Station Checklist

Check the list below to see if you are your using everything that's available.

Check the DACS (Direct Access Communication System)! A Prairie Home Companion sends its weekly update via DACS on Tuesdays. (The Writer's Almanac sends its DACS every Thursday.) Tell us if you don't have access to the DACS, or if you prefer to receive updates by e-mail. We'll then e-mail our information to you each week. (Contact: Alan Frechtman at afrechtman@mpr.org)

Answers to listener questions

Minnesota Public Radio has a special toll-free number (800-228-7123) for all listener questions. We also have an e-mail address (phc@mpr.org) and a Web site filled with information (prairiehome.org).

Rebroadcasts
Each station is able to rebroadcast A Prairie Home Companion one time, free of charge before the next live broadcast. Many stations have found that a Sunday repeat has doubled their APHC listeners and fundraising dollars.

The Writer's Almanac
Any station that carries A Prairie Home Companion can carry The Writer's Almanac free of charge. Schedule it during drive-time: Commuters tell us that this five-minute program is a perfect start or end to the workday.

Fundraisers
A Prairie Home Companion has many fundraising options available to stations. First, we produce both a fall and a spring fundraising program. (There is also an optional trip giveaway that accompanies the fall fundraising edition.) Many premiums for your membership drives are available from VisAbility and HighBridge.

We also encourage fundraising around the live broadcast and provide projected rundowns with timings to stations that request them in advance of any Saturday program. (Please call by noon on Thursdays, because staff may be in the theater and away from voice mail on Friday and Saturday. Contact Alan Frechtman at 651-290-1397 or afrechtman@mpr.org.) We provide a short weekly show excerpt with the PRI Promo Reel every Tuesday. You can use it to promote the show, or during fundraising breaks to extend any regular two-hour program.

If we've toured to your city, sometime within the past three years, and you would like to use that particular show for fundraising purposes, call us in advance and we can try to send you a DAT dub of that show.

Promos
A Prairie Home Companion produces many weekly on-air promos.

The PRI Promo Reel, fed every Tuesday, contains a show promo specific to that Saturday's broadcast, and a show excerpt. The Tuesday DACS gives specifics with timings and cues.

Your own on-air talent can voice promos using the fresh script found in each Tuesday's DACS.

Garrison Keillor or APHC cast members can record customized tags to add to these promos. Please submit your requet by using the PRI Infosite at www.pri.org/infosite. You can also email your tag requests to Alan Frechtman at afrechtman@mpr.org. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery.

Publicity Materials
If you need more materials other than those provided in this kit, on the PRI Infosite, or on the Prairie Home home page (prairiehome.org), please call Alan Frechtman at 651-290-1397 or send e-mail to afrechtman@mpr.org. We're glad to help you promote APHC in your market with custom releases, TV produced spots (15-, 30-, and 60-second spots), and print ads for you to use in your program guide, local television, and local newspapers.

Photos: Color and black & white photos of Garrison Keillor and cast available, as well as several show photos and publicity shots of upcoming guests, are available for downloading on this site or from the PRI Infosite. If you don't have the capability to download photos, we can mail them to you. Contact Alan Frechtman at 651-290-1397.

Membership Premiums
A Prairie Home Companion membership premiums are available at wholesale prices through either VisAbility (t-shirts, caps, and tote bags, etc.) or HighBridge Company (audio and APHC books).

Premiums may be ordered from VisAbility online (visability.com), by e-mail (orders@visability.com), by phone (303-823-0327), or by fax (303-823-0332).

HighBridge Company accepts orders by e-mail (highbridgeaudio@rivertrade.com), by phone (651-637-4722), or by fax (651-659-4495).

Retail sales are now available to your listeners on line by clicking on the catalog icon on the Prairie Home home page (prairiehome.org).

Garrison Keillor is A Prairie Home Companion's executive producer. A Prairie Home Companion's national sponsors are Lands' End Direct Merchants and Select Comfort. The program is presented by Minnesota Public Radio and distributed by Public Radio International (PRI). It is not correct to say that APHC is heard on NPR: PRI and NPR are separate organizations.

The 2002-2003 season runs Oct. 5 through June 28, with 32 live broadcasts. About a dozen broadcasts are fed live from the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, MN, the home of A Prairie Home Companion.