Bill Kling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William H. Kling is an American businessman best known for launching Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), an organization he continues to lead. Kling's business savvy has allowed MPR to become one of the most powerful public broadcasting organizations in the United States, earning him admirers—and enemies—in the process. Kling is a millionaire, partly due to being the sole stockholder of the Greenspring Company, an MPR-affiliated for-profit corporation.
Kling was selected in 1967 to take over the reins at KSJR, a radio station that Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota had decided to spin off. Over the years, he helped lead the network to grow to a statewide entity that now features a nationwide distribution arm and has another associated radio station in Pasadena, California.
Bill Kling serves as President and CEO of American Public Media Group (APMG). APMG is the nonprofit parent company of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), American Public Media (APM) and the sole shareholder of the for-profit Greenspring Company. Kling also serves as CEO of MPR|APM and of Greenspring Company.
Kling is the founding president of MPR|APM and APMG and is responsible for MPR’s three regional networks of thirty-eight public radio stations and its national program production centers in Saint Paul and Los Angeles. American Public Media is the second largest national producer of public radio programming, following National Public Radio (NPR) in Washington. APMG is also the parent company for Southern California Public Radio (SCPR). SCPR operates radio station KPCC serving a population of 14 million people in the Los Angeles area. Greenspring is the parent company for Greenspring Media Group, a diversified regional and national magazine publishing and event management company.
Kling is also co-founder, director and Chairman of Gather Inc., a web-based, user-driven media venture operating in Boston.
Kling has served as a director of two publicly held companies. From 1989-2005, he served as a director of St Paul Travelers Inc. Kling currently serves as a director of Irwin Financial Corporation, (a diversified, financial holding company with interests in banking, mortgage banking and financial services). He is also a director of the privately held Wenger Corporation, which designs and builds music related equipment and systems.
Kling serves as a director of seven fund Boards of Los Angeles based Capital Group - American Funds mutual fund family, including The New Economy Fund, Smallcap World Fund, AMCAP, American Balanced Fund, The New Perspective Fund, The Euro Pacific Growth Fund and the New World Fund. He is also non-executive chairman of The New Economy Fund and The Smallcap World Fund.
Kling is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Fitzgerald Theater in St Paul. He is a Regent of St John’s University. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the JL Foundation in Los Angeles. He was an incorporator and founding Director of National Public Radio and the founding Chair and President of Public Radio International which was formed as a subsidiary of APMG.
Kling holds a BA in Economics from St John’s University and an MA from the Graduate School of Communication at Boston University. In 2004 he was inducted into the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting’s Hall of Fame.
