[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 111 (Friday, August 7, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1603-E1604]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  PTFP

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAVID MINGE

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 6, 1998

  Mr. MINGE. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, the House debated 
amendments to H.R. 4276, the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and 
State and Judiciary and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1999. 
One of the amendments of interest to me was an amendment to cut funds 
for the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP) which funds 
new equipment for public television and radio stations in the United 
States. Because of time constraints, I was not able to speak on the 
amendment but I have several points and corrections to the record I 
would have made if I had had a chance.
  In Minnesota we are blessed with having the nation's largest and to 
us, the finest, public

[[Page E1604]]

radio system in the country, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). MPR owns and 
operates 30 radio stations around the state and in border states to 
provide public radio coverage to 98 percent of the residents of 
Minnesota. In most communities, they operate dual channels, a news and 
information station and a music station. In my district, they have 
stations in Appleton, Worthington and St. Peter. In addition, other 
parts of my district are served by stations in Minneapolis, St. Cloud 
and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They are truly a state treasure, 
bringing 24 hour-a-day news coverage and classical music to many parts 
of rural Minnesota that would not otherwise get those services through 
commercial radio.
  Minnesota Public Radio is however, more than just a treasure to my 
state. It is a national resource, producing more national radio 
programming than any radio station or system in the United States. Many 
people around the country identify Minnesota with the image of Lake 
Wobegon and the nationally known program A Prairie Home Companion 
produced by MPR in St. Paul. As for music, over 500,000 people a week 
from around the country listen to concerts on St. Paul Sunday, which is 
about the same number that attend live classical music concerts in the 
U.S. every week. In addition, MPR produces other nationally known 
programs such as Sound Money and A Splendid Table.
  Minnesota Public Radio is also an international media entity and has 
the U.S. distribution rights to the British Broadcasting Corporation 
(BBC) radio productions on BBC3 and BBC4, It also has U.S. distribution 
rights to certain productions of the Canadian Broadcasting Company 
(CBC).
  In 1981, Congress, recognizing the likelihood of future federal 
funding shortfalls, urged nonprofit organizations like MPR to earn more 
of their revenues by stating the ``Public Broadcast stations are 
explicitly authorized to provide services, facilities or products in 
exchange for remuneration . . . '' . In response to that challenge, MPR 
expanded its product marketing activities into catalog mailings and 
then, in 1987, launched the Greenspring Companies, a for-profit, tax 
paying group of companies. Working off its successful A Prairie Home 
Companion and the internal talent of its organization, it set up 
several for-profit companies to market products associated with its 
productions. Through sound management and understanding the value of 
its intellectual property, they turned one of those for-profit 
companies into one of the largest mail order companies in the country. 
Over the years, the for-profit companies contributed over $40 million 
to the growth of MPR and allowed them to build new radio stations in 
Minnesota communities like Appleton, Thief River Falls, and La 
Crescent.
  As a for-profit company, Greenspring departed from the norm for 
``unrelated business activity'' at nonprofit organizations and 
proceeded to employ all of the traditional mechanisms of capitalism, 
beginning with a strong, experienced, separate Board of Directors, 
state of the art facilities, recruitment of top industry professionals, 
incentive compensation, equity participation by employees and public 
reports similar to those of a publicly traded company. In 1998, after 
growing one of the for-profit companies, Rivertown Trading Company, 
from nothing to annual sales of $200 million, it was sold to the Dayton 
Hudson Corporation, another Minnesota company. That sale allowed 
Minnesota Public Radio to put $90 million into an endowment, the 
largest endowment of any public broadcasting company in the country. 
The bonus to management of the for-profit Rivertown Trading Company and 
Greenspring were about 6 percent of the sales price.
  Some Members of Congress would have us penalize the success of 
organizations such as Minnesota Public Radio. They would say, that 
since organizations such as MPR are successful capitalists, they should 
be punished. I, however, believe in the marketplace and do not wish to 
punish that type of success.
  In the meantime, Minnesota Public Radio continues to provide me and 
my family with our share of Minnesota, whether we are at home in 
Minnesota or here in Washington. I continue to listen every Saturday 
night that I can, to Garrison Keillor and all the news from Lake 
Wobegon and I hope you will also.

                          ____________________