MPR Hit With COVID-19 Cuts
• The ongoing financial stress caused by the deadly coronavius pandemic has created some deep cuts at Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), including the departure of 28 staffers and several program cancellations. An open letter from Jon McTaggart, Pres. & CEO of American Public Media Group, the non-profit parent company of MPR reads, in part, “As a result of the widespread economic turmoil and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, MPR and American Public Media (APM) are facing a large and unexpected financial challenge. Like all our media peers, over the past few months, some of our revenue sources have dramatically and simultaneously declined, particularly from regional and national underwriting, corporate sponsorship, national program distribution, ticketed events, custom travel, financial investments and other earned income. While recent MPR and APM member drives and emergency fundraising efforts have been successful, with gifts from our Board and other donors, the generosity of our valued contributors is unfortunately not enough to offset the rapid loss of revenue we are experiencing.”
McTaggart (left) added, “We’ve carefully weighed all our options to ensure that the programming, staffing and operational changes we’re making are sustainable, and will help to make our most important services even stronger and more relevant… As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to reduce our staff by 28 people. In addition to our previous actions including cutting executive pay by 20% to 35%, and implementing voluntary separations and furloughs, we are cancelling FY21 merit pay increases for all employees, combining some departments and teams, selectively reducing work hours and making changes to internal operating systems to reduce costs.
McTaggart also reported that MPR is further reducing costs by ending The Hilarious World of Depressionpodcast and the national production of Live from Here, hosted by Chris Thile, the successor to the long-running A Prairie Home Companion.
