Over the many months I've done this blog, I've tried to bring attention to the newspaper meltdown in non-metro Minnesota. In some cases, the reductions are far worse than what's happened at our local dailies.

Case in point: the Duluth News Tribune. According to the Newspaper Guild there, since 2008, Fargo-based owner Forum Communications has slashed the newsroom from 60 staffers to 33, a 45 percent cutback. Overall, the News Tribune's overall headcount has dropped by more than a third, and in January, the paper's editor was let go.

Thursday, the union took to the streets to protest a two-person cut two weeks earlier. While that particular knifing might not seem like a lot, the Guild is infuriated management wouldn't accept a concessions-for-job-protection offer. The union says it's willing to engage in "creative problem-solving," but attacks Forum for eviscerating a civic resource needlessly.

According to a union release, "Continued cuts hurt not only employees and their families but also the community at large. Forum says its operations here in Duluth remain profitable, but not as lucrative as it would like. In order to satisfy ownership in Fargo, N.D., Duluth is being asked to sacrifice not only jobs and dollars circulating in the local economy but the coverage the community receives. Democracy depends on an informed electorate, and the News Tribune has played an important role in educating the public up until now. The community has a stake in maintaining a healthy newspaper, and we hope readers will make their voices heard."

The Perfect Duluth Day blog notes the latest protest picked up support from other unions, and local TV stations picked up the story. While the station that shares content with the News Tribune got a comment from the publisher ("News Tribune Publisher Ken Browall says the guild rejected contract offers, which ultimately led to the layoffs"), Forum officials hung up on the NBC affiliate, according to this report.