Vic Sussman, Senior Editor at Public Radio Business Program Marketplace, Dies

Contact: Suzanne Perry
(651) 290-1276
sperry@americanpublicmedia.us
www.americanpublicmedia.us

Vic Sussman, Senior Editor at Public Radio Business Program Marketplace, Dies

Veteran journalist, broadcaster, author, Web pioneer and "Renaissance man" was 65

(Los Angeles) Nov. 22, 2004 - Vic Sussman, a veteran journalist who was senior editor for the public radio business program Marketplace, died Nov. 22 in Washington, D.C., of an apparent stroke after successful surgery. He was 65.

Over his long career, Sussman worked for the Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Voice of America, America Online and Cahners Business Information. He authored numerous magazine and newspaper articles and three nonfiction books: The Vegetarian Alternative, Never Kiss a Goat on the Lips and The Compost Solution. He joined Marketplace, which is produced in Los Angeles by American Public Media, in January 2004.

"Vic was a true Renaissance Man, a broadcaster, author, organic farmer, print reporter and editor, magician, runner, serious weightlifter, voracious reader and Web pioneer," said Marketplace General Manager Jim Russell. "He will be deeply missed by his newest friends and associates at Marketplace."

Sussman was born in New York City and got his first job in broadcasting at 16 at a country western radio station in Arlington, Va., where he was known as "Vic Stephan, Arlington's red-headed cowboy." After receiving his bachelor's degree in journalism and master's degree in communications from American University in Washington, Sussman worked at public radio station WAMU-FM as a reporter/producer.

He was a senior editor at U.S. News & World Report from 1989-1996 writing cover stories and a wide variety of health, fitness and technology features. He was a columnist for the Washington Post's Book World from 1982-1992 and wrote a weekly column for the Washington Post Magazine called "Personal Tech" covering computers, audio-video and emerging consumer electronics from 1986-1989. He also wrote a wide variety of humor and feature articles for the Post, USA Today, Reader's Digest, Redbook, Glamour, Organic Gardening, Prevention, Runner's World and several other newspapers.

Sussman was an "early adopter" of the Internet. He lectured widely about the subject and was involved in the creation of major Web sites including USNews.com and the "Live Online" forum of washingtonpost.com. He was director of Internet programming for America Online from 1996-1997. He served from 2000-2001 as director of interactive Web programming for Cahners Business Information including Variety, Publisher's Weekly and Broadcasting & Cable.

His broadcasting experience included news anchor/newscaster for Voice of America (2002-2003); commentator for National Public Radio's All Things Considered, and writer and on-air work for CNBC- U.S. News & World Report joint productions. He won Japan's NHK prize for radio production.

Sussman is remembered fondly by friends and family as a man with strong intellect and opinions, and the ability to articulate them. His son Noah remembers a story about his father as a teenage disc jockey. "During his career as the 'Cowboy,' he pulled an Elvis Presley record off the turntable and smashed it, live on air, declaring, 'We won't be hearing any more of this cr#% during my show.' He never changed."

Except for the five years that he and his family tried organic farming in Vermont, Sussman lived in the Washington, D.C., area. He is survived by his wife, Megin Sussman of Silver Spring, Md; daughter, Rachel Sussman of Hanover, N.H.; and sons, Noah Sussman of New York and Brendan Sussman of Silver Spring. Funeral arrangements are pending.

American Public Media(tm) is the nation's second-biggest producer of public radio programs, reaching 13.5 million listeners nationwide each week. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion®, Saint Paul Sunday®, Marketplace®, Sound Money®, The Splendid Table®, Being™ and special reports produced by its national documentary unit, American RadioWorks®. American Public Media is the national production and distribution division of Minnesota Public Radio®. Minnesota Public Radio, along with its sister company Southern California Public Radio, belongs to a larger family of companies within American Public Media Group, a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support public media for public service. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.americanpublicmedia.us.

"Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" A Public Broadcasting Investation Looks at the Real Cost of the Retail Giant's "Everyday Low Prices"

Contact:  Connie Molby
(651) 290-1113
cmolby@americanpublicmedia.us
www.americanpublicmedia.us

"Is Wal-Mart Good for America?"
A Public Broadcasting Investation Looks at the Real Cost of the Retail Giant's "Everyday Low Prices"

Collaboration between American Public Media's Marketplace American RadioWorks and PBS's FRONTLINE to air on Tuesday, Nov. 16

WHAT: Veteran reporter Hedrick Smith examines whether Wal-Mart's reliance on China for the production of its goods has resulted in lost jobs here in America, and asks what is the real cost of the company's famous "everyday low prices."

Through interviews with retail executives, product manufacturers, economists and trade experts, Smith examines the controversy over the Wal-Mart way of conducting business. The reports explore whether America's largest retail giant has changed—for the worse—the American economy in its drive to meet American consumers' insatiable desire for bargains.

To understand the secret of Wal-Mart's success, Smith travels from the company's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, to its global purchasing center in Shenzhen, China, where several hundred Wal-Mart employees work to keep the company's import pipeline running smoothly. Of Wal-Mart's 6,000 global suppliers, experts estimate that as many as 80 percent are based in China.

TUNE IN: "Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" will broadcast on Tuesday, Nov. 16, on public radio stations nationwide during Marketplace and Marketplace Morning Report. Check local radio listings for the times and stations in your areas or go to www.marketplace.org/about/stations/.

ONLINE: Audio and transcripts of the radio project will be available Tuesday November 16, 2004 at www.americanradioworks.org.

Additional information on the investigation can be found at www.pbs.org/frontline/.

