MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO AMERICAN PUBLIC MEDIA annual report JULY 2014 TO JUNE 2015 Our mission is to enrich the mind and nourish the spirit, thereby enhancing the lives and expanding the perspectives of our audiences, and assisting them in strengthening their communities. MPR APM annual report JULY 2014 TO JUNE 2015 3 “MPR programming has been a stimulating Dear friends, part of radio for me since I was a kid. MPR Thanks so much for ensuring another successful year at Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media (MPR | APM). has become my commute radio, my most Just as we have for the past 48 years, we still measure our success by the value we reliable news source, and the alarm on my create for you and the effect we have on our communities here in Minnesota and clock radio. It connects me to my city across the country. Every year in our annual report, we changing and intimate stories Cathy Wurzer This is such an exciting time for MPR | APM, and supports my sense of community.” pause to reflect and to celebrate the shared with us on MPR News about Bruce and we have many great programs and new achievements and impact that you’ve made Kramer and living with ALS, we know that experiences planned for you in the months possible. We also write to share where our work is making a real difference for ahead! We hope that our work inspires you Chelsea Chase, member from Minneapolis we’re headed. MPR | APM is healthy and nearly 1 million Minnesotans every week. as much as your support inspires us. growing. In fact, this past year, we grew to Thank you, again and again, for helping us serve more than 19 million Americans every do that. Thank you. week—that’s a new record for us—and we ended our fiscal year with a balanced We are honored to be considered budget. As you read the stories that follow, among Minnesota’s leading institutions, highlighting how we have “… enriched and we’re in very good company. minds, nourished spirits, enhanced lives, Minnesota has long been a hothouse of expanded perspectives and strengthened local talent, creative ideas, successful Jon McTaggart Brad Anderson communities,” we hope you’ll feel a sense businesses and mission-driven President and CEO Chair, Board of Trustees of pride for the important role you have in organizations that have grown to provide making these things happen and how your national and international impact. Your P.S. If you ever have a question or support will make even more possible in the support makes it possible for listeners suggestion, please do not hesitate to years ahead. across the country and around the contact us. world to hear premier programs such as Whether it’s The Current’s contributions Marketplace, A Prairie Home Companion, to our vibrant local music community; The Splendid Table, Performance Today Classical MPR’s historic live, national and a growing array of podcasts, including broadcasts of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Brains On!, Codebreaker and The Dinner performances in Havana, Cuba; or the life- Party Download. 4 MPR APM annual report JULY 2014 TO JUNE 2015 MPR APM annual report JULY 2014 TO JUNE 2015 5 Spotlighting why Journalism that bird flu matters As the only broadcast news service that covers the entire state, MPR News brought enriches minds timely and thorough coverage of the avian influenza outbreak that threatened the poultry industry and flocks in 23 Minnesota counties. Minnesota Turkey and conversations Growers Association Executive Director Steve Olson appreciates MPR’s careful reporting: “MPR’s steady voice bridged the gap with consumers who are further removed from the farm than ever before, helping to explain the magnitude of this outbreak with both facts and connections Every day, through MPR News, ®, ® and Marketplace American RadioWorks with farmers who were impacted,” Olson the BBC World Service, we deliver trusted, relevant news that is regional, says. “The public benefited from MPR’s national and global, impacting the lives of the people and communities dedicated approach to covering all aspects we serve. We take our responsibility to inform citizens seriously, and we of the outbreak because a quick visit to the MPR website yielded a variety of up-to- work to provide fact-based news and critical context to every story. date news, information and links.” The following pages highlight important stories from the past year. mprnews.org/bird-flu MPR News reporter Dan Kraker records in Grand Marais, Minn. In 2015, Kraker co-produced a special report with Elizabeth Dunbar titled “Climate Change in Minnesota,” funded by a grant from the McKnight Foundation. The week-long MPR News series featured comprehensive on- air and online reporting about how the changing climate affects multiple facets of life in Minnesota. The series earned a prestigious national award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 