Hello, all – After yet another grueling stretch for Minnesota journalists, we want you to know that we’re here for you. With tough news to cover, and the loss of more journalism jobs, the difficult times continue. If you missed our posts on resources for tough times, check these out: Take care of each other: Resources for Minnesota journalists covering the Annunciation school and church shooting and Trauma-informed journalism: What it is, why it’s important and tips for practicing it.

Here’s what we have for you

• Welcomes and farewells
• News avoidance research
• There are jobs out there! And tips if you’re looking
• Our students wrap up great summer work
• A few interesting things to read 

If your email is clipped, click the link at the bottom to read it all.

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.

This is a summary of items in last month's email. Check there for more.

The Institute for Independent Journalists founder offers a to-do list for journalists facing layoffs. The News Revenue Hub has a toolkit for journalists, “Laid Off to Launch.” The Association for Health Care Journalists offers some tips for “accidental freelancers” among us, and the Freelancers Union has a guide to Freelancing 101.

Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development has resources for workers who are navigating or anticipating a layoff. Whether you’re already dealing with change or pondering your next move, Bridget Thoreson’s Explore Your Career River newsletter is a must-read. Related: Should They Stay or Go? Veteran Journalists Face Tough Choices in the Trump Age.

The good news: there are some great jobs out there. If you’ve got openings, let us know and we will happily spread the word. 

Twin Cities Business is looking for an associate editor (Thank you for sharing, Liz Fedor!).

Access Press has an opening for executive director.

The Mankato Free Press is looking for an editor for its news and opinion pages and St. Cloud Live is looking for its next editor (Yes, Joe Spear is retiring! More next month).

The Cook News Herald and Tower News are looking for a part-time or full-time reporter to cover the cities of Tower and Cook.

MinnPost is hiring a senior staff writer to cover local government in the Twin Cities metro (here’s more, from hiring editor Leah Fabel). The newsroom is also looking for its second state government reporter (more from hiring editor Dan Haugen). The priority deadlines have passed, but might be worth a shot!

KARE-TV in Minneapolis is hiring a morning show producer, a weekend producer, a news anchor, a photographer and a meteorologist.    

AMPERS is hiring a producer for its North Star Stories project (contract), and a producer for Minnesota Native News (contract) (thanks for the update, Emily Krumberger and Victor Palomino).

The Star Tribune has openings for an outdoors editor and head of audience strategy.  

The River Valley Media Group is looking for a visual journalist to be based in either their La Crosse, Wisconsin or Winona, Minnesota offices. 

KROX Radio in Crookston is hiring its next news director.

The Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk is hiring an editorial director and assistant editorial director for remote roles within the 10 main states of the Mississippi River Basin (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, etc.).

Hubbard Broadcasting’s HBI Radio Brainerd is looking for part-time on-air talent.

KBJR-TV/Northern News Now in Duluth is looking for a multimedia journalist, a broadcast/digital anchor and a part-time digital content producer.

WDIO-TV in Duluth is hiring an evening news anchor.

WCCO-TV is looking for a reporter/multimedia journalist.

KSTP-TV is in search of a meteorologist.

KIMT-TV in Rochester is hiring a producer and a reporter/MMJ. 

KTTC-TV in Rochester has an opening for a weekend news anchor. 

KVLY-TV in Fargo is looking for a news anchor/reporter.

WDAY-TV in Fargo is hiring a news/sports multimedia journalist and a morning news producer.

ICTV is looking for some help connecting with communities in their area. See more in this post from Beth George, ICTV’s executive director. 

The Tiny News Collective is looking for an early career professional as part of a new fellowship program, full-time, remote (Thanks, Amy Kovac-Ashley, for the heads-up).

Just across the border, South Dakota Searchlight is hiring its first audio reporter, preferably based in Pierre (more here, from States Newsroom national editor Adam Kealoha Causey). 

Fellowships, grants and other opportunities

Deadlines: 



• Sept. 29: Investigative Reporters and Editors freelance reporting fellowship
• Sept. 30: AARP Award for Excellence in Journalism on Aging
• Sept. 30: National Press Foundation’s Benjamin C. Bradlee Editor of the Year Award (awarded last year to former Star Tribune editor Suki Dardarian)
• Oct. 12: Rare Disease Reporting Fellowship
• Nov. 7: Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program

Open now: SPNN’s DocU documentary production program 

MJC and Hubbard School events

Sept. 24: Hubbard Honors — CNN reporter Aaron Blake, a Hubbard School graduate, will keynote an evening that celebrates the work of our alumni. RSVP here.

Webinar replay: How to access open records – and how to fight back when you're denied In May, our friends at Minnesotans for Open Government joined us for a virtual session on public records in Minnesota. Check out their resources and recommendations here.

Other Events

Minnesota Meeting: Next in News (Oct. 8) — This fall, the Minneapolis Foundation is convening journalists, news leaders, funders (current and potential) and others who care about the future of news and information for a Minnesota Meeting titled “critical conversations about the pressing issues of the day.” Kara Swisher headlines, with folks from our journalism, philanthropic and civic communities. The event is free, but registration is required.