WHO: "Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" is a joint production of Marketplace, American RadioWorks and PBS's television program FRONTLINE. Marketplace and its sister program, Marketplace Morning Report, are daily national business programs produced by American Public Media in Los Angeles. American RadioWorks is the documentary unit of American Public Media in St. Paul, Minn. FRONTLINE is produced by WGBH Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS stations.

TV: PBS will broadcast "Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Nov. 16.

American Public Media™ is the nation's second-biggestproducer of public radio programs, reaching 13.5 million listenersnationwide each week. Nationalprograms include A Prairie Home Companion®, Saint Paul Sunday®, Marketplace®,Sound Money®, The Splendid Table®, Being™ andspecial reports produced by its national documentary unit, American RadioWorks®.American Public Media is the national production and distribution divisionof Minnesota Public Radio®. Minnesota Public Radio, along with its sistercompany Southern California Public Radio, belongs to a larger familyof companies within American Public Media Group, a national nonprofitorganization whosepurpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support publicmedia for public service. A complete list of stations, programs andadditional services can be obtained at www.americanpublicmedia.us.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimatesonly.
Spring 2004

Classical Music Initiative Update: Production Workshop Yields High Energy, Enthusiasm and Opportunities for Collaboration in Classical Music Media

Contact:  Andrea Matthews
(651) 290-1113
amatthews@americanpublicmedia.us
www.americanpublicmedia.us

Classical Music Initiative Update:

Production Workshop Yields High Energy, Enthusiasm and Opportunities for Collaboration in Classical Music Media

Keynote addresses and more available at the
Classical Music Initiative Web site

(St. Paul, Minn.) November 4, 2004 — The Production Workshop hosted by American Public Media’s Classical Music Initiative (CMI) October 20-22 brought together 13 radio and new media producers and hosts from around the nation to provide training in production and presentation for classical music programming.

The two outstanding keynote addresses of this workshop are available in audio and print at the Classical Music Initiative Web site, www.classicalmusicinitiative.org/workshops. Terry Teachout, performing arts critic, journalist, author and ArtsJournal.com blogger, titled his address: “What to Learn from Howard Stern: Can Old and New Media Coexist?” Tod Machover, Professor of Music and Media at the MIT Media Lab and “America’s most wired” composer” (Los Angeles Times) called his keynote “Building Active Listeners through New Media Technology.” A snapshot of each:

• Terry Teachout: “This is a critical moment for classical radio producerslike you. My guess is that classical radio is in the process of breakinginto three different pieces. Traditional terrestrial radio is being supplemented – andmay in time be replaced – by subscriber-funded satellite radio andWeb-based Internet radio. The emergence of these new media has made it possibleto ‘narrowcast’ a much wider variety of programs aimed at smallerniche audiences. And this is where it gets interesting for you – becauseall three media will offer sharply differing kinds of markets for yourservices.”

• Tod Machover points to a world where music is personalized, bytaste and delivery mode: where radios, cell phones, and game consoles becomedelivery platforms that allow listeners to navigate between streams, zoomin on details, and listen to Kabuki-style "whisper commentary." Hedescribed the work of his Hyperinstruments group at MIT, which designs musicalinstruments as interactive tools and toys for learning and creating music,as a means to "develop [music's] transformative power as a counterpointto our everyday lives."

The Production Workshop was created as part of the Classical Music Initiative,a project that aims to expand the role of radio and new technologies in ourclassical music communities, and offer great opportunities to inspire appreciationand participation in the arts, build audiences and enrich lives. (More informationon the CMI is available at www.classicalmusicinitiative.org.)

Enthusiasm from participants and workshop leaders was high:

• CMI project director Mary Lee said the response to their requestfor workshop applicants exceeded expectations, and that the workshopgenerated a great deal of excitement and energy. “We metan incredible group of lively, creative participants who are deeplycommitted to the growth of classical music media and eager for additionaltraining. The Workshop also provided a rare opportunity for producersto get together and share ideas.”

• Workshop participant Alicia Zuckerman — an arts and culturereporter and producer at WNYC (New York Public Radio) — said, “Theworkshop was a terrific reminder of why I love radio and classicalmusic, and it ignited a fire in me to think more deeply about the marriageof musicand media and where they can go from here.”

In addition to Alicia Zuckerman, the workshop participants wereSarah Cahill from KALW in Berkeley, CA; Aaron Cohen of New York’sWNYC; Susan Fitzgerald of KTOO in Juneau, Alaska; David Fordof WFDD inWinston Salem, NC; Jennifer Foster of WDAV in Davison, NC; JamesD. Jacobs of WNYEin Brooklyn, NY; Brian McCreath, a Web producer for WGBH in Boston;Tim McDonnell from KBAQ in Phoenix; Glenn Zucman of Strange Angelsin Rosemead, CA; and Suzanne Schaffer, Kathryn Slusher and LaurenRico from MinnesotaPublic Radio in St. Paul. (More information about workshop participantsis available on the CMI Web site.)

Workshop presentations on producing for radio and new media were ledby American Public Media staff, including Don Lee (Style and Substance:Writing for Radio), Tom Voegeli (Finding the Creative Difference),Brian Newhouse (Staying Curious: The Unexpected Interview), and PrestonWright on interactive Web sites (Getting the Audience to Play withYou).

The Classical Music Initiative is continuing to accept proposals for itsProduction Fund. A primary aim of the Fund is to invest in new concepts andapproaches for conveying classical music to broad audiences using radio,the Internet and/or other emerging technologies. Proposal information isavailable at www.classicalmusicinitiative.org.

The Classical Music Initiative Production Workshop is supported, in part,by the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional financial support is providedby Mr. and Mrs. Howard Solomon.

