The MJC Newsletter: Winter warmth | | |
Most years in mid-December the news cycle starts to, well, chill out. Not so, this year. Here at the Minnesota Journalism Center, we’re working to support all those who are on the front lines of covering an influx of federal agents and the protests it’s generated. We've launched the first of several trainings for dealing with the news safely.
In the meantime, it’s starting to look a lot like Christmas (or Minnesota Hannukah) and winter is here to stay. Breathe the crisp air, get out the skis and snowshoes and enjoy the season. And feel your blood pressure lower as you enjoy photos of dogs frolicking in the snow!
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Our Lady of Guadalupe procession Thursday night in St. Paul. Courtesy Liz Flores, Star Tribune.
Here’s what we have for you.
- Journalist safety planning
- News of your colleagues around the state
- Job listings
- Students prep for legislative coverage
- Some interesting reads about what’s next in journalism
The MJC is: Ben Toff, director and lead researcher, Gayle (G.G.) Golden, associate director of student educational initiatives, Regina McCombs, associate director of outreach and training and Meg Martin, associate director of pretty much everything.
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It’s been a challenging couple of weeks in Minnesota. As federal agents ramp up immigration actions in the state, we’ve seen chaotic scenes of enforcement and neighbors’ responses, often with the added dynamic of local law enforcement in the mix. We’ve seen several colleagues injured. We’ve seen journalists arrested and assaulted elsewhere — and we’ve seen collective outrage at racist and xenophobic remarks from the highest levels of government aimed at our communities.
It’s a lot to navigate — and it requires effort from nearly every angle: Physical safety, digital security, legal rights training, resilience and — maybe most importantly — peer support.
The MJC team believes that we’re all better off when we work together, so we’re building resources, training and small cohorts of journalists to navigate the stories in front of us in this moment. Many of you have helped us do that — and for that, we are grateful!
Safety training and resources
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The MJC and the International Women’s Media Foundation partnered to offer “Staying Safe on Any Assignment: Situational Awareness Training for Journalists,” a virtual training session led by IWMF’s security director, Jeff Belzil.
We packed a lot into the hour and a half — most of it prompted by the questions the 100-plus attendees submitted at registration, and others that have arisen in earlier MJC-sponsored training sessions.
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If you weren’t able to attend, you can watch a password-protected recording of the video for a limited time: It will be available until Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Use the password “mjc” and click “authenticate” to view the video.
Feel free to share both with your colleagues; we only ask that you not post them on social media or share them publicly.
If you attended the session, please let us know what you thought of it — and what you’d like to see us offer next. (And in the meantime, bookmark IWMF’s excellent repository of safety resources.)
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Worth knowing: Twin Cities managers coordinating around safety
At the suggestion of several Twin Cities-based news leaders, we’ve gathered top editors and news directors from more than a dozen newsrooms in the metro to connect over safety planning.
They came together to share strategies to keep teams safe and connected in the field. The group plans to meet regularly, share resources and connect around urgent needs. We’re building as we go, so if your newsroom would like to get involved, please email Meg at martinme@umn.edu.
Coming up soon
We’re developing a larger roundup of customized safety resources that we’ll soon post on our website. In the meantime, keep an eye out for details about a workshop for news leaders and assigning editors to build, revisit and maintain safety planning customized to your newsroom.
Legal training: Know your rights
As we braced for the possibility of the surge of federal agents earlier this fall, the MJC partnered with our friends at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press to offer training on journalists’ legal rights and responsibilities.
The session wasn’t recorded, but trainer Jen Nelson shared several resources that RCFP has compiled to support us in this work:
Missed the session? The Online News Association is offering a legal training session with RCFP’s Jen Nelson on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 1 p.m. Register here.
Supporting our colleagues and communities
Peer support may be our best tool in navigating the uncertainty and xenophobia of the moment. How do we care for our colleagues and staffers, particularly those whose experiences and identities put them most at risk?
For each person in your newsroom, the answer is different. Journalists who are immigrants themselves, and those whose families or communities have an immigration experience, must also manage personal risk as they cover the news.
