Minnesota Star Tribune launches statewide News Literacy Initiative
Partnership with News Literacy Project and ThreeSixty Journalism aims to combat misinformation among Minnesota students
HowieHanson.com Section
Partnership with News Literacy Project and ThreeSixty Journalism aims to combat misinformation among Minnesota students
The Star Tribune did something smart: it didn’t just roll out a slogan. It put reporters in front of readers and let them explain what they were seeing, what they were verifying, what they still didn’t know, and what it costs — emotionally and operationally — to cover a story that is still moving.
The Bellville and Baumgarten hires reflect a newsroom making deliberate bets: on audience intelligence, on subject-matter authority, and on leadership that understands journalism doesn’t succeed just because it’s good — it succeeds because it reaches people where they actually live now.
Public records aren’t optional. They’re not favors. And they’re not something a police department gets to release once the inconvenience wears off. The law is clear — even if compliance apparently isn’t.
The Star Tribune’s PR boilerplate now reads like a campaign stump speech — seven Pulitzers, 158-year legacy, “the heart and voice of the north.” But if these hires are any indication, they might actually believe it.
"So it's not only the convenience of the new seawall dock space that's going to invite more cruise ship traffic, but also the visual coming down the hill and being struck in the face by a huge cruise ship tied up next to the DECC." -- Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert
“Every media company in the country is going through tremendous transformation right now in the face of unprecedented challenges and new opportunities. We’re no different.” -- Publisher Steve Grove