American Public Media™ is the nation's second-biggestproducer of public radio programs, reaching 13.5 million listenersnationwide each week. Nationalprograms include A Prairie Home Companion®, Saint Paul Sunday®, Marketplace®,Sound Money®, The Splendid Table®, Being™ andspecial reports produced by its national documentary unit, American RadioWorks®.American Public Media is the national production and distribution divisionof Minnesota Public Radio®. Minnesota Public Radio, along with its sistercompany Southern California Public Radio, belongs to a larger familyof companies within American Public Media Group, a national nonprofitorganization whosepurpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support publicmedia for public service. A complete list of stations, programs andadditional services can be obtained at www.americanpublicmedia.us.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimatesonly.
Spring 2004

American Public Media's Marketplace and Marketplace Morning Report to Mark 75th Anniversary of Black Tuesday with "Crash of '29" Reports

Contact:  Connie Molby
(651) 290-1113
cmolby@americanpublicmedia.us
www.americanpublicmedia.us

American Public Media's Marketplace and Marketplace Morning Report to Mark 75th Anniversary of Black Tuesday with "Crash of '29" Reports

Broadcasts will include interviews with the last "Titan of Wall Street," Web site offers timeline leading up to the stock market crash, quiz and comparison of stock prices in 1929 and 2004

WHAT: Oct. 29, 1929, is known as Black Tuesday and its impact triggered monumental changes in America's financial markets — and in America itself. On the 75th anniversary of Black Tuesday, American Public Media's Marketplace and Marketplace Morning Report, with veteran reporter Matt Algeo, examine the story of the stock market crash, its causes and effects and its continuing impact on today's financial markets. The mini-documentary also asks the question: Could it happen again?

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

• First-person accounts from Al Gordon, the last surviving "Titan of Wall Street," who in 1929 was a 28-year-old Harvard Business School graduate working at Goldman Sachs. He's now 103 and still works in the office three or four times a week. He will explain how Wall Street has changed — and how it hasn't — since 1929.

• Reaction from the 75th reunion of the Fond du Lac, Wisc., high school graduating class of 1929 — some of the last witnesses to the crash and its impact in middle America.

Online Features:

• Beginning, Monday, Oct. 25, the public can take a Black Tuesday knowledge quiz, listen to selected 1920s era music and check out a timeline leading up to the crash at www.marketplace.org/features/crash_1929/. A comparison of 1929 stock prices with today's prices and archival photographs will also be posted to the site.

TUNE IN: "Crash of '29" reports will broadcast nationwide during Marketplace and Marketplace Morning Report, Friday, Oct. 29. Check local radio listings for the times and stations in your areas or go to www.marketplace.org.

AmericanPublic MediaT is the national production and distribution unit of MinnesotaPublic Radio. It is the nation's second-biggest producer of nationalpublic radio programs, reaching 11.9 million listeners nationwide eachweek. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion^®, Saint Paul Sunday^®, Marketplace^®, Sound Money^®, The Splendid Table^®, Being^® and special reports produced by its documentary unit, American RadioWorks^®. Minnesota Public Radio, along with its sister company Southern California Public Radio, belongs to a larger family of companies within American Public Media Group, a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support public media for public service. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.americanpublicmedia.us.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
Fall 2003

Melissa Ousley Named Assistant Music Director/Classical Music Producer for Minnesota Public Radio's Regional Classical Music Service, and American Public Media's National Music Service, Classical 24

Contact:  Andrea Matthews
(651) 290-1303
amatthews@americanpublicmedia.us
www.americanpublicmedia.us

Melissa Ousley Named Assistant Music Director/Classical Music Producer for Minnesota Public Radio's Regional Classical Music Service, and American Public Media's National Music Service, Classical 24

Popular classical music host was the morning voice of radio station WCAL for 10 years, currently host of WCAL's "Favorites on Fridays"

(St. Paul, Minn.) Oct. 12, 2004 — Melissa Ousley has been named assistant music director/classical music producer for Minnesota Public Radio's regional classical music service, and for Classical 24, the live national classical music service produced by American Public Media (the national production and distribution arm of Minnesota Public Radio) and distributed by Public Radio International.

In this role, Ousley will help design programming — for regional and national broadcast — that draws from Minnesota Public Radio's extensive music library. She will produce specialty music programs and other elements for broadcast, collecting and editing material, coordinating interviews and integrating material into programming.

For the past 15 years, Ousley has worked at public radio station WCAL in Northfield, Minn. From 1989-1999, she was WCAL's "morning voice" as host of "Top of the Day," which the Twin Cities' City Pages cited as "Best Classical Radio Program," noting that Ousley created "a seamless audio picture in which the DJ plays the role of classy, informative, yet unobtrusive party host. Ousley knows her stuff and relates it engagingly." At WCAL, she currently hosts classical music on weekdays and the request program "Favorites on Fridays." She is also the creator and host of "Music from Minnesota," a showcase for local talent.

Before joining WCAL's staff, Ousley was a classical host and music director at Radio Kansas. She received her bachelor's degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and as a teenager, attended the Preparatory Division of the Manhattan School of Music.

