American Public Media's Weekend America Celebrates Second Anniversary

Contact: Brad Robideau
American Public Media
651-290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org

American Public Media's Weekend America Celebrates Second Anniversary

Weekend America Continues to Grow as Audiences Expect Program to be Part of their Weekend

(St. Paul, Minn.) October 9, 2006—American Public Media's^™ Weekend America,^® the two-hour weekly public radio program designed to provide new perspective on the week's events, is today celebrating its second anniversary of broadcasting.

Making its debut on October 9, 2004, Weekend America is today heard on 135 public radio stations across the county, including in 22 of the top 50 markets, and has built its audience to already reach 615,000 listeners each week.

Weekend America, produced and distributed by American Public Media, features segments on news and newsmakers, issues of the week, the diversity of American culture and the arts. Weekend America incorporates the best of public radio from content partner stations, independent and national producers and is designed to fit listeners' weekend schedules with a more intimate, engaging and conversational style.

Weekend America is hosted in Los Angeles by public radio veterans Barbara Bogaev and Bill Radke. The Weekend America team also includes executive producer Peter Clowney and senior producer Kathryn Scott. Funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Minnesota Public Radio.

"I'm thrilled to take Weekend America into the next phase of its growth, reaching across the country every weekend to the most fascinating people and live events we can find," said Clowney.

Weekend America is on the Web at www.weekendamerica.org.

American Public Media's American RadioWorks Explores Japan's Pop Power

Contact: Brad Robideau
(651) 290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org
www.americanpublicmedia.org

American Public Media's American RadioWorks Explores Japan's Pop Power

Documentary is Entertaining Journey from Tokyo to Middle America

(St. Paul, Minn.) October 5, 2006—American RadioWorks,^® the award-winning documentary unit of American Public Media,^™ today announced its current broadcast, "Japan's Pop Power."

For decades, the United States has been the dominant exporter of pop culture. In the 21st century, it has a powerful new competitor—Japan. Young people across the globe watch anime, read manga comic books from right to left, listen to J-pop, and play with Japanese toys and video games.

"Japanís Pop Power" explores what's so cool about Japan and asks whether this ancient nation rise will again, this time as the world's leading exporter of fantasy.

TUNE IN: "Japan's Pop Power" will air on public radio stations nationwide in October.

WEB SITE: The transcript and audio of the documentary, along with photos and links and resources, are available at:http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/japan/index.html.

"Japan's Pop Power" was supported by the U.S. Japan Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

American RadioWorks
Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, American RadioWorks is public radio's largest documentary production unit. It creates documentaries, series projects, and investigative reports for the public radio system and the Internet. American RadioWorks has staff journalists in Washington, DC, Duluth, MN, San Francisco, CA, and Durham, NC. The American RadioWorks team features some of the most accomplished names in public radio journalism, including executive producer Bill Buzenberg, executive editor/correspondent Stephen Smith, economics correspondent Chris Farrell and host Ray Suarez.

Major funding for American RadioWorks is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

>American Public Media to Distribute Nationwide The Story with Dick Gordon

Contacts: Brad Robideau
American Public Media
651-290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org

American Public Media to Distribute Nationwide The Story with Dick Gordon

Public Radio Program Features Storytelling to Bring the News Home

(St. Paul, Minn.) September 15, 2006—American Public Media^™ today announced plans to co-produce and distribute nationwide the new daily public radio talk show, The Story with Dick Gordon. The Story is produced by North Carolina Public RadioñWUNC and is hosted by respected journalist Dick Gordon.

The Story is a daily one-hour interview program that brings together ordinary and extraordinary people to share their personal stories and experiences that provide a deeper perspective on the news. The program is designed to deliver great stories to public radio in a way that will help listeners grasp what is happening in the world and why it matters to them. Veteran public radio journalist Dick Gordon interviews people who are in the news or whose real-life experiences help listeners understand the news of the day or ongoing issues of importance.

The Story offers new ways—Web site and comment/story line—to engage listeners. Each program will encourage listeners to share their stories on the topics to be featured later in the week. A pre-produced "Listening Post" segment will call out to people at crossroads and cafes across the country, offering a snapshot of the ongoing American stories. The Story is not a call-in program, but will select from the best listeners' stories to amplify listeners' understanding of significant events.

The Story has been in development at North Carolina Public RadioñWUNC since October 2005, and the pilots have been broadcast on North Carolina Public RadioñWUNC's local public radio network. The Story is intended for midday broadcast and will be tested and refined during pre-launch broadcasts on KNOW 91.1 FM in St. Paul, Minn. The full national launch of The Story is planned for early 2007.

Dick Gordon is an experienced and seasoned journalist with an extensive background in both international and domestic reporting. He was a war correspondent and back-up host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's This Morning, the national current affairs radio program. An award-winning journalist, Gordon has also served as a Parliamentary reporter, Moscow correspondent and South Asia correspondent for both radio and television.

"Dick Gordon is an exceptional talent," said Joan Rose, general manager of North Carolina Public RadioñWUNC. "He brings intelligence, inquisitiveness, and a background as an international correspondent to his interviews. This gives him a depth of experience and an ability to connect with people from all walks of life as he engages them in conversation."

"North Carolina Public RadioñWUNC is excited to produce this program," added Rose. "Our region's tradition of storytelling helps inform our approach to a new and compelling form of narrative journalism that we are pleased to share with public radio listeners across the country."

Jim Russell, American Public Media's senior creative advisor, has been a collaborator in the development of the program with North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC's creative staff.

"The Story brings a fresh approach to radio with its dual emphasis on storytelling and on relevance and timeliness," said Sarah Lutman, American Public Media's senior vice president of content and media. "These are not just great stories; they're stories that need to be heardñtoday. You'll hear from remarkable people in engaging conversation with Dick Gordon. We're proud to have this innovative new program in our national programming portfolio and look forward to working with our colleagues at North Carolina Public RadioñWUNC to develop the show and build its audience."

About North Carolina Public RadioñWUNC
WUNC is the National Public Radio affiliate licensed to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It operates a five-station radio network serving more than 280,000 listeners each week in communities from Greensboro to the Outer Banks. WUNC has the largest public radio news staff in North Carolina and produces programs including The State of Things and The Peopleís Pharmacy. WUNCís news and information format can be heard at 91.5 FM in the Triangle and Triad, at 90.9 FM in the Rocky Mount/Wilson/Greenville area, and at 88.9 FM along the Outer Banks. The station is online at www.wunc.org.

American Public Media's Marketplace Kicks-Off 2006 Election Coverage with "The Real Agenda"

Contact: Brad Robideau
American Public Media
651-290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org

American Public Media's Marketplace Kicks-Off 2006 Election Coverage with "The Real Agenda"

Marketplace Invites Listeners to Help Cover Issues of Concern

(St. Paul, Minn.) September 13, 2006—Marketplace,^® American Public Media's^™ award-winning daily business and economics news program, today announced its 2006 midterm election coverage "The Real Agenda." The Real Agenda will cover issues the public should be hearing about, but which few candidates are discussing.

Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal launches ìThe Real Agendaî with a lively debate between two Marketplace commentators, liberal Robert Reich and conservative David Frum, on September 15, 2006, at the Public Radio Program Directors annual conference in Philadelphia. Reich is a prolific author who was Secretary of Labor under President Clinton and is a professor at the University of California at Berkeley. Frum is a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush and a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

"With the midterm campaign season heating up around the country, we're hearing plenty from candidates campaigning for Congress or their state legislature, especially in close races," said Ryssdal. "However, often what candidates want to talk about is not necessarily what they should talk about. 'The Real Agenda' gives Marketplace the opportunity to explore the most important issues facing the country in 2006."

Marketplace producers have shaped the programsí ìReal Agendaî coverage from a variety of sources, including public opinion polls, general research, on-air call-outs to listeners, and its Public Insight Network.^® Marketplace and other American Public Media^™ shows practice Public Insight Journalism, a model created by American Public Media, which maintains relationships with more than 20,000 "public sources" who share their expertise and experience to help American Public Media programs shape their coverage.

Those interested in participating can go to http://marketplace.publicradio.org/realagendasurvey/.

In its 18th year, Los Angeles-based Marketplace is produced and distributed by American Public Media.

Marketplace is a portfolio of business programs that also include Marketplace Morning Report and Marketplace Money that cover money and business, people, local economies and the world with signature sound and wit. The only national business news programs that originate from the West Coast, the trio of programs is heard by more than eight million listeners each week, more than any other business program on radio or TV. Marketplace maintains bureaus throughout the United States and the world. The program has won numerous awards, including an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia award and a George Foster Peabody award.

The Marketplace team includes host Kai Ryssdal, executive producer J.J. Yore, and senior producer Celeste Wesson. Additional information can be found at www.marketplace.org.

American Public Media to Assume Production and Distribution of Performance Today and Symphonycast

Contact: Jennifer Syltie Johnson
651-290-1072
jjohnson@americanpublicmedia.org
www.americanpublicmedia.org

American Public Media to Assume Production and Distribution of Performance Today and Symphonycast

American Public Media to Contribute Wide Range of Music Content to New NPR Digital Music Service, Tentatively Launching in First Half of 2007

September 6, 2006; Washington, D.C. and St. Paul, MN — American Public Media^™ will assume production and distribution of Performance Today and SymphonyCast from NPR, it was announced today by both companies. Additionally, there is an agreement in principle for American Public Media to actively participate in the recently-announced NPR digital music service, tentatively set to launch in the first half of 2007 and designed as an online destination for music programming in all genres produced by public radio. The wide range of content will include Performance Today and SymphonyCast.

"American Public Media couldn't be more pleased to begin producing the renowned Performance Today and SymphonyCast," said Sarah Lutman, Senior Vice President of Content and Media, American Public Media. "Classical music is one of our strengths and producing and distributing these two programs further reflects our deep commitment to expanding the nationís classical music audience. We look forward to building on the past success of Performance Today and SymphonyCast and to bringing fresh, new energy to these programs that will help them reach listeners around the United States and around the world."

"This partnership ensures the continued broadcast presence of two important, respected programs devoted to classical music by American Public Media while NPR focuses its efforts on establishing a significant presence for classical music, and all music genres, in the digital media environment," said Ken Stern, Executive Vice President, NPR. "There is a remarkable shift underway in how the public is finding and using music through online and on-demand resources, and NPR is committed to building on our longstanding role as distributor, partner, curator, aggregator and convener of public radio music assets in those vital new platforms."

This new alliance addresses the public radio system's longstanding interest in having producers, distributors and stations work collectively and collaboratively to expand opportunities for audiences with all genres of music, reduce duplication of service and create stronger programming.

The agreement begins in first quarter of 2007, with broadcast production of the programs moving from NPR headquarters in Washington to American Public Media's in St. Paul. The digital music service will be based at NPR. NPR and American Public Media will work together in a number of ways to increase the value of classical music; among those efforts, NPR will provide American Public Media with access to concerts, independent productions, Performance Today and SymphonyCast archives and contacts with arts organizations and festivals.

About Performance Today and SymphonyCast
Performance Today is America's most listened-to classical music program, reaching more than 1 million listeners on 230 public radio stations around the country each week. The two-hour weekday program features classical music in concert from studios, festivals and concert halls across the nation and around the world, as well as classical music news, interviews and features. SymphonyCast is a two-hour weekly radio program featuring a full-length concert by a major symphony orchestra. Concerts are drawn from Europe's leading ensembles, along with U.S. orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra and The Cleveland Orchestra.

About NPR Music
The centerpiece of NPR's upcoming digital music discovery project will be an online destination pooling the public radio system's collective resources and creating communities for fans and artists. It will encompass all music forms — including classical, jazz, folk, opera, AAA, electronica, world and alternative — reflecting the breadth of genres and tastes already offered to users of NPR and NPR.org, the 815 NPR Member stations around the country and their partner Web sites.

NPR's music activities span every genre and media platform. It offers more than 1000 hours of broadcast music programs annually including From The Top, World of Opera, World Café and Sacred Classics. It also provides more than 1400 hours of acquired performance audio segments for broadcast and online distribution; more than 600 music features on its news magazines, and regular live performances — from Bonnie Raitt to Josh Groban — on the daily Talk of the Nation. NPR produces more than 200 hours of music content for NPR.org, including live concerts and the hit program All Songs Considered, also one of the world's most-downloaded podcasts. NPR currently features 10 music-themed podcasts. In Fall 2005, NPR expanded its digital media activities and led the HD Radio content industry with the launch of five 24/7 music multicast channels, which are already airing on an experimental basis on stations across the country; their formats are classical (CPRN, Classical Public Radio Network), folk, jazz, electronica and AAA. More information is available at www.NPR.org

About American Public Media
Through partnerships with orchestras, vocal ensembles and others, American Public Media's classical music service delivers performances from around the world to its listeners. These new programs will join American Public Media's growing portfolio, giving it the largest broadcast audience reach of any classical music radio producer in the United States. American Public Media's national classical music programs include conversation and performance in Saint Paul Sunday;^® Pipedreams,^® the only nationally distributed radio program that explores the full range of the pipe organ's art and potential; and Composers Datebook,^® a daily two-minute program designed to inform, engage, and entertain listeners with timely information about composers of the past and present.

American Public Media, a leader in arts and cultural programming, also produces and distributes national broadcast performances of the Minnesota Orchestra and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra as well as specials such as BBC Proms, World Choral Spectacular and Music@Menlo. In partnership with Public Radio International, American Public Media produces the nation's most listened-to 24/7 stream of live-hosted classical radio, Classical 24. Classical 24 is heard by nearly 2 million listeners each week on hundreds of public radio stations. American Public Media also owns and operates The Current,^™ an alternative music radio station based at Minnesota Public Radio and streaming online at www.thecurrent.org. More information is available at www.americanpublicmedia.org.