Supporting each other through a trauma-informed leadership lens can be a good place to start. That leadership can happen at any level — among peers, on small teams or at the helm of a division or news operation.
Our Taking Care guide from earlier this year includes recommendations for helping in support each other that apply well to this moment, too. Another good resource, from Factchequeado: Rights for Immigrant Journalists in the U.S.: What You Need to Know. And, from the Sincerely, Leaders of Color archives: How to Be an Ally in the Newsroom.
Trauma-informed work extends to coverage and interactions with our communities.
Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism compiled a solutions journalism-focused Rapid Response Kit, based on Chicago’s experience of enforcement raids. And earlier this year INN wrote about the balance some nonprofit newsrooms were walking between serving their communities and managing risk.
Coming up: We’re scheduling a conversation in early January with Chicago journalists about how they've focused on meeting their communities' needs during immigration actions there.
— Meg
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Discussion session at the Arboretum last month. Photo: Judy Griesedieck for the MJC
JAM Notes
The MJC’s group for journalists who work in nonprofit and community-supported news in Minnesota (fondly known as the JAM) gathered last month to reconnect and launch some projects.
The afternoon was low-key and had time for connection and conversation. We’ll host these meetups twice a year for anyone who works in nonprofit or community-supported news.
Up next: We are launching a working group to develop a content-sharing program for the JAM, beginning in earnest in January. If this sounds like your kind of project, email Meg at martinme@umn.edu.
Coming up…
We’re launching a training advisors group that will meet quarterly (virtually), open to any Minnesota journalist who’s interested in helping shape our training offerings. Got your finger on the pulse of your newsroom? Email Regina at rmccombs@umn.edu to join us.
We’re developing a workshop on inclusive sports coverage ahead of this winter’s Paralympics and the summer’s Special Olympics in Minneapolis for February.
And we’re looking forward to the Northern Exposure visual conference. Mark your calendar – it’s April 10-11. It will include sessions for non-visual folks who work with images.
| | Other training and events | | |
Even though things are quieting down for the holiday season, the MJC’s curated training and events calendar still has plenty of opportunities. Here are a few highlights (all times Central):
2026 Minnesota Grantmakers, Tuesday, Jan. 6 and Thursday Jan. 8 (virtual) — Grantmakers connects you to Minnesota’s most active private, community and corporate funders, going beyond their websites to hear candidly from peer grantseekers about their experience and knowledge of their funding priorities, staffing and financial outlook. Registrants receive a free digital copy of MCN’s 2026 Minnesota Grants Directory, with funder details and editable note pages. Fee varies.
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Statewide funders: Tuesday, Jan. 6, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
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Greater Minnesota funders: Thursday, Jan. 8, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
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Twin Cities funders: Thursday, Jan. 8, 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Be Part of the Start: NAHJ Minnesota (virtual) — Thursday, Jan. 15, 2 – 3 p.m.
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is exploring the launch of a Minnesota professional chapter ahead of the 2027 NAHJ Conference in Minneapolis. Join a casual conversation to gather input, answer questions, and learn what kind of support or community you’d like to see.
More virtual trainings:
Find more on our curated calendar — which you can subscribe to or share. And let us know what else to add by responding to this email.
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KAXE/KBXE is looking for a Director of Audience Engagement.
The Star Tribune is hiring a Sports Editor and Head of Audience Strategy.
MPR has multiple openings around the state for Deputy Managing Editor, Culture & Community; Newscaster; Regional managers in Rochester and Moorhead; and Vice President of Technology.
Marketplace is looking for a Reporter I, who can be St. Paul-based.
KARE-TV needs a news anchor and a part-time weekend photographer.
KAAL-TV is looking for a weekend anchor and MMJ,
KSTP-TV has openings for a TV reporter, a meteorologist and an executive producer of local programming.
Adams Multimedia is seeking a managing editor for its southern Minnesota regional publications, an editor in Stillwater, an assistant editor in Apple Valley, a community editor in Elk River, a part-time assistant editor in Virginia, an associate editor in Caledonia, a full-time reporter in Owatonna and a part-time reporter in Aiken.