6 MPR APM annual report JULY 2014 TO JUNE 2015 MPR APM annual report JULY 2014 TO JUNE 2015 7 Amplifying “It was important to tell the story from Marketplace embeds a Liberian perspective,” Tarkor explains. young voices “At the time, the American media was in communities to tell new stories telling the story, but not in a good way. to uncover the It was more about the hysteria and what Americans should do about Ebola. MPR whole story University of St. Thomas student gave me an opportunity to tell a larger Tarkor Zehn participated in MPR News’ and more important story from a Liberian Innovative, in-depth reporting is a Young Reporters program, which perspective.” hallmark of all our news entities. In the fall gives high school and college students of 2014, Marketplace® launched its first experience in research, interviewing, Tarkor says Toni was an invaluable mentor, immersive journalism project: a “pop-up field recording, writing for radio, digital and helped her learn several new skills. news bureau.” This mini-bureau, staffed editing and voicing. With the help of “The program really gives a voice to by the Wealth and Poverty team, enabled MPR editor and producer Toni Randolph, young people that they won’t experience reporters to immerse themselves in the Tarkor reported a timely story about anywhere else.” Los Angeles neighborhood of Highland the mobilization of the local Liberian Park, one of the country’s most rapidly community to fight Ebola, entitled Now in its seventh year, MPR’s Young gentrifying communities. The team “Ebola hits home for the Minnesota Reporters program earned a 2015 Gracie rented a commercial space for three months Liberian community.” Award for the students’ excellent work. on the main street, at the corner of York and Fig, which became the name of the project. By becoming an actual renter, the team developed access to the community “Marketplace programs have been a form of that could never have been gained by “parachuting in.” The on-air reporting was Economics 101 for me over the past 10+ years. enriched online with video stories, digital data illustrations, photo galleries, and Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal sat down with President bilingual blog posts. marketplace.org/ Barack Obama in the Oval Office twice over the past year Marketplace gives me just enough detail and topics/wealth-poverty/York-fig for timely discussions about the economic forces affecting the lives of Americans and the controversial Trans- Pacific Partnership agreement. Find the full interviews at scope to help keep me alert to the world of marketplace.org finance, business and so much more.” Robert Fodor, listener from Charlotte, Mich. 8 MPR APM annual report JULY 2014 TO JUNE 2015 MPR APM annual report JULY 2014 TO JUNE 2015 9 Award-winning “Art of Coding” investigative story creates journalism positive impact MPR News’ commitment to investigative Marketplace’s Learning Curve® education reporting earned it the two highest honors series included reports about a juvenile in broadcast journalism—a George Foster detention center for girls in Wyoming that Peabody Award and the prestigious taught coding as part of the curriculum. Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award—for “Zen and the Art of Coding” told a “Betrayed by Silence,” a series examining compelling story that inspired action. The the child abuse scandal in the Archdiocese series led to quick completion of the of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The multi- school’s crowdfunding campaign, an offer platform series, which spanned more than to mentor students at the school, and a year, also earned a host of regional and spurred an ongoing online conversation industry honors. This recognition reflects via Twitter chat #jjedtech connecting the meticulous and sensitive work our educators in juvenile justice facilities all over team of reporters and editors devoted to the country. The series was widely shared reporting an important story. and lauded online by listeners, and the mprnews.org/betrayed young girl featured in the story landed an internship in Washington, D.C. marketplace.org/learningcurve “I think it’s valuable to the entire community to have a resource like MPR The MPR News team of Mike Edgerly, Chris Worthington, that really cares about getting a story Madeleine Baran and Sasha Aslanian attended a ceremony in New York to accept a Peabody Award for their right.” Paul Hillmer, member from Burnsville investigative series “Betrayed by Silence.” 10 MPR APM annual report JULY 2014 TO JUNE 2015 MPR APM annual report JULY 2014 TO JUNE 2015 11 Music that nourishes the spirit and builds bridges “THANK YOU for this wonderful broadcast Sharing unforgettable performances of the Minnesota Orchestra performance Anna is just one of thousands of from Havana. I was born in Havana in listeners, from the U.S.