many essential roles across the network,” said John Lansing, CEO of NPR, in TPR’s obituary of Slocum.
“We all loved Joyce for her wisdom, her empathy, and her Texas common sense,” he told TPR.
Slocum oversaw TPR’s growth as the public radio station told the stories of South Texas: During her decade as CEO, staff increased more 60%, said Nathan Cone, TPR’s vice president of cultural and community engagement.
“This grew our capability to produce meaningful, award-winning news, arts programming, and public events that educate, entertain, and enlighten tens of thousands,” he said in Slocum’s TPR obituary.
During the pandemic, Slocum found ways to connect the community with virtual events and pushed the station into the podcasting space, TPR said, and the newsroom earned the national Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in Large Market Radio in 2022 and 2023.
Under her leadership, TPR started its Border & Immigration desk and its Spanish language service TPR Noticias, and was a founding member of The Texas Newsroom, NPR’s experiment in linking newsrooms in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Austin, and cities across Texas to provide regional coverage.
Cone told TPR the freedom and creativity Slocum granted to staff to innovate, develop, and carry out projects or ideas was something he appreciated.
“In my last visit with her I told her as much, and she said she knew that the staff would continue that spirit in the years to come,” he said. “She said, ‘I’m proud of you all.’ As we are of her.”
Rebecca Caven, TPR’s vice president of development, was announced as the organization’s interim CEO and president last week when Slocum’s condition worsened.
In lieu of flowers, Slocum’s family has asked people to contribute to TPR.