MinnPost is looking for its next community health reporting fellow, a one-year position.
Hearst Newspapers is accepting applications through Jan. 5 for its two-year fellowship, which includes two 12-month rotations in newsrooms.
For students, here’s a spring and summer internship roundup.
Interesting remote jobs
States Newsroom is looking for a National Editor.
ProPublica has a bunch of remote openings: Senior Editor for the Local Reporting Network, Deputy Editor of Engagement and Copy Editor. Two more positions are remote, but are NYC- or D.C.-area preferred, so… YouTube Senior Producer and YouTube Producer.
The Association of Health Care Journalists needs a Program Manager.
The War Horse is seeking a data reporter.
Axios has an opening for a senior technology reporter.
Sentient, a nonprofit news organization focused on factory farms, is looking for an audience manager.
Fellowships, grants other opportunities
New America Foundation’s Better Life Lab offers Caregiving Reporting Grants of about $1,000 to independent journalists telling stories on topics related to work-family justice, gender equity and elevating the value of care. Rolling deadline.
The Stringer Foundation is accepting applications for grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 to support diverse creators working in any public media who investigate abuses of power, expose injustice and defend truth. Deadline Dec. 31.
Rural Revenue Transformation Workshop at RJI is an opportunity for news, information and community leaders who are located in and serve rural, low-income and geographically dispersed communities, held on April 12-15, 2026. Deadline Jan. 1.
The Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics program is awarding fellowships to 13–16 journalism students and early-career professionals for a fully funded, two-week study retreat in Germany and Poland from June 19 to July 3, 2026, where participants explore historical cases of journalistic complicity and modern ethics, leadership and technology. Deadline Jan. 4.
The Impact Architects is launching their inaugural cohort for Media Impact Measurement 101, where 3-5 newsroom teams will receive frameworks, tools, and guidance to build sustainable impact measurement practices in six weeks. Deadline Jan. 7.
A new project from the Internet Archive, IRE and Poynter — Save the digital archives of local newsrooms: Today’s News For Tomorrow — will work with 300 local newsrooms of all shapes, sizes and mediums over the next two years to help preserve their digital archives and make them publicly accessible. Deadline Jan 9.
Lenfest Institute invests $1 million in partnerships between content creators and local newsrooms. The Creator Collaborative is open to for-profit and nonprofit news organizations. Deadline Jan. 12.
Also from Lensfest: the Lenfest Expert Network, a free service connecting U.S.-based local news organizations with consultants for short-term engagements (1-6 months) focused on sustainability, audience growth and digital transformation. Up to 40 newsrooms will be selected per round and can access strategic support from experts in areas like revenue, product and organizational design.
And from RJI and the Local Media Consortium: News Media Help Desk for Local Newsroom Sustainability
There’s still time to apply for two of the big three fellowships for next year. Plenty of Minnesota journalists have had the opportunity to attend (talk to Meg about the Knight-Wallace Fellowship and Jon Collins about the Nieman Fellowship).
The Tarbell Center for AI Journalism is accepting applications for its 12-month fellowship designed for early- and mid-career journalists to specialize in covering artificial intelligence. The program includes a 10-week remote AI journalism fundamentals training, a week-long summit in the San Francisco Bay area, and a nine-month placement at a leading newsroom. Deadline Jan. 7.
The Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT is inviting applications for its 2026-2027 fellowship, a nine-month paid opportunity open to full-time journalists with at least three years of experience in science, health, technology or environment reporting. Fellows receive an $85,000 stipend, housing and travel support, health insurance coverage, and spend their time auditing courses, attending seminars, field trips and completing a journalism research project. There’s a webinar at 1 pm on Dec. 18 to answer questions about the academic-year fellowship and application process. Deadline Jan. 9.
Contests
Brechner Center for Freedom of Information sponsors an annual $3,000 cash award recognizing excellence in reporting about freedom of information, access to government-held information or the First Amendment. Deadline Jan. 12.
