Public Radio International® announces new location for its headquarters

In a building renamed for PRI, new locale's redesign will fully support PRI's role as innovation leader in public media.

Public Radio International (PRI), creator and distributor of award-winning content ranging from PRI's "The World" to BBC World Service to "This American Life," announces plans to relocate to the former Textile Building, renamed Public Radio International and located in the creative hub of downtown Minneapolis' historic Warehouse District. Capitalizing on PRI's national reputation as a catalyst for innovation in public media, the building is being redesigned specifically to support PRI's mission of serving audiences as a distinctive content source in today's diverse, interconnected world. Among its many features will be a multi-media convening venue and broadcast studio, created to bring global perspectives to local and world audiences. Relocation to the building now named for PRI is set for early 2010.

PRI President and CEO Alisa Miller says, "This move will allow us to build on our 26 years of innovation, and do so in an area of the city that is dynamic and growing. We'll be able to bring global perspectives to Minnesotans in very immediate and practical ways because of our new facility. And we look forward to showcasing the Twin Cities as a global community through our public space, encouraging dialogue and collaboration on issues of global importance."

Mayor of Minneapolis R.T. Rybak says, "PRI is a vital resource for people worldwide as evidenced by its being named 2009 International Corporate Citizen by the Twin Cities-based International Leadership Institute. A force for innovation, PRI has called this great city home since 1990, and we are proud that it will remain an anchor tenant in the heart of downtown for years to come, recognized as a leader in public media."

As chair of the PRI Board of Directors, Linda Larson, partner in the Seattle-based Marten Law Group PLLC, adds, "The Board enthusiastically supports PRI as it expands its influence in the region and the world. For years, pundits have called PRI 'the Twin Cities' best kept secret,' but its new location and the new directions it is poised to take ensure that PRI's reach and impact will be secret no more."

PRI's new home, located at the corner of 2nd Avenue North and Fourth Street, a major downtown inflow route, will daily raise awareness of global issues among millions of commuters through signage and other visual displays, keeping more Minnesotans in touch with the larger world. Plans also include space to showcase PRI hosts and content, and to engage Minnesotans in conversations that connect global issues with local concerns. By pairing in-person engagement with the best that digital technology and social networks have to offer, this public venue will be able to function as vibrantly as a virtual arena as it does a physical space.

About Public Radio International®
Celebrated as a driver of innovation in public media, PRI was founded in 1983 to diversify and expand the content available on public platforms, enabling U.S. listeners to "hear a different voice™" and to connect with one another and the larger world. PRI leads by identifying critical but unmet content needs and partnering with producers, stations, digital networks and funders to develop multi-platform resources to meet those needs. By creating an environment in which innovation can thrive, PRI supports the creation and distribution of content that would otherwise be unavailable and that brings new voices, global journalism and cultural perspectives to the American public. PRI content is available on pri.org and via podcasts, and is broadcast on over 800 public radio stations. More than 13 million people access PRI content each week through these sources.

PRI's newest production is "The Takeaway," a groundbreaking morning-drive news show co-produced with WNYC Radio. Its best known programming includes "This American Life," produced by Chicago Public Radio; PRI's "The World," a co-production of BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH Radio Boston; "Living on Earth," produced by World Media Foundation Inc.; "Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?," produced by Wisconsin Public Radio; "The Tavis Smiley Show," produced by Smiley Radio Properties Inc.; and "Studio 360 from PRI and WNYC®," produced by PRI and WNYC; as well as 24-hour program services — "Classical 24®," produced by American Public Media; and BBC World Service, produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation.