2004 MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO ANNUAL REPORT 2004 MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO ANNUAL REPORT ENGAGING COMMUNITIES ENRICHING LIVES 45 East Seventh Street, St. Paul, MN 55101 m p r . o r g a m e r i c a n publicmedia.org 651-290-1500 The mission of Minnesota Public Radio regionally and American Public Media nationally 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. 2004 MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO ANNUAL REPORT A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT For the first time, we are sending you an Annual We announced our capital campaign and Report for our combined organizations: American began to implement one of its major initiatives: Public Media, our national brand, and Minnesota tapping the expertise of informed members of Public Radio, our regional company. Engaging our communities with the goal of increasing the Communities, Enriching Lives couldn’t be a more relevance of our programming. And in an effort to apt description of both entities’ efforts during better serve our national audiences and affiliate fiscal year 2004. stations, we introduced American Public Media, Our audience was kept current on a our new national production and distribution arm. wide spectrum of issues, Each year we serve from the troubled mental audiences in more ways healthcare system and than ever before. Some 13.6 contentious legislative million listeners across the session in Minnesota, to country tune in weekly to our the Democratic presidential national programming. In primaries and the aftermath our region, nearly 700,000 of the war in Iraq. They listeners use our services enjoyed a front row seat to enrich their lives and to extraordinary classical strengthen their communities. music performances, such as And we’re engaging more and the BBC Proms and weekly live concerts of the more online communities. Last year use of our Minnesota Orchestra. They were informed and Web sites grew by 42 percent, including visitors inspired by the renowned journalists and authors from more than 50 countries. we invited to Minnesota, and reveled in music Our devotion to you, to public service and and performances at the Fitzgerald Theater in to our craft serves as a powerful inspiration to St. Paul. Those are just a few examples of our us. On behalf of our staff and member stations, public service mission in action in 2004. thank you for your generous support. 1 Minnesota Public Radio Regional Content 2 2004 MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO Regional ENGAGING COMMUNITIES, ENRICHING LIVES Public service doesn’t just describe the mission This $46 million campaign is central to our at Minnesota Public Radio—it fuels our culture. ability to set the next standard in public service It’s the seed of every idea that grows into a media. The majority of the funds, $41 million, broadcast, Web site or event. will go toward creating a new facility that will Through our stations across the Upper upgrade outdated equipment and bring St. Paul- Midwest, our weekly regional listeners enjoyed based producers, hosts and other staff together round-the-clock access to balanced and thorough under one roof for the first time in decades. coverage of vital issues, along with uplifting arts The remaining $5 million will go toward and cultural programming. initiatives that deepen the Communities in Austin and relevance of our programming. It Brainerd became better will help us tap into Minnesota’s informed as we added two intellectual capital through News and Information Stations our Public Insight Journalism to our network serving all initiative. Audiences will enjoy corners of the state. expanded arts and cultural programming as we become BREAKING GROUND an even greater resource to FOR THE FUTURE communities and a stronger Orange vests and hardhats S e r v i c e partner to arts organizations. were the dress code for Campaign funds will also be used to digitize the June groundbreaking ceremony of The our vast audio archive, ensuring a valuable Next Standard, the most significant capital resource for future generations. campaign in our history. Some 350 employees, By the start of the campaign’s public donors and funders gathered at the site of the phase, $32 million had been raised. At the end of new construction to celebrate the launch of calendar year 2004, the total was $39.1 million. the campaign’s public phase, and the future of The public phase will end on December 31, 2005. public broadcasting. 