Public Radio International (PRI) was an American

public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States. PRI was one of the main providers of programming for public radio stations in the US, alongside National Public Radio,

American Public Media American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...

and the Public Radio Exchange. PRI merged with the Public Radio Exchange in 2018.

Background

In the United States, PRI distributed well-known programming to public radio stations. Among its programs were the global news program ''

The World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

'', which PRI co-produced with WGBH

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

. Programs on PRI—sometimes mis-attributed to National Public Radio—were produced by a variety of organizations, including PRI in the United States and other countries. PRI, along with NPR and American Public Media, was one of the largest program producers and distributors of public radio programming in the United States. PRI offered over 280 hours of programming each week to stations and listeners. Public Radio International said its mission was to "serve audiences as a distinctive content source for information, insights and cultural experiences essential to living in our diverse, interconnected world." Approximately 850 radio station affiliates and other audio venues broadcast, streamed and downloaded PRI programs. According to the 2017 Nielsen Audio ratings, 8.1 million people listened to PRI programming each week. PRI's programs won awards for quality and innovation, including the DuPont-Columbia Award, Scripps Howard Award for Excellence in Electronic Media/Radio, George M. Foster Peabody Award, Golden Reel Award and

Gabriel Award The Gabriel Awards are a Catholic honor awarded each year for excellence in broadcasting. They were started by the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals in 1965, and are currently administered by the Catholic Media Association. ...

. PRI programming received funding from station fees, corporate underwriting, and individual and corporate grants. Less than 2% of the overall

operating budget The operating budget contains the revenue and expenditure generated from the daily business functions of the company; see . Edriaan Koening (N.D.What is Corporate Budgeting? chron.com It concentrates on the operating expenditures, i.e.: cost of ...

came from United States government agencies.

History

PRI was founded in 1983 as American Public Radio as an alternative to

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

for public radio program distribution. Five stations established American Public Radio as a syndicate: the Minnesota Public Radio network, KQED/San Francisco, WNYC/New York City,

WGUC WGUC (90.9 MHz) is a public FM radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is owned by Cincinnati Public Radio and has a classical music format. WGUC broadcasts using HD Radio technology and plays jazz on WGUC-HD2 and adult album alternative on WGU ...

/Cincinnati, and

KUSC KUSC (91.5 FM) is a listener-supported classical music radio station broadcasting from downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. KUSC is owned and operated by the University of Southern California, which also operates student-run Internet s ...

in Los Angeles. The corporation changed its name to Public Radio International in 1994 to reflect its growing interest and involvement in international audio publishing, as typified by its many collaborations with the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

. In the mid-1990s, PRI began to expand its reach by producing programming in addition to distributing programming. This evolution in the company began with PRI's ''

'', originally a co-production among PRI, the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the British Government through the Foreign Secretary's office. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception a ...

, and WGBH. In 2004, Minnesota Public Radio left PRI and began distributing its own shows (including ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from Her ...

'' and ''

Marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

'' and excluding ''Classical 24'') through its newly created arm, American Public Media. In 2012, PRI was acquired by the WGBH Educational Foundation. Public Radio International and Public Radio Exchange merged in 2018. Both networks maintained separate identities and programming until 2019, when the Public Radio International branding was retired. In 2020, the last remaining PRI program other than ''The World,'' '' Studio 360,'' aired its last episode, concluding with the PRI station ID.

Recent program launches and firsts

In 1995: PRI launches ''

Classical 24 Classical 24 is a syndicated, satellite-delivered public radio service providing classical music to its carrying stations. It generally airs overnights on many non-commercial and a handful of commercial classical music stations. However, the se ...

'', public radio's first 24-hour classical music service, as a co-production with Minnesota Public Radio. In 1996: PRI's ''

'' premieres'','' presenting issues and events "through a global lens" to American audiences. Co-produced by PRI with BBC World Service and WGBH Radio Boston, it was the first daily news co-production ever undertaken by the BBC. In 2001: '' PRI’s Studio 360'' launches. In September, PRI and ''

Symphony Space Symphony Space, founded by Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller, is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre (also called Pe ...

'' of New York City announced that PRI would become the national distribution partner of ''

Selected Shorts Selected Shorts is an event at New York's Symphony Space on the Upper West Side, in which screen and stage actors read classic and new short fiction before a live audience. The stage show began in 1985 and continues today at Symphony Space's Pete ...

