Media Relations Contacts
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Media Releases
Community Voices: St. Paul's Rondo Neighborhood, Moving Forward
"It’s a powerful experience to give voice to people who aren’t heard on their terms, sitting in their neighborhood and from their point of view on ways they are moving forward following this story." - Kate Moos, Director, News Content Development
Philando Castile, a 32-year-old black man, was killed during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, MN on July 6th, 2016. Minnesotans, especially the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul where Castile grew up and worked, were deeply impacted by his death.
MPR's Counter Stories team paired with Tom Weber to take their regular conversation "by people of color, for people of color" to the neighborhood most deeply affected by Mr. Castille's death. On August 10 they broadcast a live show from the Golden Thyme Coffee & Cafe, in the center of the Rondo neighborhood.Members of St. Paul’s African-American community and their allies joined Tom Weber and Counter Stories co-hosts Anthony Galloway, Luz Maria Frias, Don Eubanks and Hlee Lee for a conversation about whether and how events like the Philando Castile shooting move Minnesota toward racial awareness and change.Community elders like Macalester College professor Mahmoud el-Kati and leaders like St. Paul Central High School principal Mary Mackbee joined with Rondo community members in a the discussion.
Nancy Cassutt began her role as Executive Director of MPR News earlier this year. She stepped in to lead a successful, well-established newsroom at a time when disruptive technology is a daily challenge for journalists. But while the media landscape constantly shifting, Cassutt knows one thing for sure: our communities must see and hear themselves reflected in our programming or we're not carrying out the mission of public radio."These relationships and connections are critical as we build more content around community-centered needs and voices," says Cassutt. "[MPR] dropped an ISDN line at the Golden Thyme for future use. We will definitely be back!" 
Public Radio Inclusion: First, We Must “Do The Numbers”
Submitted by Linda MillerDirector, Network Journalism and InclusionAt American Public Media, we understand our viability depends on our ability to rapidly expand efforts to become as relevant to emerging audiences as we are to our loyal listeners and members today, and to ensure that the faces, voices and programming of Minnesota Public Radio are inclusive of the communities and individuals who call our state and country home.As part of that effort, we recently hired Eric Garcia McKinley to the newly created position of Senior Research Analyst for Engagement and Inclusion, a position funded through the American Council of Learned Societies Public Fellows program.Starting Aug. 1, McKinley will help us develop and implement a system to measure and track the race, gender, age, religion and political persuasion of news sources throughout both broadcast and digital MPRNews content, and to grow, diversify, and use the Public Insight Network (PIN) to drive more inclusive content and programming.McKinley has a PhD in history from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. During his interviews, he demonstrated a deep commitment to data-driven analysis, diversity and inclusion in his research, teaching and writing, as well as a passion for storytelling, context and the broad mission of public media.Our goal is not to build a bigger network of sources. It’s to know whose voices are being included and excluded and to use this research as a catalyst for a broader conversation about what topics we choose to cover, who we choose to hire, the importance of cultural competence, and how we can and must do better.As NPR’s chief diversity officer, Keith Woods, so aptly put it: [Public media’s] diversity deficit may be a complex problem, but the path to solving it is pretty clear: Find out how we’re doing, figure out why it’s turning out that way and do something bold to change it.”In the article below, Keith describes the myriad of factors that play into public radio's diversity deficit in clear terms. Clear, but not easy. Read on for a system-wide perspective on what's needed for public radio to truly serve the public. http://current.org/2016/07/focus-on-sources-race-wont-be-enough-to-close-public-radios-diversity-deficit/
In Memoriam: Toni Randolph
This week we're mourning the sudden loss of our dear colleague, veteran journalist Toni Randolph.Toni's work impacted so many people... the outpouring of memorials offer us some insight into the depth of Toni's impact and the strength of her relationships.We're sharing just a few of them below.
Excerpts from Toni's full obituary at mprnews.org:
"She was crucial in her work connecting us to new audiences around the state and training the next generation of young reporters," MPR News executive editor Nancy Cassutt wrote to staff on Sunday.
She had a special devotion to young journalists — and steered the stories and reporting of countless high school and college students through MPR News' Young Reporters Series and the University of St. Thomas' ThreeSixty Journalism high school program, whose board she joined in February. At the time of her death, she was in the midst of preparing for the fall season of Generation Next's [sic] young journalist classes. Her Young Reporters Series was honored with a 2015 Gracie Award by the Alliance for Women in Media.
"Just as Toni inspired countless young people, she has been one of the strongest voices for diversifying newsrooms — including our own," Cassutt said Sunday. "May we all follow Toni's example and build on her amazing legacy."
Excerpt from Insight News:
“Toni embodied the true mission of NABJ by working to diversify public radio and by serving as a mentor to countless numbers of young NABJers,” said National Association of Black Journalists President Sarah Glover. “On behalf of the entire NABJ family, our heartfelt sympathies go out to those who loved her. Her memory will continue on through the lives that she has impacted.”
Excerpt from We Know How This Ends: Living While Dying, written by MPR colleague Cathy Wurzer:
This morning, as I stood in front of Toni Randolph's desk, I noticed a small turtle, carved from a piece of pipestone, just above her computer keyboard.
The pipestone is sacred to Native Americans and the turtle spirit symbolic of health and longevity. It's hard shell signifying protection and perseverance. Ultimately Toni wasn't blessed with longevity nor protected from the ravages of cancer, but she leaves behind a bright legacy, certainly in the body of work she created, but most importantly in the people she helped nurture and mentor.
Finally, words from Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, via mprnews.org:
Lt. Governor Smith and I extend our deepest condolences to the family, many friends, and colleagues of Toni Randolph as they grieve their tragic loss. During her 13 years with Minnesota Public Radio, Ms. Randolph told the stories of our citizens and communities, which contributed greatly to the recognition of our shared values and aspirations. The many young journalists, whom she inspired and mentored, will continue her legacy through their own careers for many years to come.
Photo and words by Cathy Wurzer: This is Toni Randolph's desk in the Minnesota Public Radio newsroom. It is filled with notes, files and the other detritus accumulated by a news editor. It looks as if Toni will come back at any time, settling in behind the keyboard to edit newscasts and reporter's stories, especially the stories of the fledgling reporters she loved to work with. Toni was a valued mentor and a champion of including more ethnically diverse voices in our stories and in the newsroom.
MPR News and Next Generation Radio
Next Generation Radio is a series of one-week student radio training projects co-sponsored by NPR member stations and several journalist and media organizations. The projects are designed to give students who are interested in radio and journalism an opportunity to report and produce their own radio and multimedia stories. Our own Laura Yuen of MPR News participated as a mentor and shared her admiration on the students' work:"On Saturday, the students presented their audio stories at the annual convention for College Broadcasters, Inc. The final products made me incredibly proud, yes, but also won my admiration. I’ve lived in Minnesota for more than a decade and was surprised to learn so much about my own community. These non-narrated pieces focused on individuals doing extraordinary things: a Minneapolis woman reclaiming lacrosse for the indigenous people who invented it, a Hmong community member sharing his personal tale of exodus and rebuilding, a blind woman who’s learning literally to find her way, a Native American kid who’s attending a magnet school that’s trying to close the achievement gap, and more."Explore the Next Generation Radio stories online.