Sept. 20: The Minnesota Daily (the University of Minnesota’s student newspaper) 5K fundraiser (UMN-Twin Cities campus) At 6 pm, MN Daily alums are invited to mingle with current staff at the Daily offices. More information: mdaa@mndailymedia.org

Sept. 27: MinnPost Festival (Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis)

Sept. 29-30: Annual Conference and Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (Stillwater)

Oct. 18: Upper Midwest Emmy Awards (Mystic Lake Event Center).

Training Opportunities

The MJC’s curated training calendar is bursting with events and opportunities, mostly virtual, from across the news industry. Interested in reporting tips, collaboration tools, fundraising resources and community? Check out the offerings from the next 10 days alone:

• Solutions Journalism for Beat Reporters: From Introduction to Implementation [virtual], Wednesday, Sept. 17·1:00 – 2:00pm.
• How to Become a Local Government Watchdog, Part 1 [virtual], Thursday, Sept. 18·4:30 – 6:00pm, and Part 2 [virtual] on Thursday, Sept. 25·4:30 – 6:00pm
• How influencer collaborations can help news deepen community connection [virtual], Tuesday, Sept. 23·1:00 – 2:00pm, American Press Institute

Looking for more opportunities? Check out the full calendar on our website, or subscribe to it here, to add to your Google calendar.

(Know of any great events? Share them by emailing us at martinme@umn.edu.)

Farewells

Longtime Grand Marais reporter, editor and local news champion Rhonda Silence died on Aug. 16 after a long battle with leukemia. Rhonda reported and edited for the Cook County News Herald for years, then pivoted to the airwaves at WTIP nearly a decade ago. Her colleagues at WTIP wrote in remembrance: “Rhonda’s passion for journalism was well known throughout Grand Marais and the North Shore. Often described as a ‘news junkie,’ she kept a scanner on in her home 24/7 and was among the first to learn of emergencies, public safety incidents, or severe weather events.” A celebration of life will be held on Sept. 26. The WTIP team is collecting condolences and memories on their website.

Moves

MPR News’ longtime Moorhead correspondent Dan Gunderson has announced his retirement after nearly 40 years at the station. Dan says he’ll continue through early November, so there’s time to catch more Wander and Wonder stories — encounters with people and places across the state.

Former Project Optimist managing editor Jen Zettel-Vandenhouten has a new role at Wisconsin Watch as regional editor for northeastern Wisconsin.

Minnesota sports journalist — most recently with the Minnesota State High School League — John Millea retires after 51 years in journalism. “This job was not a dream come true. It was much, much better than that,” he writes in his farewell column.

Anna Rogers is named the Worthington Globe’s new ad director/GM.

Alyssa Chen joined the Minnesota Reformer team as a data reporter, with a focus on health care policy.

Sabrina Ford Rambo, co-founder of the film collective Dream Chambers, joins SPNN as a youth program specialist.

Recent Carleton College graduate Taylor Canas joined the MinnPost team for a 10-week Civic Bridgers fellowship.

Awards!

The RTDNA recognized the work of two Minnesota-based organizations for its annual Edward R. Murrow Awards: The KARE 11 team of Samie Solina and Mitchell Yehl for “Volunteers revive Rock of Ages Lighthouse on Isle Royale” and Baltimore Public Media and the APM Reports team (featuring Emily Haavik, Ellie Roth and Allison Herrera) for their “Judging Juveniles.”

So much great work in the Midwest Emmy nominees. We were going to list some of our grads and friends of the school among the entries, but there are just too darn many. Congrats to everyone nominated! 

The Online News Association named two Minnesota-based news teams as finalists for the Online Journalism Awards: The Star Tribune for general excellence in online journalism, large newsroom and APM Reports (featuring Tom Scheck, Jennifer Lu, Anika Besst, Claire Kurgan and Andy Kruse), St. Louis Public Radio and The Marshall Project for excellence in collaboration and partnerships.

MinnPost was named among the News Revenue Hub’s inaugural Civic Studio cohort, alongside Bridge Michigan, Rewire News Group, The Marshall Project and the Salt Lake Tribune. 

WTIP public radio volunteer Tyler Howell was named AMPERS broadcaster of the year this summer. “Tyler is always the first to say, ‘I’m ready. Let’s do this,’” station manager Matthew Brown said in a story about the recognition. 

And more

Rollout of revamped WELY FM now set for fall. The Timberjay 

The Star Tribune’s Alex Chhith profiled retired WCCO broadcaster Don Shelby’s latest effort, Fighting climate change, one tree at a time. (More on the Strib’s Instagram.)

Rural Stations Seek Support in the Wake of Federal Cuts. Nieman Reports mentions our colleagues at KAXE.

AAJA-MN elects its new board, plus Frank Bi was re-elected to AAJA national board.

The Minnesota Star Tribune continues to attract top talent, Editor and Publisher. And Allison Kaplan is the new director of innovation and engagement. 

An idea to steal? The Star Tribune released its Impact Report 2024.

