The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of
public radio
Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...
programs available for broadcast and internet use.
History
The PRX site and services launched in September 2003 after a two-year planning, research, and development phase supported by the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...
, and the
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
. PRX received additional support from the
NTIA
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is a bureau of the United States Department of Commerce that serves as the President of the United States, president's principal adviser on Telecommunications policy of the U ...
Technology Opportunities Program, the
MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...
, the
Open Society Institute
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...
, the
Surdna Foundation, and
Google
Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
Grants. PRX offices are located in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
.
On February 28, 2007, PRX and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced the Public Radio Talent Quest. It was an open search for new public radio talent, allowing producers to produce a pilot show for public radio. Finalists were to be chosen after a five-round competition voted on by fans, public radio professionals and celebrity judges. On May 14, the first round of submissions ended with 1,452 entries. As of May 22, 2007, the Public Radio Talent Quest site had over 14,600 registered users.
On April 9, 2008, the MacArthur Foundation selected PRX as one of its 2008 recipients of the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. In late November of that year, PRX soft-launched PRX 3.0. The launch included their Remix Radio project, which provides a sampling of the content available for licensing on the site.
On January 1, 2009, PRX, Inc became a Massachusetts
501c3 non-profit corporation. Previously PRX had been a project area of the Station Resource Group, a Maryland non-profit. On January 28, PRX Remix was added to
XM Satellite Radio on channel 136. Later that year, on July 19, PRX launched the Public Radio Player 2.0, an iPhone app for public radio developed by PRX, NPR, and other public radio partners, and funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. On August 11, PRX was included in CPB's agreement with SoundExchange through 2015 as a covered public radio entity for music webcasting royalties.
In 2010 PRX launched two iPhone apps: the ''This American Life'' app on February 1 and the WBUR Boston app on July 7. That same year, PRX won a
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
for ''The Moth Radio Hour.'' PRX was also announced as a winner of the 2010 Knight News Challenge for Story Exchange, a crowdfunding journalism project, on June 16. On September 8, 2010, PRX announced $2.7M in new funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Ford Foundation.
On December 8, 2011, PRX announced $2.5M in funding from Knight Foundation to create the Public Media Accelerator. In May 2014, PRX received a Peabody Award for the ''Reveal'' show "The VA's Opiate Overload".
On August 15, 2018, PRX and
Public Radio International
Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio 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 programmi ...
announced they would merge, though both networks would maintain separate identities and programming. The PRI brand was retired the following year.
PRX Remix
Formerly known as Public Radio Remix. As of 2011, two radio stations,
KPBZ in
Spokane,
Washington and
WREM in
Canton,
New York, air a full-time schedule of programming from PRX, branded as Public Radio Remix. Both stations are owned by the same organizations as their markets' primary
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
affiliates. PRX Remix also airs on
Sirius XM Channel 123.
Several other public radio stations air some, but not all, Public Radio Exchange programming in their schedules.
Numbers
On May 22, 2007, PRX had 12,167 available radio pieces, 28,149 members, including 445 radio stations, and 2,782 individual producers.
Programs distributed by PRX
Regular series distributed by PRX include:
* ''
12th Street Jump''
* ''
99% Invisible''
* ''
American Parlor Songbook''
* ''
American Routes
''American Routes'' is a weekly two-hour public radio program that presents the breadth and depth of the American musical and cultural landscape. Hosted by Nick Spitzer, ''American Routes'' is syndicated by 225 stations, with over half a million ...
''
* ''
Afropop Worldwide''
* ''
As It Happens''
* ''
Big Picture Science''
* ''
Bioneers
Bioneers, under its parent foundation, Collective Heritage Institute, is a non-profit environmental and social justice advocacy organization based in New Mexico and California. Founded in 1990, the organization's philosophy says that there is val ...
''
* ''Broadway Bound''
* ''
Classical 24''
* ''
Day 6''
* ''
Echoes''
* ''
Exploring Music''
* ''
Folk Alley''
* ''
Global Village''
* ''
Hearts of Space''
* ''HowSound''
* ''Inside Europe from
Deutsche Welle
(; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...
''
*''
Israel Story''
* ''Jazz After Hours''
* ''
Jazz with David Basse''
* ''
Ken Rudin's Political Junkie''
* ''
L.A. Theatre Works''
* ''
Latino USA''
* ''
Live Wire Radio''
* ''
Living on Earth''
* ''
Meditative Story''
* ''
Milk Street Radio''
* ''
The Moth Radio Hour''
* ''
New Letters on the Air''
* ''
On Being''
* ''
On Story''
* ''
Open Source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...
''
* ''
Ozark Highlands Radio''
* ''
Philosophy Talk''
* ''
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra is resident at Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. Since 2008, the orchestra's music director is Manfred Ho ...
''
* ''Planetary Radio''
* ''
Podcast Playlist''
* ''
Q''
* ''
The Record Shelf''
* ''
Reveal Weekly''
* ''
Says You!''
* ''
The Score with Edmund Stone''
* ''
Sea Change Radio''
* ''
Selected Shorts''
* ''
Skeptoid''
* ''
Sound Opinions''
* ''Think''
* ''
This American Life'' (self-distributed, but uses PRX to deliver shows to stations)
* ''
To the Best of Our Knowledge''
* ''
The Tobolowsky Files''
* ''
Up Close and Acoustic''
* ''
A Way with Words''
* ''
The World''
* ''
Zorba Paster on Your Health''
Accolades
References
External links
*
{{American broadcast radio
Public radio in the United States
XM Satellite Radio channels
Sirius Satellite Radio channels
American radio networks
American entertainment websites
2003 establishments in Massachusetts
Podcasting companies
Organizations established in 2003
Organizations based in Cambridge, Massachusetts
501(c)(3) organizations
Sirius XM Radio channels