Minnesota Public Radio
Acquires Marketplace Productions
April 14, 2000

Acquisition to Strengthen Both MPR and Marketplace; Part of MPR Long-Term Strategy to Develop More National Programming and to be a Model of Service for Public Radio

MPR Acquires Marketplace Productions

• MPR: An Overview

• MPR History

• MPR Commitment to Minnesota

• MPR National Program List

• Marketplace: An Overview

• Marketplace History

• Complete set of above documents in PDF format (Readable with the free Acrobat Reader.)

• MPR's National Program Data (PDF format)

• U.S. Map of MPR Programs (PDF format)

Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) announced today (Friday, April 14th) the acquisition of Marketplace Productions, the 11-year-old nonprofit producer of Marketplace, public radio's only national series about business, the global economy, and finance. Marketplace Productions, which is based at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, also produces Marketplace Morning Report, which airs five times each morning, and The Savvy Traveler, a weekly hour-long travel magazine. The programs are distributed to public radio stations nationwide by Public Radio International.

MPR's acquisition of Marketplace Productions from the University of Southern California is a joining of two very successful ventures in public radio: MPR produces more programs for national distribution than any other public radio station in the country, and Marketplace is public radio's most successful business news program, with a national audience of 2.5 million weekly listeners. According to MPR President Bill Kling, "This is a strategic partnership that will benefit all concerned, especially millions of public radio listeners."

"We decided it was time for Marketplace Productions to be in an environment where the production of national programming for public radio is the central mission of the organization," said Martha Harris, president of USC Radio and a vice president at USC. "MPR has the resources and expertise to invest in Marketplace Productions. We believe this will secure Marketplace Productions over the long term and better serve our international audience."

Marketplace was launched on January 2, 1989, in Long Beach, California. A year later, it moved to the University of Southern California, where it has remained for the past 10 years. USC provided a strong foundation on which to build the program, in much the same way that St. John's University incubated a fledgling MPR back in 1967.

	Marketplace GM Jim Russell

Marketplace has been called the best business show on radio or television by the Columbia Journalism Review, and was the winner of the 1998 duPont-Columbia Award for "Excellence in Overall Show." Last year, Marketplace Productions and USC initiated talks with MPR, concluding that the Marketplace mission of public radio was more closely aligned with an established media company like MPR than with a university. According to Jim Russell, General Manager for Marketplace Productions, "It is a testimony to USC's greatness that they encouraged Marketplace to expand by making this deal with MPR."

MPR's strategic relationship with Marketplace Productions is an example of public radio's role in the national trend of merging media forces. The focus of the MPR acquisition is to improve the journalistic quality of Marketplace Productions by strengthening personnel and adding new facilities and updated technology - consistent with public radio's overall mission to provide quality programming.

Marketplace's Russell says, "I am very pleased that Marketplace Productions has become part of Minnesota Public Radio. We have a great staff, and MPR's vision, journalistic experience, organizational ability, and financial strength will guarantee Marketplace's continued excellence and growth."

The new affiliation of Marketplace Productions is part of MPR's long-term strategy to develop more national programming, especially in the talent-rich Los Angeles market, and to be a model of service for public radio. Even before the addition of Marketplace Productions, MPR's national programs were heard by more than 5 million weekly listeners across seven time zones. This national audience was the largest of any station-based public radio producer. The acquisition of Marketplace Productions, and its three strong programs, which have an audience of 3.7 million, will increase MPR's unduplicated weekly national listenership to approximately 7.6 million people, excluding any overlapping audience.

	MPR President Bill Kling

Bill Kling says that MPR's strategic relationship with Marketplace Productions is a model of service for public radio across the country. "If public radio wants to continue to thrive and fulfill its mission of servicing an educated and well-informed citizenry, it must continue to expand its role as a leader in an ever-changing industry. We will continue to provide quality programming, and we will take full advantage of radio's profound power to enrich the lives of individuals and communities."

Marketplace is made possible by exclusive corporate underwriter GE "and its nearly 300,000 employees worldwide who believe that understanding the global economy is everyone's business."

And by Fannie Mae, "the company that helps put the dream of homeownership within reach for millions of American families."