American Public Media's Speaking of Faith Presents "Hearing Muslim Voices Since 9/11"

Contact: Brad Robideau
American Public Media
651-290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org

American Public Media's Speaking of Faith Presents "Hearing Muslim Voices Since 9/11"

Muslims Share Thoughts about their Faith and the Relationship between Islam and West since 9/11

(St. Paul, Minn.) September 6, 2006—As the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks nears, Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett,^® public radio's award-winning weekly conversation about religion, meaning, ethics and ideas, announces its next broadcast, "Hearing Muslim Voices Since 9/11."

On September 11, 2001, the religion of Islam burst into view for the first time for many people. What has U.S. culture learned about global Islam in the last five years, and what have we failed to hear and see?

Dramatic headlines convey a predominantly violent picture of global Islam. However, over the past five years, Muslim guests on Speaking of Faith have conveyed a thoughtful, diverse and compelling faith. During "Hearing Muslim Voices Since 9/11," listeners will hear these voices from the traditional and evolving center of Islam. Also, Speaking of Faith host Krista Tippett speaks with Seyyed Hossein Nasr, an esteemed Muslim scholar who brings a broad religious and historical perspective to difficult questions about Islam and the West that have lingered uncomfortably in American life since 9/11.

Check local listings for broadcast dates and times.

Heard on 165 stations across the country, Speaking of Faith explores the intersection of religion in public and private life from how we wage war, to how we raise our children; from how we approach marriage to how we view death and dying. Produced and distributed by American Public Media,^{™ Speaking of Faith is changing the way religious and non-religious people alike think and speak about religion and about the most important issues of our day.}

Additional information about Speaking of Faith can be found at www.speakingoffaith.org.

Krista Tippett, a journalist and former diplomat, is a graduate of Yale Divinity School and a former Fulbright scholar. She has reported and written for The New York Times, Newsweek, the BBC and other international news organizations, and served as special assistant to the U.S. ambassador to West Germany.

American RadioWorks and Marketplace Present "Rebuilding Biloxi: One Year After Katrina"

Contact: Brad Robideau
(651) 290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org
www.americanpublicmedia.org

American RadioWorks and Marketplace Present "Rebuilding Biloxi: One Year After Katrina"

Documentary Gives Listeners a Personal Look at Hurricane Katrina's Survivors

(St. Paul, Minn.) August 24, 2006—American RadioWorks,^® the award-winning documentary unit of American Public Media,^™ and Marketplace,^® American Public Media's award-winning daily business and economics news program, have produced a new radio and Internet documentary, "Rebuilding Biloxi: One Year After Katrina," that tells the stories of four families determined to rebuild their lives in Biloxi, Mississippi, after losing everything to Katrina. Over the past year, a series of installments from this project aired on Marketplace.

Hurricane Katrina devastated the lives of thousands of Mississippi Gulf Coast residents. While much of the national attention has focused on New Orleans, "Rebuilding Biloxi: One Year After Katrina" reveals a very different story—though equally dramatic, complicated and important—just 90 miles away. Set to broadcast on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the documentary provides a very personal look at crucial factors determining how—and whether—people are able to rebuild their lives on the Gulf Coast. These include: economic inequality, personal drive and resourcefulness and plain luck.

"Rebuilding Biloxi: One Year After Katrina" was written and produced by American RadioWorks' Stephen Smith and Kate Ellis.

"It has been extraordinary to see and hear how people responded to the devastation of the storm and its aftermath," said Smith. "We found that in many ways the storm was a social equalizer. Rich and poor alike suffered the near complete loss of their homes in hurricane Katrina, along with their jobs and businesses. This documentary will take listeners on the individual journeys of four separate families, and show why some people prevail over the catastrophe, and others just barely hang on."

TUNE IN: Hosted by Marketplace's Kai Ryssdal, "Rebuilding Biloxi: One Year after Katrina" will air on public radio stations nationwide in August.

WEB SITE: The transcript and audio of the documentary, along with photos and extended interviews with Biloxi residents, are available at:http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/biloxi/index.html.

Major funding for "Rebuilding Biloxi: One Year After Katrina" comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Open Society Institute and the Tides Foundation.

American RadioWorks
Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, American RadioWorks is public radio's largest documentary production unit. It creates documentaries, series projects, and investigative reports for the public radio system and the Internet. American RadioWorks has staff journalists in Washington, DC, Duluth, MN, San Francisco, CA, and Durham, NC. Major funding for American RadioWorks is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Marketplace
Marketplace is a portfolio of programs that includes the Marketplace weekday afternoon program, the weekday Marketplace Morning Report and Marketplace Money, an hour-long weekend program focusing on personal finance. In its 18th year, Los Angeles-based Marketplace has won numerous awards, including the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Silver Baton and a George Foster Peabody award. Marketplace segments revolve around money and business, people, local economies and the world with the signature Marketplace sound and wit.

Stephen Smith
Stephen Smith reports on wide range of international and domestic issues, including international human rights, science and health, race relations and American history. He is the winner of broadcast journalism's most prestigious honor, the 1999-2000 duPont-Columbia University Gold Baton, as well as many other national journalism awards.

Kate Ellis
Kate Ellis has co-produced several documentaries for American RadioWorks, including: Thurgood Marshall Before the Court — which won the 2005 Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association. Ellis co-edited the book/CD set, Say it Plain. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from Columbia University.

American RadioWorks Examines Impact of Welfare Overhaul Ten Years Later

Contact: Brad Robideau
(651) 290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org
www.americanpublicmedia.org

American RadioWorks Examines Impact of Welfare Overhaul Ten Years Later

August 22 Marks Tenth Anniversary of Welfare Reform Legislation

(St. Paul, Minn.) August 22, 2006—Ten years ago today, President Clinton signed into law landmark welfare reform legislationóthe Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Intended to "end welfare as we know it," this law replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children enacted in 1935.

"After Welfare" from American RadioWorks,^® the award-winning documentary unit of American Public Media,^™ explores the impact of ten years of welfare reform on families Tennessee, New Jersey and Wyoming. "After Welfare" also visits Oklahoma to examine the nation's most ambitious effort to promote marriage as a solution to poverty.

"After Welfare" includes a companion Web site, www.americanradioworks.org/features/welfare, that features the program's audio and transcript; interviews with five current and former welfare recipients, including a discussion on how welfare reform has affected them; producer John Biewen's reflections on covering poverty issues for almost 20 years; images from American RadioWorks photographer Steve Schapiro; and an interactive state-by state breakdown of poverty statisticsówelfare and unemployment rates, caseloads and sanctions, food stamps and more.

"After Welfare" is a production of American RadioWorks and the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. Check local public radio listings for broadcast dates and times.

About American RadioWorks
American RadioWorks is based at American Public Media in St. Paul, MN, and has staff journalists in Washington, DC, Duluth, MN, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Durham, NC. The American RadioWorks team features some of the most accomplished names in public radio journalism, including executive producer Bill Buzenberg, executive editor/correspondent Stephen Smith, economics correspondent Chris Farrell and host Ray Suarez.

