Carl/Miriam:
Interesting. I wonder if the excommunicated group were all related?
Richard
Sent from my iPhone
On Jul 24, 2018, at 6:34 PM, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
MPR Fires Three 'Prairie Home' Veterans, Including Garrison Keillor's Son
By Neal Justin, Star Tribune
24 July 18
Keillor's "indispensable" managing director and longtime publicist were
also dismissed. "Good luck with that," he says.
Minnesota Public Radio has dismissed three employees with long, deep ties to
its landmark show "A Prairie Home Companion," including the son of former
host Garrison Keillor.
"I treasured my 22 years working in public radio but the business has
changed," said Jason Keillor, who held a variety of jobs on "PHC" and its
new offshoot, "Live From Here," including the assembly of repeat programs.
"I think right now, MPR is promoting their new brand and it's very
expensive. They're running a tight ship despite their deep pockets."
Also dismissed Friday were Prairie Home Productions managing director Kate
Gustafson, who rose to be Keillor's second-in-command, and publicist David
O'Neill, who started working on the show when he was 12. Both declined to
comment.
In an e-mail Monday, Garrison Keillor described O'Neill as an "enormously
competent and loyal guy ... one of the last persons around who knows the
history of the place" and praised Gustafson as an "indispensable" person who
unofficially served as the office's village therapist and truth-teller.
"They're replacing her with a bunch of faceless suits," he wrote. "Good luck
with that."
Keillor retired from the show in July 2016, handing the reins to musician
Chris Thile. Last November, MPR severed ties with its biggest name after its
investigation concluded that Keillor had engaged in inappropriate sexual
behavior with an employee. The woman had reported her concerns to Gustafson
as early as 2011, but ultimately Gustafson did not intervene.
MPR renamed the name "Live From Here," which will start a new season later
this year.
"We're deeply grateful to those individuals whose jobs have been eliminated
or changed," said MPR director of communications Angie Andresen. "We've
imagined some new experiences for audiences. The changes we are planning
require some changes to the team and in how we do some of our work."
A fourth employee of the show was offered a reassignment that would change
her position from full-time to part-time; her decision is still pending.
Andresen said there are currently nine MPR employees working on "Live From
Here," two of whom live outside Minnesota. She anticipates additional hires
before the season kicks off. At the height of "PHC," almost 20 people worked
on the show.
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