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It is relevant to our situation in Stevens County. That is because the new Cloquet paper, the "Pine Knot News," is a protest gesture toward Forum Communications. Forum Comm. of Fargo, as I'm sure you all know, came here some time ago to bring the "joy" of chain ownership to our media. It's quite the opposite of "joy," I'm suggesting.
The Forum eliminated the paper in Hancock, a community still viable enough to support a K-12 school system. The Hancock school appears in fact to be gaining vitality. But there's no longer a Hancock "Record" newspaper. The Forum of Fargo swept into these parts and acquired not only the Morris paper, which is now but a sliver of its former self, but the Record too.
Then the Forum pulled the newspaper office out of Hancock. Jim Morrison was reluctant to do that because he thought the office was so handy for people needing to do business there, e.g. arranging for a photo. The newspaper photographer was one brisk walk away from the school. Jim probably also saw intangibles with the paper having an office in town. Seems quite elementary, for a paper to have a physical presence in the town it serves.
I started out this post noting how old values and habits are challenged by all the change, for which "digital" is the main force. Sometimes, often perhaps, we are forced to change against our will. Don't ever bet against some determined pushback when the feelings become strong enough. So, that's why we see the birth of the Pine Knot News in Cloquet (of the Iron Range in northern Carlton County). The paper published its first edition on October 26. It's an alternative to the weekly Pine Journal owned by the faraway Forum of Fargo.
The Forum strives to maximize profit, using many of the tricks that have become the fashion in the business world. "Efficiencies" prevail. Efficiency in theory brings no protest. Still, "the customer is always right." Maybe the citizens want their paper to cover a little more ground than what the Forum chooses to provide. Maybe the public wants some of the intangibles of which Morrison was proud, e.g. having a photographer one brisk walk away from the school.
Certainly something is afoot in Cloquet and it's symbolic of the nervousness we all feel at the cold and calculating nature of the corporate world. Are true local "roots" still important?
I'd hate to say I'm betting on the new paper in Cloquet, because their task is daunting. I'm reminded of the old Walt Disney cartoon about Paul Bunyan. The great lumberjack engaged in a duel vs. a dude with a new-fangled chainsaw. The big guy ended up barely short. He slumped his shoulders and walked away, disconsolate. I would not rule out this scenario in connection with the "experiment" in Cloquet. But I think many of us would be rooting for the upstart.
A precedent for Hancock?
By the same token, might we root for a comeback of the Hancock newspaper? Remember when Katie Erdman was synonymous with the Hancock newspaper scene? So reliable. So devoted to the interests of Hancock. So sentimental about Owl country of Hancock. Today we're inclined to think sentiment and ten cents will get you a cup of coffee. Again, the experiment in Cloquet is going to be revealing. Can the local citizenry really assert itself in a climate where the corporate ethos seems to rule so much?
The chain papers are leaning entirely on what remains of legacy advertising. It's all about advertising, and in the meantime the company hopes a (gullible) public will shrug and go along with a stripped-down news/information service. The company pays lip service to the latter to be sure. But it's all a prevarication, not unlike the prevarications coming out of President Trump's mouth (and tweet machine) all the time. Can't we all just pause and take a break?
"White knight" potential?
Maybe some local Apostolics, those very enterprising people, could sense a media void in Hancock, roll up their sleeves and do something. I admire many qualities of the Apostolics. I just wish they wouldn't give the impression of voting 100 percent Republican. If my perception is wrong, I'd appreciate being corrected. Also, I don't see why the Apostolic women have to look different from the norm. I don't see where that accomplishes anything. But I digress (rather badly).
The new Pine Knot News is owned and operated by several community members with a history of journalism experience in the area. Key people are business owner and attorney Pete Radosevich, Moose Lake Star-Gazette owner Tim Franklin and the Pine Journal's former editor Jana Peterson.
A former editor of the Forum-affiliated competitor! Don't need much imagination to know what developed there. A journalist with normal sensibilities for being in the field is not necessarily welcome with the Forum. I would argue the Forum is hard-hearted in dealing with human beings. We know there's a lot of that going on nowadays. We needn't applaud it.
For now the Pine Knot News and the Forum-owned Pine Journal are co-existing. Radosevich doubts that both are going to survive. He says that if the Pine Journal is the one to fall, it will be because of self-inflicted wounds.
I have written critically in the past about standard local papers with their district court news, obituaries and sports "section." District court news can be a launching pad for gossip, obits are depressing and may also step over the line into people's private business, and sports is, well, shall we say way overdone much of the time. These possible faults can be addressed or adjusted. How? Well, the answer is simple - just look at Senior Perspective. Follow that lead and I'll say hooray! Larger type size and heavy emphasis on feature material.
Oh, and hard news is certainly important, like penetrating, often skeptical coverage of local government like the county board. But district court, obits and sports? Not so enthused.
The Forum-owned Pine Journal announced it was closing its office in Cloquet last January. At that time, Jana Peterson said she thought to herself "wouldn't it be nice if you just had a small town newspaper where you just worried about the community and getting your job done?"
Radosevich sent Peterson a text, saying the time had come to plan a new community paper. The town's leadership must have felt strongly about this, considering that everyone knows a new paper is going to face headwinds. This was an undaunted group. Radosevich recalls: "We started talking about it a little bit, and we decided that Cloquet really needed a community-based newspaper focused on community news with quality journalism."
Radosevich and Peterson feel there has been a void in local coverage of the community since the Pine Journal closed its doors in January. Peterson said "when they took that away from the community, it was a huge loss."
So, what about Hancock? Not only has Hancock suffered, so too in Morris where the Forum-owned paper has bent over backward incorporating Hancock news, so to placate Hancock I guess, but what about the interests of the Morris readers? The people in Fargo are just moving the chess pieces around, trying to maximize profit in a cynical way, capitalizing on cuts and "legacy advertising."
The Forum model will expedite the death of newspapers in a time where the public might actually yearn a little, if it's done right. Good luck to the Pine Knot News.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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