Year in Review: What we lost, and gained, in Minnesota media in 2020
A look at who and what we lost, what we gained, and what might be ahead for 2021.
Media
MinnPost’s media beat focuses on the people, ideas and institutions shaping local and national media.
A new reality: After 36 years, Pat Kessler steps away from day-to-day political coverage for WCCO
In the post-Hubert Humphrey era of Minnesota politics, Kessler has covered them all, from Mondale to Paul Wellstone to Jesse Ventura to Michele Bachman to Al Franken to Tim Walz.
COVID ended City Pages — and the era of alt-weeklies in the Twin Cities
The Star Tribune announced that the paper, founded in 1979, would cease operations immediately, putting about 30 staffers out of work and leaving the metro without its most prominent alt-weekly voice.
Why Sid never stopped
When news broke Sunday that Sid Hartman had died, a few months past his 100th birthday, it still came as a surprise. Sid? Dead? Impossible. Everyone knew Sid would outlive us all.
What it was like to work with — or, rather, around — Sid Hartman
There were the times when you wanted to smack Sid. And there were times you wanted to hug him.
What former Star Tribune reporter Myron Medcalf wants to do with his newest gig: Star Tribune local columnist
Medcalf will be the paper’s first Black local news columnist, and has been given what Strib Editor Rene Sanchez calls “a blank canvas.”
Why having more Black newsroom leaders is so critical for journalism
Diverse voices in newsrooms are essential to finding and reporting stories that even the most well-meaning white editors never think of. And it’s really not that hard.
The Twin Cities’ community newspapers are struggling to survive
As more and more dailies shed staff or fold, community papers are an even more important and often overlooked part of the media landscape — and just as endangered.
Authentic coverage: Nine months in, Sahan Journal reports with nuance on Minnesota’s immigrants and refugees
During the pandemic, a report on Somali workers at an Amazon warehouse in Eagan was aided by Mukhtar Ibrahim’s ability to interview them in their native language.
COVID-19 is a huge story for newspapers across Minnesota. For some, it could also be their undoing.
The massive decline in print advertising brought on by the coronavirus crisis is “going to separate the haves and the have-nots,” said Star Tribune Publisher Michael J. Klingensmith.
What happened when a group of Twin Cities investors tried to buy the Pioneer Press — and what it says about the future of the paper
From mid-2016 until early 2018, a consortium of Twin Cities investors negotiated to buy the Pioneer Press from Alden Global Capital, the hedge fund that owns the paper. It didn’t go well.
Minnesota’s Open Meeting Law: Know your rights
During a meeting to discuss Minneapolis’ $200 million Upper Harbor Terminal project last month, a confrontation between the meeting’s leaders and members of the media made clear: Not everyone knows about Minnesota’s Open Meeting Law.
News outlets challenge PolyMet’s attempt to block recordings of court hearing
The Star Tribune and MinnPost argue the public has “inherent interest” in learning about how the case is resolved and that such recordings would provide greater transparency and ensure accurate reporting.
The Minnesota Reformer has launched. So what the hell is the Minnesota Reformer?
Launched Tuesday, the Reformer is the 15th entry in the States Newsroom network, a national nonprofit based dedicated to in-depth statehouse coverage.
35 years of ‘Almanac’: An oral history of how TPT’s iconic show got started, and survived
It was “a strange time for the news, nationally,” says Jim Russell, KTCA news director at the time of ‘Almanac’s debut. “‘Just the facts, ma’am,’ wasn’t cutting it. … So we ended up trying to cater to those people who cared about the news.”
Lillie no longer: Suburban newspaper group dies quietly after 82 years
When North St. Paul-based Lillie Suburban Newspapers “serving the St. Paul suburbs since 1937” abruptly shut down at the end of September, it almost passed without notice.
Eight months into retirement, a Q&A with Mark Rosen
Rosen talks TV news biz, college vs. professional sports and his relationship with Tom Barnard.
Pay to sway: more Minnesota newspapers charging to publish political endorsement letters
Press Publications, which owns 18 newspapers in Minnesota and Wisconsin, is now charging $25 to publish letters that endorse or oppose a candidate or ballot measure — a policy that has become increasingly common.
‘The People’s Station’: KMOJ-FM broadcasts for the Minnesota African-American community and beyond
KMOJ connects in a way that only community radio can, providing as it does a listening experience wherein the deejays speak directly to you, the listener, complete with the freedom to voice their opinions about life and the news of the day.
What the Gannett-GateHouse merger means for Minnesota
Both chains have a limited presence in the state.
