The International Falls Journal newspaper published its final edition Thursday after 110 years of operation in the northern Minnesota town at the Canadian border. The newspaper was founded in 1911 and has served the community ever since. North Star Publishing, an affiliated commercial printing business, is also shuttering.
International Falls is located on the Rainy River. Ontario, Canada, is on the other side of the river. The city had a population of roughly 6,400 residents according to the 2010 census.
In response to an inquiry from Twin Cities Business, Journal publisher Rob Davenport referred back to a brief, three-paragraph item about the closure in its own June 3 edition.
The statement noted, “Like many businesses this past year, the impact of the pandemic on The Journal and North Star Publishing has been dramatic. These challenges, when combined with other difficult economic trends, have forced us to make this difficult decision.”
Since last year the Journal has been owned by New York-based Alden Global Capital, which is now the second-largest owner of U.S. newspapers ranking behind only Virginia-based Gannett Co. Inc. Alden acquired Digital First Media in 2010, bringing the St. Paul Pioneer Press into its fold.
Alden acquired the International Falls Journal in 2020 as part of its acquisition of Minnesota-based Red Wing Publishing Co.
Alden is a hedge fund which has acquired a reputation among journalists as a “vulture capitalist” for ruthlessly slashing jobs almost immediately after acquiring a newspaper.
In recent years, the disappearance and erosion of local news has become an ongoing topic of discussion in both media and political circles.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar commented on the closure of the Journal on Tuesday in the U.S. Senate:
Today, newspapers of all sizes are struggling and closing.
Ad revenue for U.S. newspapers plummeted from $49.4 billion in 2005 to $14.3 billion in 2018. During that time, two other companies, Facebook and Google — worth over $2.4 trillion combined — became advertising titans.
These two companies don’t just control the majority of online advertising; they’ve built power over the news and crushed local news outlets along the way.
With the closure of The Journal, we are once again seeing the impacts of this firsthand. We can’t stand by and watch this happen to our independent press. That’s why I have introduced bipartisan legislation to let news publishers join together to negotiate fair terms with these giant digital corporations. We must give independent papers the chance to compete.
But even as we work to ensure other papers are able to keep their lights on, the International Falls Journal is a reminder of the value of local journalism. For more than a century, it has empowered its readers by providing them with accurate, relevant information about their communities. It has captured moments big and small that together tell a beautiful story of the region that will live on.
Newspapers were something of a family business for Klobuchar. Her late father, Jim, was a columnist for many years for the Star Tribune.
Sad state of affairs. Facebook and most of the other social sites are not real news. Unfortunately, there is a very large number of our current Americans that think it is and believe in it.
This matters. Many people get their news online. The local papers report what happens in your own back yard. You think Facebook and Goggle care about White Bear Lake and International Falls? Think again. Thanks Sen Klobuchar
What does Senator Klobuchar have to do with this? Apart, that is, from being a Democrat and thus by definition evil.
Local communities should consider not for profit models like MinnPost for delivering local news, if commercial models are not viable. The alternative is a powerful media organization like Sinclair interested only in profits and propaganda, rather than serving the common good.
Agree. Our cabin is on the lake there and I have been a regular reader for years. It is a twisted environment where a NY hedge funds owns what should be a mom and pop family run community newspaper.
Comments from I Falls C of C President:
“While the loss of the Journal is a terrific blow to the community, Heibel said she’s already been talking with others about alternatives. One approach might be trying to recruit a new newspaper to town, while another might be to develop a web-based community news site. It’s too soon for anything other than brainstorming possibilities, but Heibel is ready to do it.
“I think it’s worth exploring,” she said. “There are communities smaller than ours that have publications. I think we could get broader community support to bring in something like that again. Everything seems hypothetical right now as we’re exploring options, but I think there are options.”
Heibel is Tricia Heibel, President, International Falls Area Chamber of Commerce
Thanks for that.
If you take a look at the Journal’s website you will see Laurel Beager’s byline on countless stories.
It would seem that finding away to retain her services is a great way to carry on. Especially when you consider that only a few years ago it was a daily newspaper and Beager seemed to have the same productivity on a daily basis.
FALLSPOST???
Yes. If economics continues to erode newspapers, something must be done. Journalism is too important for democracy.
Sad to see yet another community newspaper depart.
The same thing happened last year when the Hibbing Daily Tribune became part of the new “Mesabi Tribune” owned by a conglomerate, and has only a passing mention of Hibbing. We miss the reports on City Council Meetings as well as local school and business news.
I agree with the words of Senator Klobuchar on the demise of the Journal, it must be noted, however, that more than fifty percent of that found in the Congressional Record was never said on the floor in congress:
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/71460059.pdf