The Shorenstein Center is accepting nominations for the 2026 Goldsmith Prizes, which strive to foster a more insightful and spirited public debate about government, politics and the press, and to demonstrate the essential role of a free press in a thriving democracy. Deadline Jan. 5.
Entries open for Katherine Schneider Journalism Award and Gary Corcoran Student prize for excellence in disability reporting. Deadline Jan 12.
Looking for something more? Check out our calendar of training opportunities and newsroom events.
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Can’t say it any better than the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder did: “Wallace ‘Jack’ O’Neal Jackman, known affectionately as Jackie or simply Jack, passed away peacefully on Oct. 27, 2025, leaving behind a legacy of leadership, mentorship, and unwavering dedication to community. A loving father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Jack’s life was a master class in combining heart, hustle, and humor.” Jackman became co-publisher of the Minneapolis Spokesman and St. Paul Recorder, now the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. Read more about the man who not only helped develop the Spokesman-Recorder into what it is today, but also made a significant mark on the larger Twin Cities community.
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Kristin Wagner Witt died unexpectedly on Nov. 18. Kristin was a longtime assignment editor at KARE-TV and more recently at KSTP, where she spent a combined 35+ years.
She was part of multiple team Emmys for her work at KARE over the years.
A graduate of (then) Derham Hall High School and (then) the College of St. Thomas, she is survived by her husband, David, and her daughter, Gabriella.
She loved spending time on the water, especially at the family cabin. And she loved animals!
She is remembered in both newsrooms for her sweetness of spirit and her kindness. Her memorial service was held at the Basilica of St. Mary.
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Photo: Kerem Yücel, MPR News
Three photojournalists were hurt during ICE raids on Nov. 25 by St. Paul police. Kerem Yücel of MPR News was taken to the hospital after getting a face full of chemical irritants and being hit in the shoulder with a “non-lethal” round; Tim Evans, freelancing for Reuters, was hit by another “non-lethal” shot; and Aaron Nesheim of Sahan Journal was grazed with another. The Hubbard School, the Silha Center and the MJC issued a joint statement protesting the way journalists were treated.
Congratulations to Pamela Knudson, Grand Forks Herald features reporter and Danielle Teigen, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead’s features editor, for receiving awards from the National Federation of Press Women 2025 Communications Contest.
Several local photographers had images in CNN’s year in pictures project: Rich Tsong-Taatarii’s photo of a mother running down the street after the Annunciation shooting, Tim Evans’ photo of Joe Biden at Melissa and Mark Hortman’s caskets, and two of Minneapolis-based David Guttenfelder’s images from Ukraine. Plus a photo of Paige Bueckers!
Twin Cities Business names three Twin Cities media folks to its list of 100 people to know in 2026: Kathleen Hennessey, senior VP and editor at the Star Tribune, Jonathan Goldstein, creator/host of the podcast Heavyweight and Phil Morris, VP and opinion section editor of the Star Tribune.
Minnesotans for Open Government (MNOG) launches a newsletter. You should subscribe!
Two DJs stalked by the same listener. Is a life of terror the price of being in the public eye? Star Tribune.
Meteorologist Wren Clair, KSTP attorneys ask judge to dismiss her lawsuit against TV station, Pioneer Press
Minnesota Announces Gordon Parks Living Memorial Honoring Iconic Storyteller, MSR
Apple Podcasts unveils the most popular shows and trends of 2025 which lists the Sold a Story podcast, produced by APMG, as among its most-shared podcasts in 2025.
The Minnesota Star Tribune Opts for Radical Transparency on Major Scoop, Ethics and Journalism
NYT announces Support for Local Reporting Projects in 2 Major Cities. Headway, a Times team that covers progress, is collaborating with newsrooms in Philadelphia and with MPR News.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting Announces $3 Million in Grants to Expand Native Public Media Programming, including the shows Native America Calling and National Native News which air on stations across Minnesota.
AP Fund for Journalism secures over $30 million to bring AP content to local US newsrooms, APFJ. MinnPost is among the newsrooms who will benefit. In addition, MinnPost and the Sahan Journal will be part of an AP local newsroom pilot program in which it will work with nearly 50 nonprofit news organizations to support state and local news reporting.
