Minnesota Public Radio ( MPR ), is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With three services, News & amp; Information, Classical Music and Flow, the MPR operates a 44-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest serving over 9 million people. The MPR has 127,150 members and more than one million listeners each week, the largest audiences of any regional public radio network.
Minnesota Public Radio has won over 875 journalism awards, including the Peabody Awards, both RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award and Company for Public Broadcast Award of the same name, and Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University's Gold Baton Award.
Minnesota Public Radio, operating as American Public Media, is the second largest producer and distributor of a nationwide public radio program, reaching 18 million listeners nationwide each week. It is the largest producer and distributor of classical music programs in the country.
Minnesota Public Radio's 1,058-seat Fitzgerald Theater and 100-seat UBS Forum provides a place for long-distance live broadcasts, discussion forums, political debates, cultural programming and more.
As of September 2011, the MPR is equivalent to WNYC for most listeners' support for public radio networks, and has the highest monthly donor level of any public radio network in the United States.
Video Minnesota Public Radio
History
Minnesota Public Radio began on January 22, 1967, when KSJR signed a contract from the Saint John University campus in Collegeville, just outside St. Louis. Cloud. Colman Barry, then president of Saint John's, sees promise in the relatively new FM radio technology, and believes that radio is an appropriate extension of Saint John's culture and art to the wider community. He hired a 23 year old graduate from St. John, William H. Kling, as director of broadcasting.
It soon became clear that St. Cloud and surrounding Stearns County did not have enough listeners for the station to be worthy, so Kling more than tripled the power of KSJR in the hope of reaching Twin Cities. However, it only provides class B coverage to Minneapolis and the western part of the metro, and really miss St. Paul and east. Realizing that the station needs to cover the Twin Cities to have a real chance of survival, St. John's signed the KSJN, a low-powered repeater station for the Twin Cities, in 1968. However, the operation was still full of debt. In 1969, St. John realized that over his head operated a complete non-commercial radio station. With Barry's support, Saint John's transferred KSJR/KSJN assets to a community company, St John's University Broadcasting. The company was later renamed Minnesota Educational Radio, and finally Minnesota Public Radio. Kling chaired the MPR as president and CEO for 44 years, before retiring in 2011.
The MPR was a member of the National Public Radio charter in 1971, and had helped lay the foundation for the establishment of the organization during 1969 and 1970. In 1971, the network moved its operations from Collegeville to St. Paul, funded in part by a news program "demonstration" grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The new studio was built and KSJN became the main station. During the 1970s, additional stations were added and networks expanded throughout Minnesota. It was during this period that the KSJN news department won numerous regional and national awards and became one of the most highly respected news operations in the region.
In 1974, the MPR started live broadcast from Garrison Keillor A Prairie Home Companion , one of the most famous public radio programs, from the Park Square Theater in Saint Paul. In the early days of the program, production staff were said to have to work hard to fill theater seats, sometimes carrying radio station staff and urging people to come to the theater from the street outside. In 1980, the MPR started a Peabody Award winning event, Saint Paul Sunday , which became national through syndication in 1981.
The MPR assists in the establishment of American Public Radio (now known as Public Radio International) in 1983.
Initially, the MPR played a mixture of classical music and NPR news/talk programs. However, as NPR expanded its offer, Kling made plans to divide the MPR into a classic network and separate news/talk. The MPR sought to buy the second FM frequency in Twin Cities since the late 1970s and beyond. As a fallback, in 1980, he bought WLOL (AM 1330), one of Minnesota's oldest stations, and changed his call to KSJN (AM), a KSJN-FM simulcast. In 1989, AM 1330 changed its call to KNOW and began broadcasting an expanded NPR programming lineup. In 1991, MPR bought WLOL-FM, a former FM AM 1330 sister, which enabled her to eventually divide her services into two networks. The KNOW call letter and intellectual unit, including NPR news and talk format, moved to the old KSJN frequency of 91.1. The KSJN call moved to the former WLOL-FM frequency of 99.5, which began playing full time classical music.