Major funding for American RadioWorks comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Sustainability coverage is supported in part by the Kendeda Sustainability Fund of the Tides Foundation, furthering values that contribute to a healthy planet.

American RadioWorks is on the Web at www.americanradioworks.org.

American RadioWorks Sets Schedule for Fall Documentaries

Contact: Brad Robideau
651-290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.orgwww.americanpublicmedia.org

American RadioWorks Sets Schedule for Fall Documentaries

Fall Lineup Includes "Sonic Memorial" and "Japan's Pop Culture"

(St. Paul, Minn.) August 10, 2006 — American RadioWorks,^® the award-winning documentary unit of American Public Media,^™ announces its fall lineup of radio documentaries. In September, American RadioWorks will observe the fifth anniversary of 9/11 with a rebroadcast of "Sonic Memorial," a documentary featuring stories and sounds of the World Trade Center, its neighborhood, and the 9/11 attacks. In October, American RadioWorks presents "Japan's Pop Power," a documentary that examines Japanís growing impact on American pop culture.

Program Summaries

August — "Rebuilding Biloxi: One Year After Katrina"
Hurricane Katrina devastated the lives of thousands of Mississippi Gulf Coast residents. Rebuilding Biloxi tells the stories of several families in the coastal community of Biloxi, Miss., and their struggle to survive and then recover from the storm. While much of the national attention has focused on New Orleans, this new American RadioWorks documentary reveals a very different story — though equally dramatic, complicated and important — just 90 miles away.

Set to broadcast on the one-year anniversary of the hurricane, "Rebuilding Biloxi" will give public radio listeners a deeply personal look at how racial and economic inequality surfaces in the daily struggle to rebuild after Katrina.

September — "Sonic Memorial"
For the fifth anniversary of 9/11, American RadioWorks offers a rebroadcast of the beautifully haunting documentary from the Sonic Memorial Project. In the weeks and months after 9/11, National Public Radio's "Lost and Found Sound" and the public broadcasting community collected audio traces of the World Trade Center, its neighborhood and the events of September 11, 2001. Listen to this surprisingly intimate portrait produced from voicemails, archival tape, on-site recordings, oral histories, remembrances and stories.

October — "Japan's Pop Power"
For decades, the United States has been the dominant exporter of pop culture. In the 21st century, it has a powerful new competitor: Japan. Young people across the globe watch anime, read manga comic books from right to left, listen to J-pop and play with Japanese toys and video games. What's so cool about Japan? Will the ancient nation rise again, this time as the world's leading exporter of fantasy? "Japan's Pop Power" is an entertaining journey from Tokyo to Middle America.

November — "Early Signs: Reports from a Warming Planet"
The early signs of climate change are showing up across vastly differing landscapesófrom melting outposts near the Arctic Circle; to disappearing glaciers high in the Andes; from the deepest lake in Africa, which keeps getting warmer; and to the deltas of Bangladesh and the atolls of the Pacific, where the water's edge creeps closer. The documentary project from American RadioWorks, independent producer Sandy Tolan and students from the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism demonstrates how climate change is no longer restricted to scientific modeling about the future. It's happening now.

Check local public radio listings for broadcast dates and times.

About American RadioWorksAmerican RadioWorks is based at American Public Media in St. Paul, MN, and has staff journalists in Washington, DC, Duluth, MN, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Durham, NC. The American RadioWorks team features some of the most accomplished names in public radio journalism, including executive producer Bill Buzenberg, executive editor/correspondent Stephen Smith, economics correspondent Chris Farrell and host Ray Suarez.

American RadioWorks is on the Web at www.americanradioworks.org.

American Public Media™ and Chicago Public Radio® to Produce and Distribute "The World's Only Rock ëNí Roll Talk Show"

Contacts: Brad Robideau
American Public Media
651-290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org

Cindy Hansen
Chicago Public Radio
312-893-2950
chansen@chicagopublicradio.org

American Public Media^™ and Chicago Public Radio^® to Produce and Distribute "The World's Only Rock ëNí Roll Talk Show"

(St. Paul, Minn.) June 26, 2006 — American Public Media^™ and Chicago Public RadioÆ today announced the production and planned September nationwide distribution of Sound Opinions(SM), a new program about contemporary music and its place in American culture. The program is produced in Chicago by Chicago Public Radio and co-produced and distributed by American Public Media. Sound Opinions airs now on Chicago Public Radio and on Minnesota Public Radio's The Current.

Billed as "the world's only rock 'n' roll talk show," Sound Opinions was created and is hosted by two of the nation's most influential music critics, Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times and Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune. Each week, DeRogatis and Kot debate the latest music, talk to artists, air live performances and deliver pop culture insights.

An earlier version of the program aired in Chicago for more than seven years at Infinity's adult rock station, commercial WXRT-FM.

"We're thrilled that a long-successful commercial radio show has made the big leap to public radio," said Torey Malatia, Chicago Public Radio's president and general manager. "Chicago is a creative capital known for its eclectic and innovative musicians and artists who work in a broad range of genres. Sound Opinions is steeped in this tradition and offers it all up in a sensibility that is unmistakably 'Chicago.' This is what makes the show so irresistible and so engaging for audiences."

"The program's audience is very broad and includes any and all who look to music as a major ingredient of our evolving culture," said Jim Russell, American Public Media's senior vice president and general manager of new program development.

"In a word, Sound Opinions rocks," said Sarah Lutman, American Public Media's senior vice president of content and media. "Chicago Public Radio launched a show with so much spunk and intelligence. We couldn't be happier for this opportunity to co-produce and distribute Sound Opinions."

For Chicago Public Radio, the managing producer of Sound Opinions is Todd Bachman, producer is Matt Spiegel and the executive producer is Torey Malatia. For American Public Media, the executive in charge is Jim Russell. Creative consultant is Steve Nelson, program director for The Current.

About the hosts

Jim DeRogatis has been the pop music critic at the Chicago Sun-Times since 1997. He has also worked as an editor at several music magazines, including Rolling Stone, and is the author of five books about rock 'n' roll, including Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America's Greatest Rock Critic and Staring at Sound: The True Story of Oklahoma's Fabulous Flaming Lips. People living in the Twin Cities will also remember DeRogatis as a former critic for the alternative weeklies Twin Cities Reader and City Pages.

Greg Kot is the pop music critic at the Chicago Tribune and the author of the acclaimed biography, Wilco: Learning How to Die. He has also contributed music criticism to numerous books and magazines, including the Encyclopedia Britannica, Rolling Stone and a dozen other national publications.

American Public Media^™ is the nation's second-biggest producer of public radio programs, reaching 14.2 million listeners nationwide each week. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion,^® Weekend America,^® Saint Paul Sunday,^® Marketplace,^® Marketplace 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.org.

Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
Spring 2005/Fall 2005 average

Chicago Public Radio is a community-supported, non-commercial public service broadcasting institution, broadcasting throughout Chicago and surrounding regions at WBEZ 91.5 FM Chicago, WBEQ 90.7 FM Morris and WBEW 89.5 FM Chesterton, Indiana. Each week, more than 600,000 listeners tune in to the station for eclectic and innovative programming, including Chicago Public Radioís original productions like This American Life, the Third Coast International Audio Festival, Wait WaitÖ Donít Tell Me!,^® among others. From news and public affairs to music and arts, the station's distinctive selection of internationally, nationally and locally produced programs reflects the diversity of the community it serves. Chicago Public Radio is on the web at chicagopublicradio.org, streaming live webcasts and offering podcasts.

# # #

American Public Media™ is pleased to again bring concerts from the BBC Proms to classical music listeners in September.

(St. Paul, Minn.) July 21, 2006—American Public Media^™ is pleased to again bring concerts from the BBC Proms to classical music listeners in September. The BBC Proms will broadcast the week of September 4-8 on public radio stations nationwide. "The Last Night of the Proms" will air live on Saturday, September 9.

The BBC Proms is the world's largest and best known classical music festival, drawing exceptional orchestras and soloists to London for performances in the grand and historic Royal Albert Hall. Each season, only one American orchestra is tapped to make the trip. However, this year four American orchestras have been invited. To recognize this, American Public Media's 2006 Proms series is proudly called "The American Proms."

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Monday, September 4: The Minnesota Orchestra and Music Director Osmo Vänskä (Musical America's Conductor of the Year, 2005) perform a gorgeous set of songs by Osvaldo Golijov, with soprano superstar Dawn Upshaw. Vänskä also conducts Mahler's jubilant Symphony No. 5.

Tuesday, September 5: From New York, the Orchestra of St. Luke's continues this year's 250th birthday bash for Mozart with his final glorious symphony, the "Jupiter."

Wednesday, September 6: Special Note! This concert celebrates the phenomenally successful 'almost-American' conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. As music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1992, the Finnish-born Salonen has found his musical home in the West, and his tenure is the second longest in the Philharmonic's history. He leads England's Philharmonia Orchestra in a sumptuous French and Russian program that also includes the 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning Second Concerto for Orchestra by Kansas native, Steven Stucky.

Thursday, September 7: Piano phenom Lang Lang performs Chopin's poetic Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.Friday, September 8: The Philadelphia Orchestra plays a pair of Fifths (Beethoven's and Tchaikovsky's) that begins in shadow and tragedy but ends in a blaze of triumph.

Saturday, September 9: "The Last Night of the Proms": The 2006 BBC Proms ends in this both serious and silly extravaganza that nearly every Briton stops and listens to or watches live on television.

"The Last Night of the Proms" will be broadcast live from Royal Albert Hall. American Public Media host Brian Newhouse will present the concert and provide context for the performances.

PETER CLOWNEY NAMED EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF WEEKEND AMERICA

Contact: Brad Robideau
American Public Media
651-290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org

PETER CLOWNEY NAMED EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF WEEKEND AMERICA

POPULAR PUBLIC RADIO PROGRAM FITS WEEKEND STATE OF MIND

(St. Paul, Minn.) July 5, 2006-American Public Mediaô is pleased to announce that public radio editor, producer, and reporter Peter Clowney has been named executive producer of Weekend AmericaÆ, the live two-hour weekly public radio program designed to provide new perspective on the week's events. Clowney will assume his position on July 20.

"Peter is an experienced and highly capable radio producer who has worked on some of public radio's most distinctive programs," said Sarah Lutman, senior vice president, Content and Media for Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media. "It will be exciting to watch Weekend America continue to grow and develop over the coming years."

Clowney is currently a senior editor at MarketplaceÆ, American Public Media's award-winning daily business and economics news program. In this role, he is responsible for managing the program's New York bureau.

Previously, Clowney was senior editor at PRI's Studio 360. His professional experience also includes working as an arts and culture reporter at WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and as a producer at This American Life.

"I'm thrilled to be joining Weekend America," said Clowney. "The program is unique, fun, and its audience will only keep growing. Stations are catching on to the potential of the show, and the hosts deliver. We're ready for great things."

About Weekend America
Launched in October 2004 by American Public Media, Weekend America is currently heard in 22 of the 50 largest markets and on 144 public radio stations across the county. The program reaches 611,000 listeners each week and continues to grow as stations and audiences expect the program to be part of their weekend.

Weekend America, hosted in Los Angeles by public radio veterans Barbara Bogaev and Bill Radke, features segments on news and newsmakers, issues of the week, the diversity of American culture and the arts. Its magazine format makes it a weekend companion where busy listeners can tune in at any point without getting lost. 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.

American Public Mediaô is the nation's second-biggest producer of public radio programs, reaching 14.2 million listeners nationwide each week. National programs include A Prairie Home CompanionÆ, Weekend AmericaÆ, Saint Paul SundayÆ, MarketplaceÆ, Marketplace MoneyÆ, The Splendid TableÆ, BeingÆ and special reports produced by its national documentary unit, American RadioWorksÆ. American Public Media is the national production and distribution division of Minnesota Public RadioÆ. 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.org.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.Spring 2005/Fall 2005 average

Power Trips: "The Big Fish"

Contact: Brad Robideau
American Public Media
651-290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org

Power Trips: "The Big Fish"

Marketplace^® Report: Powerful Members of Congress Mingle with Energy Lobbyists at Exclusive Alaskan Resort

3 Senators Violate Ethics Rules; Who Paid for Others is Unclear

(Washington, DC) June 26, 2006—At least three U.S. Senators violated Congressional ethics rules by accepting lodging or travel expenses to attend an annual Alaska charity fishing trip with energy lobbyists and other executives, according to a new investigative report by Marketplace^® and American RadioWorks.^®

In addition, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott declined to reveal who paid for their travel to the event, despite numerous inquiries by Marketplace.

For over a decade, business executives have sponsored an annual fishing trip for members of Congress at The Waterfall, one of the countryís most exclusive fishing camps. The event supports a charity founded by Nancy Murkowski, wife of Alaskaís Republican governor and former U.S. senator, Frank Murkowski. The charity raises money for breast cancer prevention and treatment programs. Marketplace identified at least ten Senators who have attended the event at different times in the past decade.

Oil and energy industry executives and lobbyists contributed thousands of dollars to go fishing with the lawmakers, including high-ranking executives from British Petroleum, Amoco, Marathon Oil, and several other firms, as well as the president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry's lobbying group in Washington.

"Power Trips: The Big Fish" broadcasts on Marketplace on public radio stations nationwide June 26.

The Web site, www.americanradioworks.org/power, also features a new searchable database open to the public. The database was created for the investigative series, "Power Trips: Congressional Staffers." It was the result of a year-long investigation by American Public Media reporters, Northwestern University Medill School graduate students and Center for Public Integrity staffers who analyzed 25,000 travel documents from January 2000 to June 2005, filed not only by Congress members but also by their staffs.

"The Big Fish" is the latest follow-up to the landmark "Power Trips" reporting from Marketplace and American RadioWorks, which put the spotlight on the little known loophole that allows members of Congress to accept travel from educational organizations and non-profits, even those run by powerful lobbyists in Washington, D.C. Those investigations also uncovered trips that broke congressional rules and spurred intensified scrutiny of Senate and House ethics rules and reporting.

EMC Publishing Ties American Public Media's™ Marketplace® Segments to Its New High School Economics Program

Contacts: Brad Robideau
American Public Media
651-290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org

Bob Cassel
EMC Corporation
818-865-8984
bcassel@emcp.com

EMC Publishing Ties American Public Media's^™ Marketplace^® Segments to Its New High School Economics Program

(St. Paul, Minn.) June 6, 2006 — EMC Publishing and American Public Media announce the release of the Marketplace^® Audio CD and Activities Book. The innovative teaching package offers 25 lessons tying 25 segments from Marketplace, American Public Media's award-winning daily business and economics news program, to portions of EMC's new high school economics program. EMC developed the Marketplace materials to support Economics: New Ways of Thinking (copyright 2007), by Roger A. Arnold, professor of economics at California State University San Marcos and author of several best-selling economics textbooks.

The Marketplace^® Audio CD and Activities Book contains a high-quality audio CD of Marketplace segments on current events of interest to high school students. The CD is accompanied by a 129-page book of teaching activities written by Joanne Benjamin, an award-winning secondary economics teacher. Each activity provides background information and discussion questions to help teachers relate a Marketplace audio segment to a chapter or section of the textbook program; an extended learning activity that challenges students to expand their understanding of the topic; and one or two student handouts.

"One of the most challenging aspects of this project," says EMC Publisher Bob Cassel, "was trying to pick just 25 segments from the Marketplace archive. The shows are interesting and informative, and provide classroom teachers with intriguing lead-ins to their daily lessons on such economic concepts as supply and demand and international tradeóconcepts that are not inherently of high interest to the typical secondary student."

The materials in the Marketplace^® Activities Book support both individual and collaborative learning through a wide range of teaching strategies, including reflective questions, research and writing assignments, crossword puzzles, debates and games. Teachers will find complete teaching support, including optional approaches and answers to questions and exercises.

Although created to be used with EMC Publishing's Economics: New Ways of Thinking, the Marketplace^® Audio CD and Activities Book may be adapted for use with any high school economics program. Teachers can present the audio segments and activities to introduce key economic concepts, reinforce students' understanding of economic principles and help students extend and apply their knowledge of economics.

EMC Publishing and American Public Media have forged their association to bring teachers this unique resource for motivating students to learn economics. Equally important, they have done so to connect students with economics in the real world and to open a window to lifelong learning and application of economic concepts.

"We couldnít be more pleased with Marketplace being chosen as a content partner for the New Ways of Thinking economics textbook," said Tim Roesler, senior vice president, Sales, Marketing and Distribution for American Public Media. "The show's mantra has been 'business news for the rest of us,' which meshes perfectly with the goal of educating young people about economics. The use of digital audio, and the latest-breaking economics and business news will help to make the course interactive, engaging and fun.î

For more information on the Marketplace^® Audio CD and Activities Book, including samples of the audio segments and activities, see the description of EMCís Economics: New Ways of Thinking at www.emcp.com.

About Marketplace
Marketplace is a portfolio of programs that includes the Marketplace weekday afternoon program, the weekday Marketplace Morning Report and Marketplace Money, an hour-long weekend program focusing on personal finance. The programs are heard each week by approximately eight million listeners according to Arbitron estimates.

In its 18th year, Los Angelesñbased Marketplace has won numerous awards, including an Alfred I. duPontñColumbia University Award and a George Foster Peabody Award. Marketplace segments revolve around money and business, people, local economies and the world, with the signature Marketplace sound and wit. Marketplace desks include Entrepreneurship; Sustainability; Innovation in Raleigh, N.C., in partnership with WUNC; Work and Family; Health in partnership with WGBH in Boston; and the Americaís Desk in Miami, Fla., in partnership with WLRN. Marketplace also has bureaus in New York, Washington, D.C., London and Beijing.

American Public Media^™ is the nation's second-biggest producer of public radio programs, reaching 14.2 million listeners nationwide each week. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion,^® Weekend America,^® Saint Paul Sunday,^® Marketplace,^® Marketplace 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.org.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
Spring 2005/Fall 2005 average

POWER TRIPS: CONGRESSIONAL STAFFERS SHARE THE ROAD

Contact: Brad Robideau
American Public Media
651-290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org

POWER TRIPS: CONGRESSIONAL STAFFERS SHARE THE ROAD

REPORT FINDS CONGRESS AND STAFF TOOK NEARLY 23,000 PRIVATELY SPONSORED TRIPS WORTH ALMOST $50 MILLION

(Washington, DC) June 5, 2006-A new study of more than 25,000 public documents reveals that members of Congress are not alone in taking millions of dollars worth of privately funded trips. Lawmakers and their aides took nearly 23,000 privately sponsored trips to places from Kansas to Kazakhstan, at a cost of almost $50 million, according to a new study by American Public Media programs Marketplace and American RadioWorks, Northwestern University's Medill News Service, and the Center for Public Integrity.

"Power Trips: Congressional Staffers Share the Road" is the result of a year-long investigation by American Public Media reporters, Northwestern University Medill School graduate students and Center for Public Integrity staffers who analyzed 25,000 travel documents from January 2000 to June 2005, filed not only by Congress members but also by their staffs. The study is a follow-up to the widely cited "Power Trips: Congress Hits the Road," an investigation of privately sponsored travel by Congress members released two years ago by American Public Media and Northwestern University's Medill School.

In looking at travel by both members of Congress and their staffers, the new "Power Trips" study finds that the lion's share of the nearly $50 million spent on trips by private sponsors was enjoyed by congressional aides, the powerful Beltway gatekeepers to Congress members who special interests want to reach. Like their bosses, the study also found, staffers repeatedly ignored travel disclosure requirements and House and Senate rules.

Among the major findings, American Public Media, the Center for Public Integrity, and Medill News Service report that:

• Many privately funded trips taken by Congress were sponsored by corporations, trade associations and nonprofit groups with business interests on Capitol Hill.
• Often, the travel amounted to pricey jaunts to some of the world's best-known vacation destinations. From January 2000 through June 2005, congressional travelers took at least 200 trips to Paris, 150 to Hawaii, and 140 to Italy.
• Disclosure forms also show that at least 500 trips cost $10,000 or more, 16 cost $25,000 or more, and the cost of one exceeded $30,000. There were $500-a-night hotel rooms, $25,000 corporate jet rides and other extravagant perks.

Both Democrats and Republicans took advantage of privately funded travel. Of the two dozen congressional offices that accepted the most trips, 15 were occupied by Republicans. Of the 25 individual lawmakers who accepted more than $120,000 worth of travel during the study period, 17 were Democrats.