Twin Cities public television makes layoffs due to funding cuts. MPR News 

MPR parent company cuts 30 jobs following federal funding cuts. MPR News. Among those publicly announced are Craig Helmstetter, APM Data Lab director and Joe Goetz, Classical MPR.

Send us your local industry news and updates — and jobs! — to share with everyone.



– Regina and Meg

Results from a survey of 70 newsrooms in the Local Visual Journalism Survey from Catchlight Local and Prism Photo highlight the challenges of access to visual journalism today. “Many newsrooms face a stark contrast between the value they place on visuals and the resources they allocate to them.”

New research co-authored by Nick Hagar (MJC affiliate and Hubbard School faculty member starting in Fall 2026) on the implications of Google’s AI Overviews for news organizations: The Search Terms That Trigger Google’s AI Overviews, Generative AI in the Newsroom. Related: Facts: Google’s push to AI hurts publisher traffic, Digital Content Next 

The CPJ, with the Freedom of the Press Foundation, IWMF, PEN America, and the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, recently launched the US Journalist Assistance Network. It compiles a list of resources to help journalists in the U.S. protect themselves against attacks on the press and navigate options for support. Related: Poynter’s new project tracks federal actions that undermine America’s free press; Join Poynter in keeping a close eye on press freedom. 

Graphic video of Charlie Kirk’s death spreads fast, showing traditional media’s fading grip. AP 

Can nonprofit news mix with local TV? A Pennsylvania partnership aims to find out. Nieman Journalism Lab 

CampaignView is a new tool to research campaigns and candidates. 

Podcasting's 'Serial' Era Ends as Video Takes Over Bloomberg News

Google is adding a new way to personalize the news you see, The Verge 

How tribal radio stations are preparing for a future without the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Nieman Journalism Lab 

Young journalists are told to ‘build your brand.’ What does that even mean today? Poynter 

Foundations commit $36.5 million for public media, News@Knight

Why disclosing AI use is essential for newsrooms to maintain audience trust. International Journalists' Network 

– Regina

Twenty University of Minnesota students sharpened their journalism skills during the first two weeks of August at the Hubbard Reporting Experience, producing an impressive batch of digital stories and newscasts. Check out all their excellent journalism here, including stories about campus neighborhoods with incisive reporting, strong writing and sharp visuals.  

Hubbard faculty Scott Libin, Matt Cicovik, Regina McCombs, Sara Quinn, yours truly (G.G.) and guest HRE faculty Chris Worthington oversaw the students who worked in TV news production, visual and photo, web presentation and assignments/editing of stories. Students also heard from professionals in conversations, including Cleo Krejci, a former Minnesota Daily editor and now Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter; Jessica Lussenhop from ProPublica; Heidi Wigdahl from KARE 11; and recent Hubbard School alums Noor Adwan, opinion audience editor at the Minnesota Star Tribune, and Nikhil Kumaran, associate producer at MPR News.

Report for Minnesota students have now completed their 10-week internships at their respective posts: Jasmine Shackleford at the Brainerd Dispatch; Evan Pederson at the West Central Tribune; Owen McDonnell at the Mankato Free Press and Dani Fraher at KAXE in Grand Rapids. Report for Minnesota intern looks back on a summer at KAXE. Evan and Owen spoke to students at the Hubbard Reporting Experience and offered some words of advice — both of them strongly urging students to jump at the chance of covering a smaller community if they can.

The relaunched micro-internship program is revving up and expected to serve an estimated 18 students this coming school year. The Park Bugle, the Roseville Reporter, TMC Publications and Minnesota Trails Magazine will offer assignments to students in six rotating three-week terms throughout the year. This initiative is part of Report for Minnesota’s pipeline approach to developing student connections with professional newsrooms throughout their educational programs. Stay tuned for more news about the second year of our Legislative Reporting Project as we enter fall.

– G.G.

The research team is getting ready for the fall semester, which will kick off with the third and final symposium in our Interdisciplinary Collaborative Workshop series on the 80th Anniversary of the Minnesota Poll held on campus on Friday, Sept. 19. The focus of this last event will be around the future of opinion research at the state and local level. Participants will include several leading survey researchers and scholars of public opinion. The event is invitation-only, but interested local journalists who would like to join should feel free to reach out (bjtoff@umn.edu). 

Related, the MJC partnered with the Star Tribune earlier this summer on its most recent edition of the Minnesota Poll, which led to a series of stories on how Minnesotans have been processing the Trump administration’s actions, policy making at the state level and ongoing changes in statewide news consumption patterns. We plan to drill down deeper using these data, especially this last topic, over the coming year.

The MJC research team also continues to work on writing up results from a series of collaborations we have led this year with the nonprofit news outlet The Texas Tribune. The projects involve testing different forms of experimentation around reaching and engaging with news avoiders and skeptical audiences. The Tribune published a piece this month summarizing high-level takeaways from across these projects and the research team presented findings from one of several studies coming out of this collaboration at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in San Francisco. 

We are excited to share more soon! 

– Ben

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Here’s hoping for a peaceful fall – take care of yourselves and each other!