KRISTA TIPPETT AND AMERICAN PUBLIC MEDIA FINALIZE AGREEMENT FOR ON BEING®
Contact: Angie Andresen, Director of Communications
651.290.1373
Email: aandresen@americanpublicmedia.org
KRISTA TIPPETT AND AMERICAN PUBLIC MEDIA FINALIZE AGREEMENT FOR ON BEING®
On Being to Be Produced By Tippett-Led Independent Production Company, APM Continues as Exclusive Worldwide Distributor of Radio Show
July 9, 2013 – Saint Paul, Minn. – American Public Media (APM) and On Being creator and host, Krista Tippett, announced today that they have finalized an agreement for On Being to transition to an independent nonprofit production company led by Tippett, and that APM will continue to serve as exclusive worldwide distributor of the popular public radio show.
On Being is the only program in American media focused on the big questions at the center of human life and society—from the boldest new science of the human brain to the ancient traditions of the human spirit. On Being reaches more than 600,000 weekly listeners on nearly 300 public radio stations in the U.S. and is available globally online. In the last year alone, listeners downloaded the On Being podcast more than 9 million times—both produced shows and unedited interviews. As well, 1.9 million visitors accessed more than 6.7 million pages of content at onbeing.org.
APM will remain the exclusive distributor of the show to radio stations throughout the U.S. Through the multi-year agreement, APM will also provide various support services. Additional details were not disclosed.
Both organizations said that the move was conceived jointly by Tippett and APM to support the growth of On Being as a media and social innovation enterprise. The show has a unique profile of audience engagement and social impact, exemplified in its three-year-old Civil Conversations Project—an innovative multimedia and public forum providing ideas and tools for healing fractured civic spaces.
"An independent production company offers a nimble structure for our team to continue to incubate new ways to connect more deeply with listeners and online communities," said Tippett. "We're creating new capacity to focus more creatively on the special energy that joins our broadcast, public life and digital presence. I'm grateful for APM's partnership in this move, and we're pleased to continue a close working relationship with the organization that made this project possible."
"We are excited about this move and its potential for Krista and the On Being team to further impact audiences and communities," said Jon McTaggart, CEO of APM. "In the true spirit of public radio's commitment to mission and excellence, we are pleased to have been a co-founder with Krista for this ground-breaking show, which has achieved a singular profile in American public life. We are pleased to continue to collaborate with the On Being team in this next venture. This joint agreement ensures a seamless transition for listeners, public radio stations, and funders."
About On Being
On Being is a Peabody and Webby-award-winning public radio project and an evolving media space. On Being takes up the great animating questions of human life: What does it mean to be human? And how do we want to live? Originally titled Speaking of Faith, the show launched as a weekly national program in 2003. Krista Tippett and her guests reach beyond the headlines to explore meaning amidst the political, economic, cultural and technological shifts of 21st century life. The program has more than 600,000 weekly listeners on nearly 300 public radio stations across the U.S., and is available globally online, with more than 1 million podcast downloads per month. Tippett is a journalist, former diplomat, and author of the New York Times bestselling Einstein's God, which draws on her interviews with scientists.
About American Public Media
American Public Media™ is one of the nation's largest producers and distributors of public radio programming with a portfolio reaching nearly 17 million listeners on more than 800 radio stations nationwide each week. Programs include A Prairie Home Companion®, BBC World Service, Marketplace®, Performance Today®, The Splendid Table®, On Being®, The Dinner Party Download®, American RadioWorks® and many others. American Public Media's 200,000-member-strong Public Insight Network promotes deep connections between journalists in more than 100 newsrooms across the country and the communities they serve. American Public Media joins Minnesota Public Radio, Southern California Public Radio and Classical South Florida as part of the American Public Media Group. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be found at americanpublicmedia.org. Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
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