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LOCAL TELEVISION NEWS is one of those institutions people rely on without stopping to think about how it actually works — or who decides what shows up on the screen each night.
Someone decides which story leads. Someone decides what gets chased and what gets dropped. Someone decides when speed matters — and when accuracy matters more.
At FOX 21 News, those decisions ultimately run through Matt McConico, the station’s news director. He is not a nightly anchor or a household name. He is the editor behind the editors, the person whose judgment quietly shapes what thousands of Northland households come to understand as “the news.”
“We’re the only profession written into the Constitution of the United States of America," he said. "It’s important that we live up to that responsibility."
That belief anchors McConico’s approach to journalism — not as a business chasing attention, but as a public trust that must be earned daily.
This column is part of an occasional series introducing readers to individuals who quietly shape public life in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. In local television, few roles carry more influence than the news director. The position sits at the intersection of editorial judgment, ethics, community trust and relentless deadlines.
McConico is a Minnesota native who grew up in Golden Valley and graduated from Hopkins High School before earning degrees in broadcast journalism and marketing communications from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls. His career has taken him through newsrooms across Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Florida before returning him home.
That breadth matters in a media landscape where local newsrooms are under constant pressure to do more with fewer resources.
“We try to focus on local topics," said McConico. "We want to give a full pallet of what’s happening in the world that can impact our news customers. But we err towards the local day-to-day of telling the stories of you and your neighbors."
That local-first mindset is deliberate. National and global events still matter — but only when viewers understand how they connect to roads, schools, public safety, weather and the rhythms of daily life in the Northland.
McConico is also intentional about how FOX 21 thinks about its audience — even rejecting the most common term used in television news.
“I don’t like to use the common term of ‘viewers,’" McConico said. "I call people that watch us ‘news customers’. Those news customers have made the decision to watch us, just as a customer makes a decision to walk into a store. When someone says ‘viewers’ it is kind of implied that the viewers are granted to us or pre-determined to watch us. They are not. The people that watch us make a choice. I don’t want to take it for granted. They are our news customers."
That framing reveals a core philosophy: attention is earned, not assumed. Trust is built one broadcast at a time.
Editorial decisions at FOX 21 are also not made in isolation.
“It’s not just my perspective making editorial decisions," said McConico. "We have daily editorial meetings in the morning and afternoon. There are many voices and experiences guiding the decision-making process. The stories are talked about in the newsroom throughout the day and often in the days before they are covered."
That collaborative approach matters in a profession often caricatured as top-down. It reflects a newsroom culture where debate, experience and shared responsibility shape coverage — not just a single voice behind a desk.
Unlike many news directors who vanish entirely into management, McConico remains connected to the reporting process. His byline still appears on developing stories, particularly those involving public safety and major community events. That dual role — manager and journalist — has become increasingly rare in local television.
Since arriving in Duluth, McConico has also invested in the community he covers. He completed Leadership Duluth through the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce and has been involved with Honor Flight Northland, which organizes trips for veterans to visit memorials in Washington, D.C.
Those connections matter in a region that values authenticity. The Twin Ports is quick to spot outsiders who never quite learn the terrain — and just as quick to trust journalists who do.
Under McConico’s leadership, FOX 21 has leaned into practical, service-oriented journalism: weather that matters, road conditions, public safety alerts and local government actions that affect daily life. It is not flashy journalism. It is dependable journalism — the kind that quietly becomes part of a household routine.
There have been no public controversies attached to his tenure. No ethical scandals. No newsroom drama spilling into headlines. In modern media, that kind of steadiness is not accidental.
The Twin Ports does not lack opinions. What it lacks is time — and attention. People still turn on the local news because they want someone else to sort through the noise and tell them what matters tonight.
That sorting process begins long before the cameras roll — in editorial meetings, newsroom conversations and judgment calls most viewers never see.
It is guided by people like McConico, whose influence is measured not by airtime, but by restraint, collaboration and a clear understanding that journalism is a responsibility written into the Constitution — and one that must be lived up to every day.
