[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO'S MARKETPLACE WINS PEABODY AWARD

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                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 24, 2001

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of, and to 
honor Minnesota Public Radio's highly regarded business and financial 
news program Marketplace \TM\, for their receipt of a prestigious 
Peabody Award for 2000. The George Foster Peabody Awards were 
established in 1940 to recognize distinguished achievement and 
meritorious service by radio and television networks, stations, 
producing organizations, cable television organizations and 
individuals. Marketplace will be honored during a May 21st awards 
ceremony in New York to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the George 
Foster Peabody Awards.
  Marketplace is public radio's only national program about business, 
the global economy and finance. It was the first, and is still the 
only, daily national business show originating from the West Coast. Its 
location in Los Angeles has provided Marketplace easier access to the 
Pacific Rim and has encouraged the staff to develop their own voice, 
one not overwhelmed by the traditionally Eastern-dominated media. With 
eight domestic bureaus (Boston, Ann Arbor/Detroit, Cleveland, New York, 
Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco and Washington, DC) and two 
international bureaus (London and Tokyo), Marketplace is a truly global 
program using business and economics as its twin lenses to better view 
and understand the world. It distinguishes itself from general news 
programming by taking a broader view of business and exploring business 
and finance issues on a deeper more human, more engaging level.
  The program premiered in January 1989 from Long Beach, California. 
Over the years, it has been described as well informed, hip, 
irreverent, and the business show for the rest of us. Last year, 
Minnesota Public Radio, which is based in my home district of Saint 
Paul, Minnesota, acquired Marketplace from the University of Southern 
California. This added one more strong program to Minnesota Public 
Radio's already impressive resume of celebrated shows including A 
Prairie Home Companion and Saint Paul Sunday. Marketplace's future 
looks as bright as its past with Minnesota Public Radio building a 
state-of-the-art digital
  Marketplace was created by Jim Russell, an award-winning journalist 
and a former executive producer of All Things Considered, who has more 
than thirty years of broadcasting experience under his belt. In 1988, 
he envisioned a public radio business program that sounded smart, 
literate and witty; one that could appeal to an audience of non 
business types. Today, Marketplace is heard on more than 300 public 
radio stations across the United States with a national audience of 
nearly 4 million weekly listeners.
  The executive producer of Marketplace is J.J. Yore, who has been a 
reporter, editor and broadcast producer for nearly twenty years. As 
executive producer, he is the one responsible for setting the program's 
overall editorial direction and tone, which the Peabody Awards 
Committee described as, ``sophisticated, creative and accessible.''
  David Brancaccio has been the show's senior host since 1993. He is a 
former foreign correspondent and broadcast reporter with a knack for 
telling a good story. His style has been described as lively and 
engaging. Before taking his current position with Marketplace, he 
served as the show's London bureau chief for three years. His 
international reporting experience and considerable travel overseas add 
to Marketplace's global perspective on business-related news.
  Praise for Marketplace abounds. Early in its history, it was named 
``best business program'' in the U.S. by the prestigious Columbia 
Journalism Review. More recently, Marketplace received the 1997 Loeb 
Award in the radio category, the 1997 Clarion Award for ``Regular 
News'' and in January 1998, the highly coveted duPont-Columbia Award 
for ``Excellence in Overall Show.'' In 2000, Marketplace's Japan Bureau 
won the Overseas Press Club's Best Business Reporting in Broadcast 
Media Award. According to Washingtonian Magazine, Marketplace is in the 
top four most-listened-to programs by business leaders. The Station 
Resource Group reported that, according to industry leaders, 
Marketplace is one of five ``must-have'' programs for public radio 
stations.
  Marketplace's most recent honor, the Peabody Award, is one of the 
most competitive in the fields of broadcasting and cable. For the year 
2000, Marketplace was one of only 34 award winners chosen from nearly 
1,100 entries. The Peabody Award differs from other broadcast and cable 
awards because it is given solely on the basis of merit, rather than 
within designated categories. Judging is done by a fifteen-person 
national advisory board whose members include TV critics, broadcast and 
cable industry executives, scholars, and experts in culture and fine 
arts. Dr. Louise Benjamin, Interim Director of the Peabody Awards, 
said, ``The Peabody Board chose Marketplace because the program offers 
listeners a refreshing, perceptive account of the day's international 
economic news. It also gives its audience insight into how the global 
economy affects their communities and their lives.''
  I congratulate Marketplace on their notable achievement as a 2000 
recipient of the George Foster Peabody Award. The Peabody and Minnesota 
Public Radio's Marketplace belong together as they both represent the 
qualities we, here in the U.S. House of Representatives, applaud: 
excellence, distinguished achievement, and service.




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