Public Radio International Biography

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Biography Public Radio International

Public Radio International (PRI) is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, and London. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources.

Background

PRI distributes such well-known programming as This American Life and the BBC World Service. Among its many high-profile programs is the award-winning global news program The World, which PRI co-produces with the BBC and WGBH Boston. Programs on PRI - sometimes mis-attributed to National Public Radio - are produced by a variety of organizations in the United States and other countries. PRI, along with NPR and American Public Media, is one of the largest program producers and distributors of public radio programming in the United States. According to their website, "the mission of Public Radio International is to engage listeners with distinctive programming that provides information, insights, and cultural experiences essential to understanding a diverse, interdependent world." As a result, PRI's focus on global news/journalism and cultural perspectives programming forms a key point of differentiation from its competitors, both within and outside public broadcasting.

PRI distributes over 400 hours of programming each week. Approximately 740 radio station affiliates and other audio venues broadcast PRI programs or stream them online. According to the 2002 Arbitron ratings, 15.2 million people listen to PRI programming each week. Although many public radio stations broadcast shows distributed by both by PRI and NPR, the two are distinct and competing entities.

PRI's programs have won numerous awards for quality and innovation, including the DuPont-Columbia Award, Scripps Howard Award for Excellence in Electronic Media/Radio, George M. Foster Peabody Award,, Golden Reel Award and the Gabriel Award.http://home.catholicweb.com/GabrielAwards/files/2007_Gabriels/RADIO_WEB.doc.

PRI programs are distributed through North America on satellite radio. PRI had its own 24-hour channel on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 136, which was discontinued in September 2006. As a response, XM Radio added more PRI programming to its own public radio channel, XM Public Radio. PRI pursues its satellite radio strategy in concert with other public radio stations. In 2002, PRI formed American Public Radio, in partnership with Chicago Public Radio, in order to better pursue strategies within the satellite radio realm. Not long after, WGBH Boston joined the partnership. WNYC New York joined about a year later.

PRI programs are also available via podcast from Itunes, PRI program sites, and at Public Radio International. PRI's podcasts consistently rate in the iTunes top 100, including This American Life, Selected Shorts, The World's Technology Podcast, the Sound of Young America and Studio 360. PRI was one of the first radio podcasters in the United States, when its program The World launched its popular technology podcast on February 11, 2005, hosted by Clark Boyd. For more, see History of Podcasting.

PRI programming receives funding from station fees, corporate underwriting, and individual and corporate grants. Less than 2% of the overall operating budget comes from United States government agencies.

PRI recognizes as its core principles:

the central role played by diversity in our nation's past and its importance to our future;
the urgent need to understand connections between American life and cultures around the globe;
the responsibility of public media to encourage the exchange of ideas and search for common principles fundamental to a civil society; and
the power of sound and of the spoken word to engage the mind and nurture the human spirit.

History

PRI was founded in 1983 as American Public Radio to provide diverse voices and an alternative to NPR for public radio program distribution. Four stations established American Public Radio: Minnesota Public Radio, WGBH Boston, WNYC New York, and KUSC Los Angeles. The corporation changed its name to Public Radio International in 1994 to reflect its growing interest and involvement in international audio publishing, as typified by its many collaborations with the BBC.

In the mid 1990s, PRI began producing programming in addition to distributing programming. This important evolution in the company began with PRI's The World, a co-production between PRI, the BBC World Service, and WGBH Boston. This daily global news program was one of the first news-oriented co-productions of the BBC World Service anywhere. The launch of the weekend program, Studio 360, a co-production between PRI and WNYC New York (featuring Kurt Andersen), followed in early 2001. Studio 360 strives to "get inside the creative mind" each week as it surveys the best in film, arts, design, entertainment, and culture.

Program launches

The year 2007 has seen numerous program launches, new talents, announcements and acquisitions.

In January 2007, PRI launched Fair Game, "the strange love child between the Daily Show and Morning Edition." This was the organization's first new production since Studio 360. Fair Game uses humor as a lens to put the days events in perspective, and features stand-up comedian - and Rhodes scholar - Faith Salie.

Also in January 2007, PRI announced its acquisition of WireTap from the CBC for distribution in the United States. According to PRI's press release, WireTap is a weekly program of intimate and often hilarious telephone conversations between celebrated writer Jonathan Goldstein, and people with real or imagined stories to tell.

In March 2007, PRI announced its intention to co-produce a new morning program, involving WNYC New York, WGBH Boston, the BBC World Service, and the New York Times Radio. The goals of the program are to provide choice in public radio mornings and to foster the growth of public radio audiences. This program will begin piloting the fall of 2007, and will launch nationally in winter 2007.

