The avalanche of firings continue for men who’ve been accused of using their power to act inappropriately toward women. Minnesota Public Radio and parent organization American Public Media have cut all ties with the former host of A Prarie Home Companion, Garrison Keillor. Both organizations are investigating a report of “inappropriate behavior” by Keillor with someone who worked with him.
Cutting ties with Keiller means A Prairie Home Companion, now hosted by Chris Thile, will be renamed. And, rebroadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion hosted by Keiller will end.
Keillor sent a statement to the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “I put my hand on a woman’s bare back. I meant to pat her back after she told me about her unhappiness and her shirt was open and my hand went up it about six inches. She recoiled. I apologized. I sent her an email of apology later and she replied that she had forgiven me and not to think about it. We were friends. We continued to be friendly right up until her lawyer called.”
Keillor has been working with MPR for nearly 50 years. He retired last year from A Prairie Home Companion but continued to produce the Writers Almanac for syndication. The allegations relate to Keillor’s conduct while he was responsible for the production of A Prairie Home Companion. They came to the company’s attention last month and were referred to a special committee of its board for investigation.
Here’s MPR’s full statement:
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is 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. 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.
The attorney leading the independent investigation has been conducting interviews and reviewing documents, and the investigation is ongoing. We encourage anyone with additional information to call our confidential hotline 1-877-767-7781.
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.
MPR will end its business relationships with Mr. Keillor’s media companies effective immediately. By terminating the contracts, MPR and American Public Media (APM) will:
- end distribution and broadcast of The Writer’s Almanac and rebroadcasts of The Best of A Prairie Home Companion hosted by Garrison Keillor;
- change the name of APM’s weekly music and variety program hosted by Chris Thile; and,
- 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. “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,” said Jon McTaggart, President of MPR.
“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.”
“Over the last several weeks, the special Board Committee has worked closely with MPR President Jon McTaggart and legal counsel to review the facts as we know them and carefully consider the implications of the various options,” said David Murphy, Chair of the MPR Board of Trustees.
“The Board Committee concluded that terminating the Keillor relationships was the appropriate decision and the board and Jon are aligned in this action. Fortunately, MPR is one of the strongest public broadcasting organizations in the country.
“We are confident MPR will continue to innovate with programming and content that ensures MPR will remain one of the most valued sources of news, information, and entertainment for decades to come.”
