Jon McTaggart, COO of American Public Media (7/8/08)
On Tuesday, July 8 Cornerstone Society members and their guests attended lunch at PBA and enjoyed a presentation from Jon McTaggart, Chief Operating Officer of American Public Media (APM).
Founded in 1967, American Public Media began as a single classical music radio station at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn., then operating as Minnesota Educational Radio. As the network expanded in the Twin Cities, St. John’s helped establish an independent, nonprofit entity, Minnesota Public Radio, which eventually grew to a 40-station network in Minnesota and surrounding states with three radio services: classical music, news and The Current, broadcasting eclectic music.
Today, American Public Media, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, is the largest owner and operator of public radio stations and a premier producer and distributor of public radio programming in the nation. It is also the largest producer and distributor of classical music programming in the United States. 768 stations reaching 15.5 million listeners carry APM programs each week. Programs that are heard on WABE include A Prairie Home Companion, Marketplace, Speaking of Faith, The Writer’s Almanac, Performance Today and Pipedreams.
The event was a great chance to learn more about APM’s commitments to news, art, and public service. The good news is APM is growing strong. We can expect their current programs to remain great and new ones to emerge.
