Business, like nuclear physics and brain surgery, was long considered a subject beyond the grasp of common folk. And many are the vested interests that wanted to keep it that way. As long as John Q. Public was unable to tell a hedge fund from a hedgerow, armies of well-paid financial advisors were guaranteed employment.
So it was no surprise that Jim Russell and the folks at American Public Radio--now Public Radio International--weren't exactly embraced 10 years ago when they decided to launch a weekday business show aimed not at Wall Street, but at Main Street. With "Marketplace," the idea was to make price swings in the supermarket as important as those in the stock market.
"They wanted an entire new concept, and I agreed to develop one," says Russell. "This is not a show for businessmen. That was one of the fundamental decisions that was made consciously. We're interested in what business tells us about the world; we're not really interested in business itself."
But that wasn't even the greatest heresy. Doing a business show that wasn't really about business was one thing. But doing it from Los Angeles, outside the beltway and 3,000 miles from the New York Stock Exchange? That was enough to start John D. Rockefeller spinning in his grave.
Yet anyone who followed the experts on this one had better double-check their portfolio because "Marketplace," which debuted 10 years ago Saturday, has proved to be a sleeper. And it's lasted this long partly because it works for merchant bankers as well as merchant marines. Among its frequent listeners, for example, are Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin and former Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich as well as tens of thousands of just plain secretaries.
But first, let's do the numbers. Since its premiere on 77 stations a decade ago, "Marketplace's" network has grown to 262 outlets--including Armed Forces Radio worldwide as well as Southern California stations KCRW-FM (89.9), KCSN-FM (88.5) and KUSC-FM (91.5). And its weekly audience has grown from an estimated 663,000 listeners at its inception to more than 3.35 million today, the second-largest audience in the nation for a TV, cable or radio business show.
Meanwhile, the "Marketplace Morning Report," an eight-minute, 50-second spinoff, which airs five times each morning, is already heard on 211 stations.
