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Garrison Keillor Column To Debut July 3Chicago, IL, May 17, 2005 — Radio host and best-selling humorist Garrison Keillor will write a new, weekly column for Tribune Media Services (TMS), which plans to distribute it to newspapers in the U.S. and abroad beginning July 3. Each week, Keillor will offer readers his take on current events, life in the Midwest and other topics. "We're pleased that a classic American humorist is eager to write a column for newspapers," said David D. Williams, TMS president and CEO. "He's tossing his hat in the ring with Will Rogers and Mark Twain and all the others who wrote journalism that wound up as literature. We're looking forward to seeing his work." "Newspapers have been waving fistfuls of money at me for years," said Keillor. "But in the end it was the offer of frequent-flier mileage that convinced me to take the plunge. I am an everyday newspaper reader. I would walk a mile to get one. I would no sooner get my news from TV than I would buy bread at a gas station. As for radio, it has its merits, but you can't swat a fly with a radio. " Best known as the host of A Prairie Home Companion, heard weekly by more than 4 million listeners on public radio stations across the country, Keillor is also the author of more than a dozen books, including Lake Wobegon Days, The Book of Guys, Love Me and Homegrown Democrat. For many years, he contributed casuals and "Talk of the Town" pieces to The New Yorker magazine, and, most recently, he's been an essayist for Time. A profile in Time called Keillor "the funniest American writer still open for business," and the Washington Post described him as "a storytelling genius." Said the Houston Chronicle: "He's Will Rogers with grammar lessons, Aesop without the ax to grind, the common man's Moliere." His 800-word newspaper column will carry the title "The Old Scout," a reference to Keillor's early, unsuccessful experience in the Scouting movement. "We expect most papers to publish the column on Sundays," said Williams. "And because Garrison will be taking his cues largely from the headlines of the day, we anticipate many will run it on their op-ed pages." Keillor was born in Anoka, MN, in 1942 and graduated from the University of Minnesota. He lives in St. Paul with his wife and daughter. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters, the Jack's Auto Repair softball team, and the Episcopal Church. About Tribune Media Services
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