Substantive local journalism? Really?

It would be nice. Hey, a few years ago one of our local affiliates was bought by Fox. So one day you have Robin and Jeff doing a pretty darn good job of delivering the news, and the next day you have the same people ... Robin and Jeff ... screaming sensationalist crap into the news camera. Same stories, same actors, different tone. And, of course, Fox fed a different flavor of national feed into that local system for good measure.

(Well, OK, they weren't exactly screaming, but you get the point. Oh, and I do remember how uncomfortable they looked with their new edgy and sometimes over the top copy.)

But other than that, oh and one great local weatherman on a different channel (we love you Paul!) there is nothing amazing to report about Twin Cities Local News.

Until now, perhaps ...

We appear to be engaged in an experiment. It's calld MinnPost.com, a daily news site. It just opened, and is run by a guy named Joel Kramer, with news editor Don Effenberger. (I can only imagine the difficulties Don may have had as a child with this name.)

Our two local papers (one for each city of the very distinct Twin Cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis), in their pre-merger that no one will admit is coming convulsions, have been laying off lots of people, and I suspect Don was someone who saw the handwriting on the wall, because Kramer is a former Star Tribune (the Minneapolis paper) publisher.

Indeed, the founders of this venture complain that staffing cuts are behind a current fresh wave of decrease in quality we are seeing in local journalism.

What I like about it is this: Its not really a new news agency. Its a very well staffed blog. Go blogs.

Look, mom, no printer! From the MinnPost.com web site:

Our mission is to provide high-quality journalism for news-intense people who care about Minnesota. We intend to focus sharply on that mission, and not get distracted by trying to be all things or serve all people.

MinnPost.com provides news and analysis Monday through Friday, based on reporting by professional journalists, most of whom have decades of experience in the Twin Cities media. The site features high-quality video and audio, as well as written stories. It also includes commentary pieces from the community, and comments from readers on individual stories. The site will not endorse candidates for office or publish unsigned editorials representing an institutional position. We encourage broad-ranging, civil discussion from many points of view.

MinnPost in Print is a newspaper, also published five days a week, that presents highlights from the website in a newspaper format, on 8.5 x 11 paper. You can download the PDF and print your own copy, or pick up a copy at selected locations with high traffic over the lunch hour.

One of the things that has been reduced in recent years for local print news coverage in the Twin Cities is science. I heard rumors that the higher-ups in the Star Tribune were mostly creationists, so they were not very interested in the occasional nagging story about evolution. I have no idea if those rumors are true (my source was a science reporter for a major local paper). I notice that MinnNews does not have an explicit science section, but rather a "Health/Science" section. This is a possible signal that they would prefer to bury the science they don't like the feel of in with science they need for their own personal interests. Or perhaps they are merely being concise. I will be watching closely, and I'll be letting you know my further thoughts and observations on this.

MinnPost is a non-profit corporation, and they raised over a million dollars to get this going. They currently have about ten salaried staff and 50 freelancers.

The MinnPost sie is located here. I'm adding it to my news feed. We'll see how it goes!

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Sources:

New York Times
Minnesota Public Radio
Physorg.com