AmericanPublic MediaT is the national production and distribution unit of MinnesotaPublic Radio. It is the nation's second-biggest producer of nationalpublic radio programs, reaching 11.9 million listeners nationwide eachweek. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion^®, Saint Paul Sunday^®, Marketplace^®, Sound Money^®, The Splendid Table^®, Being^® and special reports produced by its documentary unit, American RadioWorks^®. Minnesota Public Radio, along with its sister company Southern California Public Radio, belongs to a larger family of companies within American Public Media Group, a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support public media for public service. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.americanpublicmedia.us.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
Fall 2003

Major New Public Radio Program, Weekend America, Makes Its Debut, Saturday, Oct. 9

Contact:  Connie Molby
(651) 290-1113
cmolby@americanpublicmedia.us
www.americanpublicmedia.us

Major New Public Radio Program, Weekend America, Makes Its Debut, Saturday, Oct. 9

Three years in development, the new radio magazine is a
weekend companion for busy listeners

(Los Angeles) Oct. 4, 2004 — Weekend America, a live two-hour radio magazine designed for the weekend state of mind, will be launched on public radio stations across the country on Saturday, Oct. 9. Weekend America is a major addition to the public radio lineup—one that responds to today's listening habits.

Hosted from Los Angeles by public radio veterans Barbara Bogaev and Bill Radke, Weekend America reflects our complex, diverse and multilingual nation back to itself. Produced by American Public Media, Weekend America allows listeners to encounter the world around them with creativity, compassion and curiosity. It eavesdrops on America, revealing this nation's talents and cultures in stories that move listeners. Through these stories, listeners to Weekend America will understand the important ideas that shape and influence their lives, and obtain real insight into what Americans value and want, refreshing their intellect and replenishing their spirits.

Weekend America is a radio companion, offering listeners programming of the same quality, intellect and continuing educational value they're used to on weekdays, but in a way that matches their weekend living patterns. Weekend America features segments on news, issues of the week and the diversity of American culture and the arts. Its magazine format allows busy listeners to tune in at any point without getting lost. Weekend America has been in research, development and piloting for two years and has already been picked up for broadcast by more than 65 stations.

Weekend America's creator, Executive Producer Jim Russell, feels that too much of current weekend radio imagines a listener able and willing to focus completely and solely on a radio program. "That is simply not our audience in 2004. Even when they're at home, running errands, exercising or relaxingóthey need radio that goes along with them and the weekend," said Russell, who is also Senior Vice President and General Manager for American Public Media—Los Angeles.

Incorporating the best of public radio from content partner stations, independent producers and national producers across the U.S., Weekend America reflects America back on itself.

Segments planned for Oct. 9 include:

• Special Series: Weekend America commissioned independent producers Richard Paul and David Welch to explore core values of selected voters. Learn what they came up with in a special series on America's values.>

• Live Broadcasts: Award-winning Sports Illustrated writer Gary Smith joins Weekend America to discuss the end of the baseball season, the beginning of football season, and all the sweaty sports people participate in during the fall.

• Local Feel: "What's happening in your neighborhood?" Every week, the hosts talk with partner radio stations across the country to learn what's going on.

• National Interest: On October 10, Cincinnati Camerata will perform The Mass for the Dead that Frank Lewin composed in memory of Robert F. Kennedy. Weekend America speaks with the composer. This is the first time the piece has been performed in 35 years.

THE HOSTS

Barbara Bogaevís broadcast experience bridges television and radio, behind the scenes and in front of the mike. She is best known as fill-in host and interviewer for Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air. She has also hosted a weekly radio newsmagazine on health and medicine, and produced sound features and in-depth documentaries.

Bill Radke was the creator, writer and host of Rewind, a weekly news satire program broadcast by KUOW-FM in Seattle. At KUOW, Radke was a reporter and Morning Edition host and became the station's news director. While in Seattle he wrote a weekly news and humor column for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. In 2003 Radke published his first book, "Seattle, " from Sasquatch Books.

THE BACKGROUND

The Weekend America project launched in 2001 after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting challenged public radio producers to think about ways to match weekend programming to public radio listening habits. Research had shown that despite a high share of total radio listening on weekends, that there is serious attrition between weekday and weekend audiences to public radio. More than 50 program directors, dozens of producers and public radio listeners around the country were consulted to gather ideas from across the country.

During piloting, audiences were asked to listen and critique the program online. More than 500 did and the results were encouraging. Nearly all found the program diverse, informative, interesting, engaging and memorable. More than 50 percent of listeners found the program unique and 40 percent called the program "edgy." Audiences that listened to the program during its pilots, listened while doing other tasks including working around the house, running errands, cooking, and while driving themselves or others to destinations.

THE TEAM

The Weekend America team is led by Jim Russell, who is also the creator of the award-winning public radio business program Marketplace, and includes Senior Editor Jeremy Skeet and Managing Producer Laurie Selik.

Content partners include WBUR Boston, WCPN Cleveland, KPCC Los Angeles, WMFE Orlando, KUOW Seattle, KNOW St. Paul and AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio. Information about the format and audio of past broadcasts can be found on the Web site. Funding for Weekend America is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Minnesota Public Radio.

Look for press information in the Weekend America Press Room.

AmericanPublic Mediaô is the national production and distribution unit of MinnesotaPublic Radio. It is the nation's second-biggest producer of nationalpublic radio programs, reaching 11.9 million listeners nationwide eachweek. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion^®, Saint Paul Sunday^®, Marketplace^®, Sound Money^®, The Splendid Table^®, Being^® and special reports produced by its documentary unit, American RadioWorks^®. Minnesota Public Radio, along with its sister company Southern California Public Radio, belongs to a larger family of companies within American Public Media Group, a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support public media for public service. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.americanpublicmedia.us.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
Fall 2003

Support From The Corporation For Public Broadcasting For Public Broadcasting Strengthens Public Radio Program Service on Weekends

Contact:  Connie Molby
Weekend America
(651) 290-1113
cmolby@americanpublicmedia.us

Contact:  Jeannie Bunton
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
(202) 879-9687
jbunton@cpb.org

Support From The Corporation For Public Broadcasting For Public Broadcasting Strengthens Public Radio Program Service on Weekends

Weekend America to debut Oct. 9, 2004

(San Antonio, Texas.) Sept. 30, 2004 — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and Minnesota Public Radio today announced a $1.8 million grant to Minnesota Public Radio to support the new national program service Weekend America^™ (formerly Public Radio Weekend).