MPR acquired Marketplace Productions, which produced Marketplace Morning Report and Marketplace Money from Los Angeles studios, in collaboration with University of Southern California, in 2000. In the same year, the MPR founded Southern California Public Radio, which entered into a public service operation agreement with Pasadena City College for the operation of KPCC in Pasadena, California.
In 2004, the MPR announced it would buy WCAL (89.3 FM), a classical music station operated by St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. The WCAL (and repeater station, KMSE in Rochester), was sold under a $ 10.5 million deal approved by the Federal Communications Commission in 2004. The following year, after the MPR acquisition, WCAL changed its summons to KCMP and changed into a third MPR, "The Current".
In 2008, WCAL advocacy group brought St. Olaf College to court for violating trust to sell radio stations. (Judge opinion in June 2008 described the station as a charity trust and not a college right to be free to be thrown away. [1])) The MPR General Advisor and three lawyers took part in the trial. [2])
Today, the MPR serves a regional audience of one million listeners through 43 stations presenting three broadcast network services.
Maps Minnesota Public Radio
Services
With the addition of later stations, the MPR initially offered a mix of classical music and NPR news/talk programs on one service. Beginning in 1991, MPR programming split into two, forming separate news and classical music services (though one station in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan still carries a combination of the two services). The acquisition of WCAL 2005 in Northfield, Minnesota, which includes Minneapolis-St. Paul and the Rochester area, providing an opportunity to launch another music service, "The Current". This third service is gradually extended to most of southern Minnesota. About Flow
MPR News
The MPR news and information service, derived from KNOW-FM (91.1 FM) in Twin Cities, includes a mix of locally produced and national/international shows.
The MPR newsroom has gained international recognition, which recently received the Knight News Innovation EPpy Award in 2008. The MPR newsroom is known as the Public Insight Network, a database of citizens' resources that contribute their expertise on a wide range of topics. The Public Insight Network grew to 140,000 sources in 2011 and partnered with other news media, journalism schools, foundations, and community groups.
Until 2011, 49 transmitters brought the MPR News and Information service.
MPRNews.org is a nonprofit website maintained by the MPR. This online news source covers issues affecting countries including politics, business, education, health, the environment, and the economy. MPR News offers news headlines, videos, blogs, audio and lots of ways for readers to get involved in the news-making process.
Classic MPR
Like its news services and information, the classic MPR music service comes from KSJN (99.5 FM) in Twin Cities. The classical music library of the MPR consists of more than 50,000 compact discs.
The classic MPR music service features several online initiatives, such as "Classical Love Note," which allows listeners to send classical romantic music chosen by the MPR host to their loved ones.
In the spring of 2011, MPR classical music services reach more than 382,000 listeners every week.
There are 36 transmitters that broadcast classical music services, including one station in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Stream
The third MPR service, 89.3 The Current, debuted on January 24, 2005, and aired an adult album alternative format.
Some people in the early staff of The Current are notorious in the area for previous jobs at stations highlighting music from Minnesota and Upper Midwest. Many of the staff and figures in the air come from other similar stations, such as the University of Minnesota KUOM, the community-oriented KFAI, and the alternative commercial REV 105 and Cincinnati, Ohio's OHO shops.
Programming on Currents is mostly locally produced. This current is carried out on seven transmitters, serving the majority of the inhabitants of the state. The main transmitter is KCMP (89.3 FM), licensed to Northfield on the southeastern outskirts of Twin Cities, although the signal covers most of the metro area. A low power station, KMSE (88.7 FM), serves Rochester and southeastern Minnesota, and KCMP translators serve Hinckley and Mankato. In addition, the station is broadcast on HD radio radio channels to KNSR listeners in St. Petersburg. Cloud and KPCC in Los Angeles. Flow also flows online in various formats.