Catalyzing ground-up solutions and support for public media’s future, Press Forward. Seven Press Forward local chapters, including Minnesota’s, will receive $2.7 million to build public media's long-term resilience at the local level.
Bridge Fund Awards $26 Million to public media outlets including KAWE-TV (Bemidji), KWCM-TV (Granite Falls) and KSRQ-FM (Thief River Falls).
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Five students for the Report for Minnesota Legislative Reporting Project have been selected to work with editor Mike Mulcahy, reporting from the Capitol for our Greater Minnesota partners. They are Abbey Mulcahy (no relation to Mike), Shay Scanlan, Eleanor Steffen, Kendra Mobilia and Karina Kafka, who will be providing multimedia reporting. Additionally, Maddie Mullikin will work with Forum News Service as a Report for Minnesota intern for the legislative session.
We are planning a “boot camp” for the students to kick off their internship the week of Feb. 9, where they will have interaction with lawmakers and tips from veteran statehouse reporters to help them find their way. We may be reaching out!
Recruitment for our Report for Minnesota summer internships will begin in late January. Several Greater Minnesota news organizations have expressed interest. More in next month’s newsletter.
Finally, our micro-internship program to help students gain a professional clip has been a huge success, thanks in no small part to fellow Sheila Eldred, who has created a warm, structured mentorship plan for each student placed at either the Park Bugle, TMC Publications or Minnesota Trails Magazine. This year we will accommodate 21 students in the program. Interested in having a student? Please reach out!
— G.G.
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While I’ve (mostly) been away on parental leave, the research team has been focusing its efforts on preparing manuscripts for academic publications. We’ll be publishing public-facing reports in the new year on audience engagement through in-person events, social media, and text messaging. Members of the team have also continued working with Trusting News’ latest newsroom cohort as we study how news organizations’ efforts to educate the public about AI may be an effective strategy for building trust in journalism.
Finally, last month we hosted a webinar through the Local News Impact Consortium (LNIC) around mapping local information ecosystems, introducing a new LNIC toolkit for researchers, practitioners, and other stakeholders to assess changes in communities’ information environments. The toolkit was designed by University of Oregon professor Regina Lawrence and inspired by mapping projects at several universities, including our own.
— Ben
Note: Ben will be on sabbatical in Washington, D.C., in 2026, joining the Pew Research Center for the year as a visiting principal researcher on the News and Information team. While he is away, journalism professor Matt Carlson will be helping out with the MJC’s research. You can reach Matt at carlson1@umn.edu.
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Why I joined the effort to update the SPJ Ethics Code, Eric Deggans
Twelve climate newsrooms (including the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk), one newsletter: The Climate News Task Force.
Benjamin Percy's new post-apocalyptic novel arrives as a newspaper, MPR News
Whole lotta articles looking ahead in the news biz to read heading into the New Year:
Minnesota executive makes the case for local newspapers, in print. Newspapers are doing better than people may realize, according to Matt McMillen, the new leader of the America's Newspapers trade organization.
6 inspiring trends for local news in 2025, News at Knight. Public media’s transformational moment, university partnerships give us hope.
The Journalism 2050 Issue, Columbia Journalism Review. Watching the way online discourse has embraced debunking, how news delivery has shortened to bullet points and expanded to fill unedited three-hour podcasts, the proliferation of bias monitors, AI-powered widgets that deliver information for the price of data collection, the ascent of the news influencer, the demise of search traffic.
Nieman Labs’ always interesting, not always accurate Predictions for Journalism 2026. I admit, I laughed at how cyclical it is with Long-form video is the next big thing for young audiences. A few that stand out: From fact-checking to friction-checking by the Hubbard School’s Valérie Bélair-Gagnon, The year of wonder by Alfred Hermida, We’ll celebrate the journalists who weave communities together by Sarabeth Berman and Journalists will accept that their critics are sometimes right by Joy Mayer.
— Regina
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Take time to relax and regenerate as much as you can over the holidays. And breathe in the winter air! Let us know how we can help.
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