Announcing the grant at the annual meeting of Public Radio Program Directors in San Antonio, Texas, CPB President and CEO Kathleen Cox said, "CPB has a tradition of providing funding for programming that is creative and takes risks. Weekend America does just that. It promises to present programming which reflects the breadth of todayís America and engages stations and independent producers actively in a manner that serves weekend listeners."

Weekend America is produced and distributed by American Public Media, Minnesota Public Radio's national arm, and is a collaboration of public radio stations and producers led by Minnesota Public Radio. Produced in Los Angeles, Weekend America has been piloting for two years and is led by Jim Russell, Senior Vice President and General Manager for American Public Media — Los Angeles, creator of the award-winning public radio business program Marketplace.

Weekend America is a live program service that is available to public radio stations for up to six hours each Saturday and is designed for the weekend listening attitude. Hosted by public radio veterans Barbara Bogaev and Bill Radke, the program features segments on news and newsmakers, trends and ideas, and the arts. Of special interest to the program are the diverse voices of Americans.

"Public radio listeners expect the same strong editorial content on weekends as they do on weekdays," said Russell. "Our job is to create a fresh new program that is smart, fun to listen to, and has compelling subject matter and weekend style. By providing stations with a live continuous program service in the middle of the day, Weekend America will let public radio stations sound more like themselves on weekends. This is a terrific and enjoyable challenge, and I am grateful to Minnesota Public Radio and CPB for making it possible for us to invent a new high-quality public radio sound."

The Weekend America project launched in 2001 after CPB challenged public radio producers to think about ways to match weekend programming to public radio listening habits. Research had shown that despite a high share of total radio listening on weekends, that there is serious attrition between weekday and weekend audiences in public radio. More than 50 program directors, dozens of producers and public radio listeners around the country were consulted to gather ideas from across the country.

Bill Kling, President and CEO of Minnesota Public Radio, said weekend broadcasting could be more engaging. "Weekend America invites listeners to take someone smart — our hosts — along for the weekend. It is radio that is 'smart' and alive, reflecting America back to its audience."

Already carried on more than 60 stations across the country, Weekend America and its audience continue to grow. During piloting, audiences were asked to listen and critique the program online. More than 500 did and the results were encouraging. Nearly all found the program diverse, informative, interesting, engaging and memorable. More than 50 percent of listeners found the program unique and 40 percent called the program "edgy." As expected, audiences listened while doing other tasks including working around the house, running errands, cooking, and while driving themselves or others to destinations.

The Weekend America team includes Executive Producer Jim Russell, Senior Editor Jeremy Skeet and Managing Producer Laurie Selik. Partners include WBUR Boston, WCPN Cleveland, KPCC Los Angeles, WMFE Orlando, KUOW Seattle, KNOW St. Paul and AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio. Information about the format and audio of past broadcasts can be found on the Web site www.weekendamerica.org.The grant for Weekend America is subject to execution of a contract between CPB and Minnesota Public Radio.

CPB, a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, develops educational public radio, television and online services for the American people. The Corporation is the industry's largest single source of funds for national public television and radio program development and production. CPB, a grant making organization, funds more than 1,000 public radio and television stations.

AmericanPublic Media^™ is the national production and distribution unit of MinnesotaPublic Radio. It is the nation's second-biggest producer of nationalpublic radio programs, reaching 11.9 million listeners nationwide eachweek. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion^®, Saint Paul Sunday^®, Marketplace^®, Sound Money^®, The Splendid Table^®, Being^® and special reports produced by its documentary unit, American RadioWorks^®. Minnesota Public Radio, along with its sister company Southern California Public Radio, belongs to a larger family of companies within American Public Media Group, a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support public media for public service. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.americanpublicmedia.us.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
Fall 2003

"POWER TRIPS: CONGRESS HITS THE ROAD"

Contact:  Suzanne Perry
(651) 290-1276
sperry@americanpublicmedia.us
www.americanpublicmedia.us

Contact : Wendy Leopold
(847) 491-4890
w-leopold@northwestern.edu
www.northwestern.edu/news

"POWER TRIPS: CONGRESS HITS THE ROAD"
REPORTS EXPOSE RAMPANT ABUSE OF CONGRESSIONAL TRAVEL FUNDED BY OUTSIDE INTEREST GROUPS

Accompanying Web database gives the public access to travel records of their own senators and representatives

(Washington, D.C.) September 27, 2004 — Luxury resorts. Private jets. A trip to the Wimbledon finals. These are just a few of the perks enjoyed by members of Congress — with the tab picked up by outside interests jockeying for influence.

In the last four and a half years, members of Congress have taken more than 4,800 trips funded by private groups at a price tag of $14.4 million, according to an investigation by Northwestern University's Medill News Service in partnership with American Public Media's Marketplace business radio program and its national documentary unit, American RadioWorks.

The investigation culminates in "Power Trips: Congress Hits the Road," a series of radio broadcasts and newspaper reports examining the little-publicized rule allowing U.S. representatives and senators to take privately funded trips — and the lack of enforcement of the rules. "Power Trips" puts the spotlight on some of Congress' most frequent flyers and the groups that most often fund them.

"Power Trips" airs on Marketplace on public radio stations nationwide on Sept. 27 and 28, and appears in print starting Sept. 27 in a 10-part series in 24 daily newspapers served by Medill News Service.

