Keillor Terminated By Minnesota Public Radio
• Today marks a sadly momentous day in broadcasting — just hours after the news of Matt Lauer‘s termination from NBC News shook the industry to its core, it was announced that Garrison Keillor, the creator and former host of A Prairie Home Companion, has been fired by Minnesota Public Radio, also over allegations of improper behavior. Keillor, 75, first told The Associated Press of his firing in an email. In a follow-up statement, he said he was fired over “a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard.”
• Minnesota Public Radio quickly moved to separate itself from Keillor, announcing it was “terminating its contracts with Garrison Keillor and his private media companies after recently learning of allegations of his inappropriate behavior with an individual who worked with him.” The lengthy statement continued, “Last month, MPR was notified of the allegations, which relate to Mr. Keillor’s conduct while he was responsible for the production of A Prairie Home Companion (APHC). MPR President Jon McTaggart immediately informed the MPR Board Chair, and a special Board committee was appointed to provide oversight and ongoing counsel. In addition, MPR retained an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation of the allegations. Based on what we currently know, there are no similar allegations involving other staff. MPR takes these allegations seriously and we are committed to maintaining a safe, respectful and supportive work environment for all employees and everyone associated with MPR. We want a workplace where anyone who experiences unwanted behavior feels comfortable in reporting concerns to MPR. Discrimination, harassment, retaliation or other inappropriate behaviors will not be tolerated.”
• And there’s more — MPR announced it will end its business relationships with Keillor’s media companies, effective immediately. “By terminating the contracts, MPR and American Public Media (APM) will: 1) End distribution and broadcast of The Writer’s Almanac and rebroadcasts of The Best of A Prairie Home Companion hosted by Garrison Keillor; 2) Change the name of APM’s weekly music and variety program hosted by Chris Thile; and, 3) Separate from the Pretty Good Goods online catalog and the PrairieHome.org website. MPR and APM will work closely with public radio stations to help make the programming transitions as seamless as possible.”
MPR President Jon McTaggart remarked, “Garrison Keillor has been an important part of the growth and success of MPR, and all of us in the MPR community are saddened by these circumstances. While we appreciate the contributions Garrison has made to MPR and to all of public radio, we believe this decision is the right thing to do and is necessary to continue to earn the trust of our audiences, employees and supporters of our public service.”
