May 11, 2006

Public Invited to Attend Live Broadcast, 7 pm Tuesday, March 16, 2006
[Note: Photo Op with Ryssdal speaking with VPR listeners 8 pm Tuesday, March 18 at Elley-Long Music Center following broadcast.]

Vermont Public Radio invites you to meet Kai Ryssdal, host of Marketplace, public radio's most popular business news program. Ryssdal will be a guest on VPR's call-in program Switchboard, in front of a live studio audience on Tuesday, May 16 at 7 pm. The broadcast is free and open to the public and will be held at the Elley-Long Music Center at St. Michael's College in Fort Ethan Allen, Colchester. (Audience members must be seated by 6:45 pm and VPR does ask that you let them know you're coming by calling 800-639-2192.) Ryssdal joins VPR's Bob Kinzel to talk about how business and economic news is reported, and answer listener and audience questions about what goes on behind the scenes of Marketplace. While he is in Vermont, Ryssdal will host Marketplace from VPR, with VPR's Jody Evans producing.

Before becoming the host of Marketplace, Kai Ryssdal was a reporter and substitute host for The California Report, a news and information program distributed to public radio stations throughout California. He covered business and the economy, state politics, criminal justice, capital punishment and agriculture for the program. His work there won first place awards from the Radio and Television News Directors Association and the national Public Radio News Directors Association. After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta, Kai spent eight years in the United States Navy, first flying from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, and then as a Pentagon staff officer. Before his career in public radio, he was a member of the United States Foreign Service and served in Ottawa, Canada and Beijing, China.

Marketplace isn't really a show about money; instead, it is a program which looks at the entire world through the lenses of business, economics and finance. The show is known for its use of music; playing Stormy Weather when the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down; We're in the Money when it's up. When the market is mixed, the song is It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got that Swing.) Marketplace is heard weekdays at 6:30 pm on VPR.

Vermont Public Radio is Vermont's only statewide source for NPR News, classical music, jazz and award-winning local news programming. VPR can be heard at 107.9 FM in Burlington, 89.5 FM in Windsor, 88.7 FM in Rutland, 88.5 FM in St. Johnsbury, 94.3 FM in Bennington, 92.5 in Manchester, 94.5 in Brattleboro, and 95.3 in Middlebury. VPR also provides VPR Classical, a 24 hour classical music service, heard on 88.1 in Norwich, 93.5 in Bennington, 103.9 in Hanover, 106.9 in Manchester, 99.5 in Newbury and 106.9 in Woodstock. Both VPR and VPR Classical can also be heard online at vpr.net.