The reports are the result of a four-month investigation by Steve Henn of American RadioWorks and a team of graduate students from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism under the direction of Ellen Shearer, assistant dean of Medill and co-director of the Medill News Service. Together, they built the first congressional travel database, one that includes every travel disclosure form for privately funded trips filed by Congress members from Jan. 1, 2000, through June 30, 2004.

According to the reports, Senate and House members since 2000 have accepted about 200 trips worth $400,000 without disclosing where they went, and another 31 trips worth about $66,000 without disclosing who paid for them.

Members of the public can examine the records of their own — or all — Congress members through the Web-based database at http://www.americanradioworks.org/features/congtravel or http://www.medillnewsdc.com .

IN THE RADIO REPORTS:

Sept. 27, Rules of the Road: Shortly before retiring from Congress, Rep. Tom Bliley (R-Va.) and his wife took a four-day trip to England for $31,000. They flew the Concorde to London, stayed in a $1,000-a-day suite at the Savoy Hotel, and watched the Wimbledon finals from nearly $3,000 seats. The cost to Bliley? Nothing. Brown and Williamson Tobacco footed the bill. Although Bliley disclosed the House rules-violating gift, he never heard a word of complaint from its ethics committee. That's business as usual on the Hill. The first installment of the "Power Trips" series explores the widespread concerns that many congressional trips are open to abuse.

Sept. 28, King of Travel: The king of congressional travel is Sen. John Breaux (D-La.). In a little more than four years, Breaux has taken 56 all-expense-paid trips. Industry groups, lobbyists and universities have paid his travel expenses of more than $158,000. The amount of free travel Breaux accepted each year exceeds the median household income in the state of Louisiana. This segment examines the tight relationship between Breaux and the pharmaceutical industry, his most generous travel sponsor.

IN THE NEWSPAPER REPORTS:

While Breaux took, on average, a free trip every month at the expense of private groups, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) was Congress' most frugal legislator, listing 37 trips worth less than $500 each for the same period.

Although some members of Congress took privately funded trips to make speeches in places like Pittsburgh and Peoria, Ill., others went on fact-finding jaunts to Aspen, Colo., or spent $3,000 on meals at a five-day conference in Barcelona, Spain.

The Aspen Institute was the most generous private group to fund trips, spending more than $2.5 million on them. The Ripon Society's Ripon Educational Fund ranked second, spending $615,000 for 60 trips.

The most popular destination for members of Congress was Florida and its resorts, followed by California and New York. West Virginia, home to the luxurious Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, was fourth. Several foreign cities — Rome and London, for example — also made the top 20 most-popular-destination list.

In addition to the main stories, Medill reporters wrote 14 sidebars on specific states or industries, such as banking and defense contractors.

"Power Trips" was produced by American RadioWorks and Marketplace, which are produced by American Public Media, and Medill News Service, part of the graduate program of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Marketplace is distributed by Public Radio International.

The Medill School of Journalism is widely regarded as one of the top journalism schools in the United States, educating at any given time more than 600 undergraduates and 150 graduate editorial students. Its Washington program, Medill News Service, has covered Capitol Hill for more than 35 years. The news service trains graduate students in political and public affairs journalism as they report for more than 40 newspapers, magazines, Web sites and TV stations.

AmericanPublic Mediaô is the national production and distribution unit of MinnesotaPublic Radio. It is the nation's second-biggest producer of nationalpublic radio programs, reaching 11.9 million listeners nationwide eachweek. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion^®, Saint Paul Sunday^®, Marketplace^®, Sound Money^®, The Splendid Table^®, Being^® and special reports produced by its documentary unit, American RadioWorks^®. Minnesota Public Radio, along with its sister company Southern California Public Radio, belongs to a larger family of companies within American Public Media Group, a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support public media for public service. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.americanpublicmedia.us.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
Fall 2003

PUBLIC RADIO WEEKEND CHANGES NAME TO WEEKEND AMERICA

Contact:  Suzanne Perry
(651) 290-1276
sperry@americanpublicmedia.us
www.americanpublicmedia.us

PUBLIC RADIO WEEKEND CHANGES NAME TO WEEKEND AMERICA

The new weekend news magazine prepares for nationwide launch

(St. Paul, Minn.) Sept. 1, 2004 — Public Radio Weekend, the new weekend news magazine that is now in pilot production, will launch nationwide in October with the name Weekend America^®. The new name will make its debut on the program that is broadcast on Saturday, Sept. 4.

Weekend America, hosted by Barbara Bogaev and Bill Radke, is a two-hour weekly program that presents news and analysis, interviews, features, music and commentaries with a fun and engaging style that appeals to the weekend listener. Produced and distributed by a public radio collaboration led by American Public Media, the program's magazine format makes it a weekend companion that busy listeners can tune in and out without getting lost. Its stories are designed to provide new perspective on the week's events, in a style appropriate for the weekend. Incorporating the best of public radio from content partner stations, independent producers and national producers, Weekend America reflects the way people use radio on the weekends.

Weekend America pilots are now being broadcast and audience-tested on more than 40 public radio stations nationally. The program will add 14 additional stations in September. For more information, see www.weekendamerica.org.

The Weekend America team includes Executive Producer Jim Russell, Senior Producer Jeremy Skeet and Managing Producer Laurie Selik. Partners include WBUR Boston, WCPN Cleveland, KPCC Los Angeles, WMFE Orlando, KUOW Seattle, KNOW St. Paul and AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio. Funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Minnesota Public Radio.