"Power Trips: Congressional Staffers Share the Road" includes a series of radio broadcasts and a Web site produced and distributed by American Public Media's Marketplace daily business and economics news program and its national documentary unit, American RadioWorks, that begin today on Marketplace Morning Report and Marketplace; a series of more than 30 Medill News Service newspaper articles and website reports; and a package of investigative stories and interactive features at the Center for Public Integrity's website.

For more information, please visit the following URLs:
www.americanradioworks.org/power
www.publicintegrity.org
www.medillnewsdc.com/power_trips/

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Medill News Service is a print, broadcast and Web news service with offices in Washington, D.C. and Chicago that serve more than 50 newspapers, Web sites and TV and radio stations across the country. Staffed by students from Northwestern University's Medill School, it provides breaking and in-depth news coverage on politics, civil rights, education, energy and other issues.

The Center for Public Integrity produces original, responsible investigative journalism to make institutional power more transparent and accountable. The Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Washington, D.C.

American Public Mediaô is the nation's second-biggest producer of public radio programs, reaching 14.2 million listeners nationwide each week. National programs include A Prairie Home CompanionÆ, Weekend AmericaÆ, Saint Paul SundayÆ, MarketplaceÆ, Marketplace MoneyÆ, The Splendid TableÆ, BeingÆ and special reports produced by its national documentary unit, American RadioWorksÆ. American Public Media is the national production and distribution division of Minnesota Public RadioÆ. 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.org.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.Spring 2005/Fall 2005 average

American Public Media™ Launches Word for Word™ June 2

Contact: Brad Robideau
American Public Media
651-290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org

American Public Media^™ Launches Word for Word^™ June 2

High-Caliber Public Affairs Programming Offered to Public Radio Stations at No Charge; Includes Exclusive Audio Broadcasts of National Press Club Speeches

(St. Paul, Minn.) June 2, 2006—American Public Media today announced the debut of Word for Word, a new weekly public radio program that carefully selects and distributes the nation's best speeches on topics timely and relevant to current events. Produced and distributed by American Public Media, and hosted by well-known public radio talent Melinda Penkava, Word for Word is a one-hour program that draws its content from speeches at the National Press Club, the Chautauqua Institution, the Aspen Institute and other notable institutions.

"In a world of sound bites, speeches fill an important need in public affairs programming by offering a unique forum to hear influential and insightful thinkers uninterrupted," said Bill Buzenberg, senior vice president, News, American Public Media, and executive producer of Word for Word. "American Public Media believes strongly in Word for Word as a public service, and we are pleased to offer this program to public radio stations across the country at no charge."

"We've had many radio stations tell us that combining the nation's best speeches into a series is of great value to their audiences," said Tim Roesler, senior vice president for Sales, Marketing and Distribution for Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media. "Word for Word is another example of American Public Media responding to public radio listener interests and providing listeners with the highest-quality programs."

Word for Word is hosted by public radio veteran Melinda Penkava. She has worked in public radio since 1991, first at WUNC in Chapel Hill and later at National Public Radio, where she was a newscaster, reporter and hosted programs such as Talk of the Nation. In recent years, she hosted WUNC's daily interview and talk program, The State of Things.

More information on Word for Word is available on the program's Web site at www.wordforword.org.

American Public Media^™ is the nation's second-biggest producer of public radio programs, reaching 14.2 million listeners nationwide each week. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion,^® Weekend America,^® Saint Paul Sunday,^® Marketplace,^® Marketplace 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.org.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
Spring 2005/Fall 2005 average

Media Advisory: Investigative Report to be Released June 5: Private Sponsors Spend Millions to Send Congress and Staff around World

Contact: Brad Robideau
American Public Media
651-290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org

Media Advisory

Investigative Report to be Released June 5: Private Sponsors Spend Millions to Send Congress and Staff around World

Trips Paid for by Organizations with Legislative Interests on Capitol Hill

WHO: Wendell Rawls, executive director, Center for Public Integrity;
Ellen Shearer, assistant dean, Northwestern University's Medill School, and Co-director, Medill News Service;
Chris Farrell, economics correspondent, American Public Media's Marketplace and American RadioWorks
(Others will be available for question and answer session)

WHAT: On Monday, June 5, American Public Media's Marketplace and American RadioWorks, Northwestern University's Medill School and the Center for Public Integrity will launch "Power Trips," an extensive investigation of privately sponsored travel by members of Congress and their aides. The findings — based on an analysis of more than 25,000 travel disclosure documents — will reveal that Congress and staff took thousands of trips, worth millions of dollars, to destinations around globe.

WHEN: Monday, June 5, 2006, 11 a.m. EST

WHERE: Jack Morton Auditorium, George Washington University, 805 21st Street, NW, Washington D.C.

A live streaming video feed of the press conference can be found at www.publicintegrity.org

• Wireless Internet connection will be provided for those who wish to file, blog or post directly from the press conference
• Coffee and other refreshments will be provided
• Camera crews are encouraged to set up one hour prior to the news conference

For special accommodations or further information, contact Sam Stein at (202) 481-1225 or at sstein@publicintegrity.org.

American Public Media^™ is the nation's second-biggest producer of public radio programs, reaching 14.2 million listeners nationwide each week. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion,^® Weekend America,^® Saint Paul Sunday,^® Marketplace,^® Marketplace 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.org.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
Spring 2005/Fall 2005 average

Gayle Ober Named Director of Classical Music Programming for American Public Media's and Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Services

Contact: Brad Robideau
American Public Media
651-290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org

Gayle Ober Named Director of Classical Music Programming for American Public Media's and Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Services

(St. Paul, Minn.) — May 8, 2006 — Gayle Ober has been named director of classical music programming for American Public Media's national and Minnesota Public Radio's regional classical music programming, effective early June.

In this role, Ober will be responsible for directing and managing Minnesota Public Radio's 18-station regional classical music network and Classical 24, the award-winning, nationally syndicated classical music service dedicated to live classical music programming 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Classical 24 is produced by American Public Media and distributed by Public Radio International, reaching over 2 million listeners per week. Ober will also lead the production of other American Public Media programs, including Saint Paul Sunday and Pipedreams.

"Gayle is an energetic and persuasive champion for classical music. Her background in music performance, music education, and cultural policy will be tremendous assets to Minnesota Public Radio. We are thrilled to have a leader of Gayle's experience and perspective in this newly created role," said Sarah Lutman, senior vice president of content and media at Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media.

Previously, Ober served as St. Paul's director of arts, culture and entertainment under former Mayor Randy Kelly. In this role, she advised Mayor Kelly on general arts and cultural policy, as well as beginning the implementation of the city's Arts, Culture and Entertainment Plan. Prior to joining Mayor Kelly's staff, Ober was the executive director of The Dale Warland Singers, a 40-voice professional chorus directed by founder and music director Dale Warland.

"Minnesota Public Radio is a powerful voice for classical music," said Ober. "The quality of the programming and the sheer knowledge of the announcers make for wonderful daily listening. Classical music is where my heart and soul live, and I can't think of a better way to express that passion than to join the classical music team at Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media."