In June 2007, the company announced another distribution partnership, this time with The Sound of Young America, featuring Jesse Thorn. The press release stated, "The Sound of Young America is an irreverent weekly arts and entertainment interview program, described by its creator as 'a public radio show about things that are awesome.'"

In September, PRI and Symphony Space of New York City announced that PRI would become the national distribution partner of Selected Shorts, which had previously been distributed by National Public Radio. The press release said, "The best public radio features compelling storytelling. Selected Shorts is an excellent example of how the human voice can engage listeners and take them to another place... PRI looks forward to partnering with Selected Shorts to chart an exciting new future for this kind of storytelling in public media."

Public Radio, PRI and NPR

Public radio is a generic term for radio stations or programming not funded by advertising. It is the opposite of commercial radio, the funding setup for most radio stations in the United States. PRI and NPR are the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the United States, and they compete with each other for slots on public radio stations and the attention of listeners. Any given public radio station may be simultaneously both an NPR member and an affiliate of PRI. PRI is a not-for-profit organization that has an independent governing board with an independent board of directors. NPR is a membership organization; its board is comprised of public radio stations which run for seats on the board.

PRI is a younger organization than NPR, and focuses on pushing the sound of public radio forward through edgier programming strategies. (NPR was founded in 1970, 13 years before the founding of PRI.) Many PRI shows draw a younger overall audience than shows produced by NPR. Some listeners and critics believe that PRI programs feature a wider range of voices than NPR programs.

In recent years, there have been changes among distributors of numerous programs. Some programs that were formerly distributed by PRI, such as A Prairie Home Companion, Marketplace, and American Routes are now distributed by American Public Media. In addition, PRI distributed World Cafe for many years, but in 2005, the show's distribution was switched to NPR. At the same time, PRI has also picked up the distribution of programs originally distributed by NPR, including Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?, and, in 2006, Living on Earth - public radio's leading news and information program focused on the environment. In September 2007, PRI picked up national distribution of Selected Shorts.

Programming

America Abroad: host, Ray Suarez, from America Abroad Media
Afropop Worldwide: host, Georges Collinet, from World Music Productions
Ask Dr. Science: host, Dan Coffey; from Duck?s Breath Mystery Theater
BBC World Service (Newshour, World Have Your Say, World Update); from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
BBC Mundo from the BBC
Bob Edwards Weekend: host, Bob Edwards; by compiled from the XM Satellite Radio program The Bob Edwards Show
Capitol News Connection with PRI: host, Melinda Wittstock; from Pundit Productions
Classical 24 from PRI and American Public Media
Echoes: host, John Diliberto;
Fair Game: host, Faith Salie; from PRI
Here and Now: host, Robin Young; from WBUR
Jazz After Hours: host, Jim Wilke from KPLU
Living on Earth: host, Steve Curwood;
Michael Feldman?s Whad?Ya Know?: host, Michael Feldman; from Wisconsin Public Radio
Mountain Stage: host, Larry Groce; from West Virginia Public Radio
Music from Chautauqua: host, Ed Simone; from WNED-FM
National Native News: host, Antonia Gonzales; from Koahnic Broadcast Corporation
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra: host, Jim Cunningham; from WQED-FM
The Record Shelf: host, Jim Svejda; from USC Radio
Riverwalk Jazz: hosts: David Holt and Jim Cullum; from Pacific Vista Productions and Texas Public Radio
Selected Shorts: host, Isaiah Sheffer ; from Symphony Space
Sound & Spirit: host, Ellen Kushner; from WGBH Boston and PRI
The Sound of Young America: host, Jesse Thorn; from MaximumFun.org
Sounds Eclectic: host, Nic Harcourt; from KCRW
Spoleto Chamber Music Series: host, Charles Wadsworth; from the South Carolina Educational Radio Network
Studio 360: host, Kurt Andersen; from PRI and WNYC
This American Life: host, Ira Glass; from Chicago Public Radio
To the Best of Our Knowledge: host, Jim Fleming; from Wisconsin Public Radio
To the Point: host, Warren Olney; from KCRW and PRI
The World: host, Lisa Mullins from PRI, BBC World Service, and WGBH
World Have Your Say: hosts, Ros Atkins, Rabiya Limbada, Peter Dobbie; from BBC World Service
Wiretap: host, Jonathan Goldstein; from the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC)
Zorba Paster On Your Health: host, Zorba Paster, M.D., and Tom Clark; from the Wisconsin Public Radio
Numerous special series, including Crossing East[1]