3 Minnesota Public Radio Regional News & Information A NEW MODEL FOR JOURNALISM To help us make our programming stronger Minnesota Public Radio continues to engage and build our Public Insight Network, we held a audiences in new ways. Public Insight Journalism series of community meetings in 2004. Community is a pioneering initiative that recognizes the leaders and citizens gathered in the metro area expertise in our community and taps the thinking and in greater Minnesota to offer advice, share power of our listeners and Web users to inform perspectives and identify key issues. our programming. In turn, we’re able to produce ENHANCING OUR EXPERTISE stronger current affairs content that’s more relevant In June, Kerri Miller became to the lives of those we serve. host of Midmorning, using When we wanted to offer her journalistic talents and listeners an inside perspective engaging on-air style to lead on the issue of soldiers and region-wide conversations with families separated during newsmakers, expert guests and the Iraq war, members of our callers. Miller has been a radio Public Insight Network helped and television news reporter us find people with spouses since 1981 and was selected overseas. The result was a after a national search that series of moving accounts that drew more than 160 applicants. personalized an underreported Later in the year, she was issue from the war. named host of the Talking Volumes book club. Public Insight Journalism also contributed COVERAGE ACROSS MINNESOTA to our coverage of a trend that affects people Moorhead to Mankato, Roseau to Rochester, our worldwide: global warming. We invited leading public service commitment extends to all corners of international scientists and journalists to join us for the state. Citizens came together around issues that a Global Warming Round Table in St. Paul. A wide affect all Minnesotans, brought into focus by our range of coverage, including a documentary, news statewide coverage. Here are a few of the highlights: reports and a science series emerged from the forum. 4 2004 MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO Regional Minnesota Public Radio Regional News & Information “REKINDLING THE SPIRIT” children victimized by drug abuse helped bring an For more than 150 years, the U.S. government epidemic to light during a seven-part series on tried to stop American Indians from expressing the use of methamphetamine in Minnesota. Meth, their spirituality. But now a rebirth is underway. which is often homemade in rural laboratories, Audiences visited the reservations where oral is one of the most addictive and destructive traditions are helping to reclaim a culture. Our drugs on the market. Our radio series and its hour-long documentary examined what it means online component also revealed the impact of for Ojibwe of Minnesota to “walk the red road.” meth addiction on the region’s law enforcement, Reporters Dan Gunderson and corrections and social services. Tom Robertson won a national “A BAD STATE OF MIND” award for this work. Families in crisis often have “STATE OF THE UNIONS” to wait months for treatment Insightful responses to a of mental health diseases, Public Insight Journalism and healthcare organizations survey led to a series of six are closing mental health reports that gave audiences treatment facilities, even as in-depth perspective on the the rates of the disease soar. role and strategy of labor In February, audiences learned S e r v i c e unions in the 21st century. of the state’s fractured Workers talked about their experiences with mental health system through our eye-opening unions and the relevance of unions in a high- look at the state of mental healthcare treatment tech economy. The series also examined one of in Minnesota. The Web site brought a visual Minnesota’s longest strikes as an example of the dimension to the stories, and also featured links, legal and economic dangers of a walkout. resources and an interactive space for frank discussion on the topic. The series won high “METH IN MINNESOTA” praise and numerous awards. Powerful personal stories of former addicts and 5 Minnesota Public Radio Regional Arts & Culture A NEW ARTS CONNECTION and music. To coincide with the Grand Excursion Artists and arts lovers now have a new way to 2004, award-winning memoirist Patricia Hampl come together: State of the Arts ™, our weekly presented writings and her own musings about program and Web site dedicated to exploring the the Upper Mississippi at the Fitzgerald Theater. regional arts scene and expanding our cultural FAREWELL TO AN OLD FRIEND programming. Hosted by Marianne Combs, the Minnesota Public Radio and the Dale Warland program features criticism, commentary and Singers have been partners in the art of interviews with artists and choral music for decades. cultural leaders. Listeners When Warland decided to contribute insight, comments disband the group after 31 and questions. The Web remarkable years, we planned site’s Guide to Minnesota a month-long celebration Arts is considered a “grand of its contributions to the central station to the arts region’s rich music tradition. in Minnesota,” connecting The group took to the stage artists, artistic organizations for the last time in May. and patrons. Thousands of radio listeners LIFE THROUGH A joined the concert-hall crowd LITERARY LENS to bid farewell via our live Minnesota’s vibrant community of book lovers got broadcast.