'', which had previously been distributed by National Public Radio. In January 2008, PRI and WNYC announced that the name of their new morning drive news program is '' The Takeaway'' with John Hockenberry and Adaora Udoji. This program's editorial partners include The BBC World Service, '' The New York Times'', and WGBH Radio Boston. The program successfully launched April 28, and full national launch was expected June/July 2008. On May 1, 2008, PRI was the first major public media outlet to use

digital cinema Digital cinema refers to adoption of digital technology within the film industry to distribute or project motion pictures as opposed to the historical use of reels of motion picture film, such as 35 mm film. Whereas film reels have to be ...

; and one of the first mass media companies overall. PRI conceived and spearheaded ''This American Life Live!'' in partnership with Ira Glass and

WBEZ Chicago WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Financed by corporate underwriting, government funding and list ...

. ''This American Life Live!'' was presented exclusively in select theatres by National CineMedia's (NCM) Fathom, in partnership with BY Experience and Chicago Public Radio, and in association with Public Radio International. In 2012: PRI is acquired by WGBH. On March 21, 2014, the company announced the agreement to distribute ''This American Life'' would end July 1, 2014. In 2017: PRI launches its Engagement Lab.

Relationship with NPR

Public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

is a generic term for non-commercial radio stations or programming that are covered under the Public Broadcasting Act. Public radio organizations receive funding from corporate sponsors, public (e.g.,

Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...

) and private foundation grants as well as donations and gifts from individuals. The mix of revenue differs by station, network and/or producer. PRI, NPR and American Public Media are the largest providers of public radio programming in the United States. They compete with each other for slots on public radio stations and the attention of listeners. Each has distinct missions and emphases in programming—PRI is focused on global journalism, providing diverse voices, and arts and cultural perspectives. Any given public radio station may be simultaneously both an NPR member and an affiliate of PRI and APM. PRI is a not-for-profit organization that has an independent governing board with an independent board of directors. NPR is a membership organization; its board is composed of public radio stations which run for seats on the board. PRI was a younger organization than NPR, and focused on pushing the sound of public radio forward through innovative programming strategies and leading media in its areas of focus—global news and cultural perspectives. (NPR was founded in 1970 and PRI in 1983.) Many PRI shows drew a younger overall audience than shows produced by NPR. PRI's stated purpose was to offer a wider range of voices than NPR programs. In recent years, there have been changes among distributors of numerous programs. Some programs that were formerly distributed by PRI, such as ''

'', ''

'', and ''

American Routes American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

'', along with the

, are now distributed by American Public Media. APM was formed by Minnesota Public Radio to distribute programs it owned and produced, thereby moving distribution from PRI to APM. In addition, PRI distributed '' World Cafe'' for many years, but in 2005, the show's distribution was switched to NPR. At the same time, PRI has also picked up the distribution of programs originally distributed by NPR, including ''

Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know? ''Whad'Ya Know?'' is an American comedy, interview, and quiz radio show. Hosted by Michael Feldman, it was created in 1985. During its radio run, it was produced by Wisconsin Public Radio and distributed through Public Radio International. Feld ...

'', and, in 2006, ''

Living on Earth ''Living on Earth'' is a weekly, hour-long and award-winning environmental news program distributed by Public Radio Exchange (on Public Radio International from October 6, 2006, show to December 6, 2019, show, and before that, NPR from 1991 until ...

''—public radio's leading news and information program focused on the environment. In September 2007, PRI became the national distributor of ''

'' which was previously distributed by NPR. In January 2014, PRI became the national distributor of ''

Science Friday ''Science Friday'' (known as ''SciFri'' for short) is a weekly call-in talk show that broadcasts each Friday on public radio stations, distributed by WNYC Studios, and carried on over 400 public radio stations. ''SciFri'' is hosted by award-win ...

'', also previously distributed by NPR. On April 11, 2018, distribution of the show changed hands once more when it went from PRI to

WNYC Studios WNYC Studios is a producer and distributor of podcasts and on-demand and broadcast audio. WNYC Studios is a subsidiary of New York Public Radio and is headquartered in New York City. History In May 2015, WNYC began distributing its shows ''R ...

.'Science Friday' partners with WNYC on distribution
''Current Public Media,'' January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2018.

References

{{authority control Corporation for Public Broadcasting Sirius Satellite Radio channels Peabody Award winners Podcasting companies This American Life Radio stations established in 1983 1983 establishments in Minnesota 2019 disestablishments in Minnesota 2012 mergers and acquisitions 2018 mergers and acquisitions American journalism organizations WGBH Educational Foundation Radio stations disestablished in 2019 Defunct radio networks in the United States

Background

History

Recent program launches and firsts

Relationship with NPR

See also

References