‘A Prairie Home Companion’ To Change Name Following Accusations Against Garrison Keillor

Minnesota Public Radio has decided to terminate its contracts with longtime former A Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor and his private media companies following allegations of inappropriate behavior from an individual who worked with him. A statement from MPR includes news the name of A Prairie Home Companion, currently hosted by Chris Thile, will be changed.

“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),” reads part of the statement. “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.”

While there are no other allegations concerning Keillor’s behavior that have been brought to MPR’s attention, the company has encouraged anyone with additional information to call their confidential hotline at 1-877-767-7781.

“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 McTaggart. “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.”

Garrison Keillor created the live weekly radio variety show A Prairie Home Companion in 1974. He retired last year and Chris Thile took over as the show’s new host. MPR distributes the program to hundreds of public radio stations across the country. Steps that will be taken by MPR in addition to changing the name include ending distribution and broadcast of The Writer’s Almanac and rebroadcasts of The Best Of A Prairie Home Companion and separating the Pretty Good Goods online catalog and the PrairieHome.org website.

Head here to read the full statement.