PRI To Expand, Tighten Grip On Media

New PRI(R) Leadership and Vision Propel Expanded Reach, Reorganization; Network Intensifies Focus on Strategic Marketing, Digital Distribution, Talent Cultivation

 

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 2006--Public Radio International (PRI) announces the expansion of its precedent-setting role in public media. Under the leadership of newly appointed President and CEO Alisa Miller, the network plans to use its leadership position in digital technologies to build and strengthen cross-platform capacity on behalf of its stations, producers, partners and listeners. Meeting the strategic and operational demands of this ambitious new direction has required realigning key functions in the organization, a restructuring that is well underway with PRI management enhancements. In the new structure, PRI's mission -- to serve audiences with distinctive programming that provides information, insights and cultural experiences essential to understanding a diverse, interdependent world -- remains unchanged, as does its commitment to traditional broadcast media. What will be enhanced is PRI's focus on developing cross-platform opportunities for its affiliate stations, producers and partners to fully serve the public at the myriad intersections where consumers and content now meet.

 

"These are exciting times at PRI," says Miller. "We've always been very successful at taking risks and leading the industry in new directions; our agility and forward-looking approach have served us well. Today, given the dramatic changes that are taking place in the way people access and consume content, it's more important than ever that we stay ahead of the game. Our new direction and focus will help ensure that public media continue to grow as vibrant, essential resources for our users and that PRI's considerable assets in technology are fully leveraged."

 

Two new staff appointments will help guide the new direction. Cindy Shuman, formerly CFO of PRI subsidiary Public Interactive(R), public broadcasting's leading Web services provider, is now senior vice president of PRI Distribution and Business Development. In this role, Shuman will focus on cross platform station services and sales, new media partnerships and identifying opportunities to bring PRI's distribution and programming scale to benefit its partners. This new position capitalizes on Shuman's considerable station management and operations expertise from her tenure at Vermont Public Radio and her consulting experience at Public Radio Capitol, as well as her understanding of the strategic use of online and on-demand technology in relation to broadcast success.

 

Julia Mears, formerly director of PRI Brand Strategies and Sponsor Alliances, is now vice president of PRI Brand Management and Marketing Strategy. In this capacity, Mears will create novel, content-driven branding strategies and will manage corporate marketing activity, including marketing communications, public relations and advertising. She will also lead important strategic marketing initiatives on behalf of PRI's programming and services portfolio. She will continue to lead PRI's corporate sponsorship team with a focus on broadcast, online and new media packages, all driven by PRI's partnership-based approach to corporate underwriting and the company's abilities to leverage new technologies to benefit public media.

 

Melinda Ward is now senior vice president of PRI Content, the department that supports the work of all PRI producers.

 

Ward, Mears and Shuman assumed their new responsibilities in early April. Two additional senior management positions have been created, a controller and an executive vice president, and interviews are in progress. The reorganization will be complete in July.

 

About Public Radio International(R)
PRI is public radio's leading source for innovative programming and audio content. The Minneapolis-based network provides over 400 hours of programming each week, content that is broadcast and streamed online by its 748 public radio station affiliates nationwide, which reach 32 million listeners each week. PRI owns Public Interactive LLC, public broadcasting's leading Web services company. PRI is also the managing partner of the satellite radio company American Public Radio LLC, established with Chicago Public Radio(R), WGBH Radio Boston and WNYC, New York Public Radio(R). PRI's cultural programming is available via XM Public Radio. Its news and information programming is available via Sirius Satellite Radio.

 

PRI is known for driving innovation in public radio through partnerships with stations, independent producers, and other organizations, and for working collaboratively to pool resources and share risk, cultivate new talent and bring diverse voices and perspectives to the public airwaves. Its best known offerings include The Tavis Smiley Show, produced by Smiley Radio Properties Inc.; Open Source from PRI, produced by Open Source Media; This American Life, produced by Chicago Public Radio(R); PRI's The World, a co-production of BBC World Service, PRI, and WGBH Radio Boston; Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?(R), produced by Wisconsin Public Radio; and PRI's Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen, produced by PRI and WNYC, New York Public Radio(R); as well as 24-hour program services -- Classical 24(R), produced by American Public Media(TM); and BBC World Service, produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation. For more information on PRI and its programs, visit the PRI website, pri.org.

 

Contacts
PRI, Minneapolis
Dan Jensen, 612-330-9212
djensen@pri.orgAt A Glance
Public Radio International
Source: via Business Wire
Updated  01/03/2006  by company 
Headquarters: Minneapolis, MN
Website: http://www.pri.org
CEO: Alisa Miller
Employees: 60
Organization: Non-profit