Ober is vice president of the Mardag Foundation, a private charitable foundation located in St. Paul, and has served on the boards of other nonprofit and music organizations. A freelance vocal soloist, she sang with the Minnesota Chorale for 10 years.

Ober has a degree in music from the University of Minnesota and is completing a master's degree in nonprofit management from Hamline University.

Tim Roelsler Promoted to Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing and Distribution for Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media

CONTACT: Christina Schmitt, American Public Media
651-290-1449
cschmitt@americanpublicmedia.org

Tim Roelsler Promoted to Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing and Distribution for Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media

(St. Paul, Minn.) — April 27, 2006 — Tim Roesler, Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media's senior vice president for Sales and Program Distribution, has been promoted to Senior Vice President of the newly created Sales, Marketing and Distribution division.

In this new position, Roesler will provide leadership for Minnesota Public Radio and its national production and distribution arm, American Public Media, in the areas of Distribution, Underwriting Sales and Marketing, along with related organizations such as Southern California Public Radio.

Roesler has more than 20 years of experience in broadcasting. He spent eight years at CBS Radio in San Francisco, where he served as national sales manager and then general sales manager. He was general sales manager at Chancellor Media (AM FM/Clear Channel) in Minneapolis, and most recently worked as the director of regional sales at Internet Broadcasting Systems, a Minneapolis company that builds and manages Web sites for TV stations. Roesler joined Minnesota Public Radio in August 2001.

Roesler's broadcasting experience also includes his work as vice president/general manager of KDON-KZXR FM-AM in Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz, Calif., and as national/regional sales manager of KFAB/KGOR AM-FM in Omaha, Neb. He was television coordinator and journalism instructor at Creighton University in Omaha, and was the promotion manager of Fetzer Broadcasting Company's KMEG-TV, the CBS TV affiliate in Sioux City, Iowa. Roesler holds an M.A. in Telecommunications (management and policy) from Michigan State University and a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Nebraska.

Minnesota Public Radio® operates a 37-station radio network serving virtually all of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states and produces programming for radio, Internet and face-to-face audiences. Programs produced by Minnesota Public Radio and its national production and distribution arm, American Public Media™, reach 14.1 million listeners nationwide each week. Of those, more than 769,000 listen regionally, in Minnesota and surrounding states. With nearly 88,000 members, Minnesota Public Radio has the highest percentage of listener membership of any community-supported public radio network in the United States. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.mpr.org and www.americanpublicmedia.org.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only. Spring 2005

American Public Media™ and Minnesota Public Radio® Create the Center for Innovation in Journalism at American Public Media

American Public Media™ and Minnesota Public Radio® Create the Center for Innovation in Journalism at American Public Media

Will Share Innovative Public Insight Journalism® Model with Other Newsrooms

(St. Paul, Minn.) April 26, 2006 — Minnesota Public Radio and its national production and distribution arm, American Public Media, today announced the creation of the Center for Innovation in Journalism at American Public Media. The Center's purpose will be to continue to develop and share the highly successful Public Insight Journalism model. Public Insight Journalism uses a new approach and process to draw knowledge from an informed audience and assist reporters and editors in strengthening their ability to cover complex, newsworthy subject matter. Public radio stations across the country, along with several commercial news organizations, have already expressed interest in applying the Public Insight Journalism model in their newsrooms.

Over the past three years, Minnesota Public Radio has built the practices and software behind Public Insight Journalism and tested them for its regional coverage in the largest public radio station-based newsroom in the country. The centerpiece of Public Insight Journalism is the Public Insight Network — a group of thousands of informed Minnesotans who have agreed to help Minnesota Public Radio understand issues to assist MPR in covering the news.

"We have found that working with the audience can reinvigorate journalism, open the newsroom to more diversity than we could ever achieve through hiring alone, and break the media's over-reliance on officials and expert spokespeople who try to manage the press," said Michael Skoler, managing director, News, American Public Media and Minnesota Public Radio.

Public Insight Journalism is also being incorporated into American Public Media's national programs, including Marketplace Money,^® Weekend America,^® and documentary unit, American RadioWorks.^® These programs are drawing from citizens from all 50 states who have joined the national Public Insight Network.

One of the functions of the Center for Innovation in Journalism at American Public Media, along with operating public insight units in the Minnesota Public Radio newsroom and in American Public Media's Frank Stanton Studios in Los Angeles, will be continually advancing journalism innovation, including:

-- Building and testing new ways to engage the public and draw knowledge from citizens into news reporting
-- Serving as a training and support facility for local news organizations interested in adopting Public Insight Journalism, including training other news staff to be public insight analysts and giving them access to the tools and techniques of Public Insight Journalism
-- Providing a hub for convening journalists to discuss innovative approaches to covering major issues and journalism innovation in general

The Center will also maintain a national Public Insight Network to support shows that are regional or national in scope.

"Public Insight Journalism is the best opportunity that we see to reverse the national trend towards diminished depth and understanding in news programming that is sweeping the country due to a combination of media consolidation and declining economics for news media," said Bill Kling, president of Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media. "The knowledgeable audience that gathers around public radio knows more than we will ever know about any given topic and we are pleased that our experimentation has proven that they will share their expertise with us."

The Center for Innovation in Journalism at American Public Media will be led by Michael Skoler, managing director, News, American Public Media and Minnesota Public Radio, with senior leadership from Bill Buzenberg, senior vice president, News, American Public Media.

Initial support for the development of Public Insight Journalism has been provided by the Blandin Foundation, David B. Gold Foundation, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, JL Foundation, The John Larsen Foundation, The Kendeda Sustainability Fund of the Tides Foundation, McCormick Tribune Foundation, NASD Investor Education Foundation, and Minnesota Public Radio's Next Standard capital campaign.

"The McCormick Tribune Foundation has been impressed with the development of Public Insight Journalism, and its potential for changing the way newsrooms do their work," said Clark Bell, director of the Journalism Program at the McCormick Tribune Foundation. "We're also excited about the development of the Center for Innovation in Journalism at American Public Media, since it takes the changing media landscape into consideration to educate journalists on how to best tap their audience's experience through technology."

Additional information about Public Insight Journalism can be found at http://minnesota.publicradio.org/publicinsightjournalism/.

Minnesota Public Radio^® operates a 37-station radio network serving virtually all of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states and produces programming for radio, Internet and face-to-face audiences. Programs produced by Minnesota Public Radio and its national production and distribution arm, American Public Media,^™ reach 14.2 million listeners nationwide each week. Of these, more than 780,000 listen regionally and in surrounding states. With nearly 90,000 members, Minnesota Public Radio has the highest percentage of listener membership of any community-supported public radio network in the United States. American Public Media is the largest station-based producer of public radio programs nationally, with a portfolio including A Prairie Home Companion,^® Weekend America,^® Saint Paul Sunday,^® Marketplace,^® Marketplace 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, is part of 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 on www.mpr.org and www.americanpublicmedia.org.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.Spring 2005/Fall 2005 average