AmericanPublic Mediaô is the national production and distribution unit of MinnesotaPublic Radio. It is the nation's second-biggest producer of nationalpublic radio programs, reaching 11.9 million listeners nationwide eachweek. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion^®, Saint Paul Sunday^®, Marketplace^®, Sound Money^®, The Splendid Table^®, Being^® and special reports produced by its documentary unit, American RadioWorks^®. Minnesota Public Radio, along with its sister company Southern California Public Radio, belongs to a larger family of companies within American Public Media Group, a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support public media for public service. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.americanpublicmedia.us.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
Fall 2003

"CLIMATE OF UNCERTAINTY": PUBLIC RADIO PROJECT EXAMINES THE IMPACT OF GLOBAL WARMING

Contact:  Suzanne Perry
(651) 290-1276
sperry@americanpublicmedia.us
www.americanpublicmedia.us

"CLIMATE OF UNCERTAINTY":PUBLIC RADIO PROJECT
EXAMINES THE IMPACT OF GLOBAL WARMING

A documentary and Web site produced by American Public Media's national documentary unit, American RadioWorks, asks if we are heading for an abrupt climate shift.

(St. Paul, Minn.) August11, 2004 — Not long ago, scientists discovered that the Earth’sclimate is capable of changing abruptly, as if a switch were flipped.In the past, this kind of abrupt change may have caused droughts, floodsand even regional cooling.

Some scientists warnthat we could be heading for another sudden, massive climate shift— thisone triggered by the human actions that cause global warming.

American RadioWorks(ARW), the national documentary unit of American Public Media, has produceda radio documentary and a Web Site that examine the potential impactof global warming, which is caused by carbon dioxide produced when fossilfuels like oil or coal are burned. Although the available informationis imperfect, scientists tell ARW the phenomenon could cause drasticchanges to the Earth’s climate — and that we must make toughdecisions about whether and how to act.

TUNE IN: Hostedby National Public Radio's Ira Flatow, the one-hour ARW documentary, "Climateof Uncertainty," will air on public radio stations across thecountry in mid-August.

WEB SITE: www.americanradioworks.org/features/climate featuresaudio of the documentary, along with a transcript and links to otherresources on global warming.

"Climate of Uncertainty" featuresinterviews with scientists and researchers who are studying ice caps,glaciers, snowfields, seas, wildlife movements and computer models forsigns of climate change. They include:

• James Hansen,a climate expert for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,who notes that carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 30 percentover the last 150 years. This is like adding two tiny Christmas treebulbs to each of the 150 trillion square meters that make up the Earth'ssurface.
• Will Steger,an adventurer who is collecting impressions of Inuit hunters and eldersabout climate change in the Arctic. One hunter tells him that previouslypermanent snowfields now melt by late summer and that ground squirrels,foxes and other animals are migrating further north every year.
• Paul Mayewski,a glacier expert who led a U.S. team that collected glacial core samplesin Greenland during the 1980s and early 1990s. "What we discoveredin that record…is that there are responses to climate changethat can be extremely abrupt," he says.
• Archeologist HarveyWeiss, who has been excavating a northern outpost of the once-greatempire of Akkad in Mesopotamia (now northeastern Syria and northernIraq). The civilization collapsed suddenly, which scientists nowattribute to the advent of a 300-year drought that toppled societiesfrom present-day Crete to India.
• Climatologist WallyBroecker, who has developed a theory about the cause of abruptclimate changes in Greenland some 8,000 years ago that has gainedwidespread scientific acceptance. He has proposed that a massiveocean current known as the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt — whosetropical heat warms western Europe — was shut down due to aninflux of fresh water, leading to a dramatic cooling. Global warming,he says, could also flip the conveyor's off switch, by causingmore water to evaporate in the warm parts of the planet. That wouldcreate extra rain and snow in the regions around the north Atlanticthat would add enough fresh water to kill the conveyor.
• Canadian climateresearcher David Keith, who says: "The key question is,are we willing as a species ultimately to spend a couple percent ofglobal economic productivity over the next century to avoid makingmajor climatic changes that lead to really quite substantial changesand extinctions and so on throughout the global environment?"

"Climate ofUncertainty" is produced by Daniel Grossman and John Rudolph.

AmericanPublic Mediaô is the national production and distribution unit of MinnesotaPublic Radio. It is the nation's second-biggest producer of nationalpublic radio programs, reaching 11.9 million listeners nationwide eachweek. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion^®, Saint Paul Sunday^®, Marketplace^®, Sound Money^®, The Splendid Table^®, Being^® and special reports produced by its documentary unit, American RadioWorks^®. Minnesota Public Radio, along with its sister company Southern California Public Radio, belongs to a larger family of companies within American Public Media Group, a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support public media for public service. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.americanpublicmedia.us.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
Fall 2003

CLASSICAL MUSIC INITIATIVE SEEKS PARTICIPANTS FOR DYNAMIC WORKSHOP ON CLASSICAL MUSIC PRODUCTION AND PRESENTATION

Contact:  Andrea Matthews
(651) 290-1303
amatthews@americanpublicmedia.us
www.americanpublicmedia.us

CLASSICAL MUSIC INITIATIVE SEEKS PARTICIPANTS FOR DYNAMIC WORKSHOP ON CLASSICAL MUSIC PRODUCTION AND PRESENTATION

Radio professionals, classical music program producers and hosts,
arts professionals encouraged to apply for funded, intensive three-day workshop.

