Bill Kling, builder of one of the nation's richest, most respected radio empires, announced Friday that he's leaving Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) and American Public Media next June to work some of the same magic at other public stations across the country.
Kling, 68, has planned the move for some time. A succession committee of about 10 people -- including Kling -- was formed more than a year ago, according to MPR board chairman Randy Hogan, chief executive of Pentair Inc.
In interviews, Kling and top board members said he was not forced out. He and the board have been "working collaboratively" on the transition, Hogan said.
"You can't replace a founder," he said. "You can only find a new CEO. We understand that."
Starting in 1967 from a low-wattage station at his alma mater, St. John's University near St. Cloud, Kling built MPR into the largest network of public-radio stations in the country and a leading distributor of programs, including "A Prairie Home Companion" and "Marketplace." In 2005, he launched the Current, an alternative-music station that's about as far from MPR's classical roots as he could get.
"He has defined the cutting edge of the public radio landscape," said Tom Thomas, co-CEO of the Station Resource Group, a trade organization for 35 public-radio networks, including MPR.
In the process, Kling has collected an assortment of titles: President of the St. Paul-based nonprofit American Public Media Group (APM). President of its subsidiary MPR, whose board includes many powerful executives from Fortune 500 companies in the Twin Cities. Vice chairman of Southern California Public Radio. President of Greenspring Co., a for-profit enterprise that publishes Minnesota Monthly magazine.
Kling is also a founding board member of Gather.com, a Boston-based social networking startup in which APM is invested. He will retire from all his positions at APM but remain at Gather.com, a spokesman for the site said.