Additional services
Minnesota Public Radio also programmed several other music services, all available online, with some offered on HD Radio in the Twin Cities area.
Local Current is a service programmed by The Current staff, and features music from Minnesota artists. The locale currently broadcasts on the HD2 sub-channel from KCMP and via a separate web stream.
Wonderground Radio is also programmed by personnel at The Current, and shows their variations of AAA format, with music intended for children and parents. Wonderground Radio airs through a separate web stream.
Heartland Radio features an eclectic mix of acoustic music, Americana, and roots. This service can be found on the HD2 sub-channels of KNOW-FM and also via a separate webcast. KNOW-FM also has HD3 sub-channels composed of programming from BBC World Service and repeated views of NPR events.
The Subsidiary's Communications Authority (SCA's) is used to deliver a version of the Minnesota Talking Book Network version to a state-of-the-art flawed listener, in collaboration with Minnesota State Services for the Blind. The MPR also serves as the radio backbone for radio parts of the State Emergency Broadcasting System, and as the backbone for the AMBER State Warning System.
There are plans to add digital HD Radio systems in all MPR transmitters. Custom recipients are required to decode this broadcast. They will activate the main channel at any frequency that will be broadcasted with digital quality and to reduce the multipath interference that sometimes affects analog FM broadcasting. This step will also allow the addition of digital channels.
Program
Funding
Minnesota Public Radio is a non-profit organization, 501 (c) (3) and relies on contributions from listeners, foundations, education partners, and companies for general operations. It also receives support through underwriting in the air and on the Web.
The contribution of listeners, corporations, foundations, and education partners accounts for about 60 percent of the total MPR budget. Additional funds are provided by Corporations for Public Broadcasting. The State of Minnesota provides a modest capital grant to upgrade infrastructure and equipment in greater Minnesota, but does not provide operational funding for the organization. The MPR also received funding operations through the sale of underwriting on-air and online.
Rivertown Trading Company, formerly a holding subsidiary of the MPR, was sold in 1998 for $ 124 million. Profits flow towards the creation of the endowment of the MPR, a percentage that contributes to the overall annual budget of the MPR.
Broadcast coverage
Minnesota Public Radio broadcasts on 44 stations serving Minnesota and its neighbors community as well as 42 translators providing additional local coverage. The stations are located in Minnesota, Wisconsin (La Crosse), South Dakota (Sioux Falls), Michigan (Houghton), Iowa (Decorah), and Idaho (Sun Valley). The MPR also operates KPCC in Pasadena, California.
Most of the area is served by classical music stations and news and information stations. One location is covered by one station that combines the two services. Two locations are served by classical music stations, news and information stations, and The Current.
The latest MPR service, The Current, is available in Austin, Hinckley, Mankato, Twin Cities, New Ulm, Rochester, St. Cloud (Collegeville) and St. Peter.
Minnesota Public Radio also broadcasts its three services - News, Classics and Streams - on HD Radio in some communities across the state of Minnesota. In Twin Cities, multicast MPR "24 Classics", BBC News and Local Flow, and "Wonderground Radio", a service specifically for children.
See also
- American Public Media
- Saint Paul Sunday
- Journal of Public Insights (newsgathering and networking initiatives established by the MPR)
- Independent Public Radio (another public radio network in Minnesota, also known as AMPERS)
References
External links
- Minnesota Public Radio Web Site, including station history and list
- The American Public Media website
- Terry Fiedler and Deborah Caulfield Rybak (October 24, 2004). The Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly sings its own song in creating a national power. Star Tribune . Retrieved 18 November 2004.
- MPRNewsQ - Online news service launched in 2009.
- More information on ALL stations owned by Minnesota Public Radio can be found by visiting this FCC web page, scroll down to the "Applicant Name" field, enter "Minnesota Public Radio", hit " Submit Application Search ", and continue past" Application Search Warning ".
- More information about the SPECIAL station can be found by going to this FCC Query Database web page.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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