(St. Paul, Minn.) August 4, 2004 ó American Public Media (the national production and distribution division of Minnesota Public Radio) will host a three-day production workshop in October as part of its Classical Music Initiative (CMI), a multi-year project designed to develop and support the next generation of classical music programming for public radio. The CMI seeks 10 participants for this intensive workshop, which is designed to inspire producers and hosts, provide training in production and presentation, and foster a collaborative atmosphere for the cultivation of new ideas. A travel and lodging stipend will be provided. The CMI Production Workshop will be held October 20-22, 2004. The deadline for applications is September 3, 2004. Applications can be obtained at www.classicalmusicinitiative.org.

Applicants being sought include radio producers and hosts with a passion for classical music, arts professionals, and those with a vision to be the next generation of classical music radio and new media producers and hosts.

The CMI Production Workshop will feature keynote speaker Terry Teachout, a music and drama critic, arts journalist, author and blogger on ArtsJournal.com. Teachout was recently nominated by President Bush to serve on the National Council on the Arts, the final approval body for grants recommended by the National Endowment for the Arts' peer panels. A second keynote speaker, prominent in new technologies, has yet to be announced.

Workshop presentations will cover producing for radio and new media, and will be facilitated by American Public Media staff. Featured staff include Peabody Award-winning producers Tom Voegeli (American Mavericks, From the Top, Schickele Mix), Brian Newhouse (Minnesota Orchestra, Music@Menlo), and Preston Wright (American Mavericks, Music@Menlo). American Mavericks was produced by American Public Media in association with the San Francisco Symphony.

CMI Production Workshop attendees will also be invited to sit in on a recording session of Saint Paul Sunday, with host Bill McGlaughlin and the Borromeo String Quartet. The recording will take place in the renowned Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio.

The goal of the CMI is to make a substantial investment in new program strategies, new ways to listen and new talent for classical music production.

American Public Media continues to accept proposals for new Classical Music Initiative projects. Proposals chosen for production will receive financial assistance and mentoring, with the completed programs to be broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio and made available to public radio stations nationwide by American Public Media. Proposal information is available at www.classicalmusicinitiative.org.

The Classical Music Initiative Production Workshop is supported, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional financial support is provided by Mr. and Mrs. Howard Solomon.

American Public Mediaô is the national production and distribution unit of Minnesota Public Radio. It is the nation's second-biggest producer of national public radio programs, reaching 11.9 million listeners nationwide each week. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion^®, Saint Paul Sunday^®, Marketplace^®, Sound Money^®, The Splendid Table^®, Being^® and special reports produced by its documentary unit, American RadioWorks^®. Minnesota Public Radio, along with its sister company Southern California Public Radio, belongs to a larger family of companies within American Public Media Group, a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support public media for public service. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.americanpublicmedia.us.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
Fall 2003

AMERICAN PUBLIC MEDIA TO SUPPLY PROGRAMMING TO NEW XM SATELLITE RADIO CHANNEL

Contact: Connie Molby
(651) 290-1113
cmolby@americanpublicmedia.us
www.americanpublicmedia.us

AMERICAN PUBLIC MEDIA TO SUPPLY PROGRAMMING TO NEW XM SATELLITE RADIO CHANNEL

( St. Paul, Minn. ) July 29, 2004 ó American Public Media, the nation's second-largest producer of national public radio programs, announced today that it has agreed to supply a package of programs to XM Public Radio, a new channel that will be launched by XM Satellite Radio on September 1.

The package will include the following American Public Media programs:

• Two Garrison Keillor productions ó The Writer's Almanac, a daily five-minute program of poetry and history, and Pop Vultures, a weekly half-hour program that focuses on the pop music scene.
• Being, a weekly hour-long program that is public radio's premiere national conversation about belief, meaning, ethics and ideas.
• Reports from American RadioWorks, American Public Media's national documentary unit.
• Marketplace Tech Report, a daily five-minute "journal of the digital age."
• American Mavericks, a 13-part series on musical innovation in the 20 th century, hosted by Suzanne Vega.
• Composers Datebook, a daily two-minute program about composers of the past and present.

American Public Media has also agreed to supply:

• Air Talk, a daily talk show produced by Los Angeles station KPCC, which is operated by Southern California Public Radio.
• As It Happens, a daily hour-long news and interview program produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and distributed by American Public Media in the United States.

"American Public Media is committed to ensuring public radio listeners can enjoy their favorite programs on multiple media platforms, including terrestrial radio stations, the Internet and satellite radio, " said Jon McTaggart, American Public Media chief operating officer.  "With more than 2.1 million current subscribers, XM Radio is one of the nation's fastest-growing entertainment media. This relationship will offer an additional option for current listeners and present some of the best of public radio programming to new audiences."

The new XM channel will also include programming from Public Radio International and WBUR, including This American Life, Whad'Ya Know?, On Point and Only a Game. It will also feature a new morning interview program hosted by Bob Edwards.

Detailed information about XM Public Radio, including the programming schedule and show descriptions, will be available in mid-August on XM's Web site, www.xmradio.com/publicradio.

American Public Mediaô is the national production and distribution arm of Minnesota Public Radio. It is the nation's second-biggest producer of national public radio programs, reaching 11.9 million listeners nationwide each week. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion® , Saint Paul Sunday®, Marketplace®, Sound Money®, The Splendid Table®, Being™ and special reports produced by its national documentary unit, American RadioWorks ® . Minnesota Public Radio, along with its sister company Southern California Public Radio, belongs to a larger family of companies within American Public Media Group, a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support public media for public service. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.americanpublicradio.us.

XM is America's #1 satellite radio service with more than 2.1 million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, D.C., New York City and Nashville, Tenn., at the Country Music Hall of Fame, XM's 2004 lineup includes more than 120 digital channels offering music, sports, talk, comedy, children's and entertainment programming, as well as traffic and weather information for major metropolitan areas nationwide.