Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL

Tom Bakk, DFL

Leslie Davis, GOP

Mark Dayton, DFL

Tom Emmer, GOP

Susan Gaertner, DFL

Bill Haas, GOP

Rob Hahn, IP

David Hann, GOP

Phil Herwig, GOP

Tom Horner, IP

Steve Kelley, DFL

John Marty, DFL

Tom Rukavina, DFL

R.T Rybak, DFL

Ole Savior, DFL

Marty Seifert, GOP

Paul Thissen, DFL

John Uldrich, IP

Rahn Workcuff, IP

We found this advertisement after dusting off a few boxes in the News Council office — and there are plenty more where that came from! This particular cartoon was done for the News Council by Richard Guindon.

We’ll post more as we find them!

In last month’s newsletter, we asked our friends and members to respond to the Washington News Council’s decision to open its hearing process to the public with a virtual hearing. Here is one comment from Stanley E. Cohen that makes an interesting point:

“The model you offered from Seattle serves the contemporary culture’s short interest span, but it is no substitute for the unifying role of the advertising supported press in providing fair and true information that enables voters to make responsible judgments on serious public issues.

To the contrary, the Internet is a reincarnation of the polarizing Party Press system where true believers relied on sources that reflect what they already believe without exposing them to new perspectives.”

Do you have a comment regarding WNC’s virtual hearing? Send us your thoughts at info@news-council.org and we’ll post it to our site!

Check out the Minnesota News Council on Facebook — and become a Fan to stay up to date on all the latest MNC news!

Why does journalism matter? When some 100 journalists, technologists, academics and citizens gathered March 1-4, 2009 at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., documentary videographer Melissa Cornick asked that question. The participants were part of the Journalism That Matters gathering, “The New News Ecology.”

Bob Collins
MPR News Cut
July 8, 2009

Whoops. It’s happened, again. A journalist /photographer working on behalf of the New York Times is suspected of faking a story. In this case, it’s photographs that appeared in the NY Times Magazine about abandoned construction projects.

A contributor to Metafilter figured out that the picture was doctored to make the unfinished room more dramatic than it apparently really was; that the photographer essentially “mirrored” the image.

The “proof” is posted here, the Metafilter poster says. (Note: The proof in the link above is not a before-and-after, it’s proof that splitting it in half and copying it to the “other side” creates the same picture as the one published as original.)

If it is a doctored image, why do photographers think they can get away with this sort of thing in the age of the Internet? There’s always someone “out there” to uncover it.

Someone like Adam Gurno of Rosemount. He’s the one who proved the image had been doctored.

How the ethical lapse came to light should be a warning to all journalists.

Read the rest of Collins’ story and listen to the accompanying interview here.

Kevin Hoffman
City Pages
July 6, 2009

If you care about local media–be it delivered by radio, TV, print or internet, you owe it to yourself to listen to today’s episode of the Mischke broadcast, which features an extended interview with local media wonk David Brauer.

TD Mischke is the fugitive from broadcast radio, regarding the industry with a wary eye. Brauer is the longtime media observer, author of BrauBlog and @dbrauer, who provides a candid view of the media landscape.

The conference began with a point-counterpoint panel discussion between Bernard Lunzer of the Newspaper Guild and John Sturm of the Newspaper Association of America. They discussed the role that government, foundations, conglomerates and local ownership can play on journalism’s future, and how the changing regulatory environment affects journalists, stakeholders and the resulting product.

“Journalism has a bright future but the current environment is bleak … The
future of journalism rests with the front-line journalists and workers.”
Bernard Lunzer

Check back here for our executive director’s notes from New Economic Models for News. Visit the Minnesota Journalism Center for video from the conference and a complete summary of the event.

During the second panel of the day Ted Venetoulis, Robert Lang and Jennifer Towery discussed new ownership models and their feasibility, benefits, restrictions and potential impact on the future of journalism. They looked at a number of recent proposals, suggestions and criticisms to determine the most logical and beneficial models for a variety of news outlets while stressing the importance of local journalism and ownership.

“We need to get past the idea that we cannot, as journalists, go to the government
and ask them to take care of this. The government must provide tools to the industry.”
Jennifer Towery

Joel Kramer and Steve Yelvington discussed new revenue models during the final session of the morning. Kramer pointed to the MinnPost model and its advantages and disadvantages in the wider news world, while Yelvington looked at a variety of models and stressed the keys for a successful business. Both panelists had predictions about which models will and will not be successful in the future.

“Journalism never had a business model of its own, it has always been subsidized by
something else. For a successful business model you have to have a compelling reason
for people to give you money, you must acquire what you sell for less than it costs to
sell it, there must be a structural insulation from commoditization and price wars, and
there must be a way for strangers to find out about it and become customers.”
Steve Yelvington

Reporting Global Issues Locally

Anatomy of a Multimedia News Organization Learn how an online-only news organization functions as a business by exploring its structure, departments and business model. In partnership with the Maynard Institute
Coming Soon >>

Upcoming Webinars

Managing Millennials: Helping the Next Generation of Journalists Succeed in Your Newsroom 2-3 p.m., ET, July 9 Learn how managers can embrace what these younger journalists bring to our changing industry. A Poynter/NewsU Webinar
Register now >>

10 Things You Can Do For Free 2-3 p.m., ET, July 16 Discover a variety of reader engagement tools you can start using today for free on your Web site. A Poynter/NewsU Webinar
Register now >>

Online Group Seminars

Writing Better Headlines July 27-Aug. 21, apply by July 2. Explore using key words for headlines, making headlines more specific, pinpointing the best verbs to use, avoiding traditional headline traps and recognizing when and how to use word play. Led by Kenn Finkel
Apply now >>

New Software and Technical Training

Introducing NewsU Tech Develop your software and technical skills with our new training modules through NewsU Tech. Using audio, slideshows and offline activities, you’ll explore how to use such programs as Flash, Dreamweaver, Photoshop and more.
See our complete list >>