On Sunday, The Star Tribune announced a big change in its name. And lucky for all of us, it wasn’t to something cringe-inducing, a la Tronc, but rather a name to reflect its expanding ambitions.
“Our decision to add Minnesota to our name is a commitment to expand our work across our state, a direction we chose after two statewide tours and hundreds of conversations with our fellow Minnesotans,” wrote CEO and publisher Steve Grove in a reintroduction letter.
The expansion is surprising if you’ve been following the contraction of local newspapers in the last decade. It’s not surprising if you’ve been following The Star Tribune.
“I grew up in Minneapolis, and The Star Tribune has always been at least a pretty good paper,” said Rick Edmonds, Poynter’s media business analyst. “Then a decade or so ago, they brought in a talented CEO and publisher, Mike Klingensmith, who came from a magazine background and saw newspaper issues with fresh eyes. And they were sold to billionaire Glen Taylor. Other regional papers were eager to figure out the Star Tribune formula and emulate it.”
That formula hit a bump, but The Star Tribune kept moving.
“The journalism and business base was rock solid but their digital subscription total got stuck at 100,000,” Edmonds said. “Klingensmith retired and a much younger CEO and publisher, Steve Grove, came in full of energy and new ideas. Along the way they had two top-notch editors — Nancy Barnes and Rene Sanchez — hired away. But they promoted Suki Dardarian and haven’t missed a beat. So they strike a great balance between continuity and being bold about embracing change.”
That latest change includes statewide expansion that The Star Tribune first started experimenting with several years ago with a move into Duluth.
“At the same time, they have upped their digital game and reorganized the newsroom around topics they have found particularly interesting to their audience,” Edmonds said.
This happens as local newspapers continue struggling, including the Tampa Bay Times, which Poynter owns, and the Los Angeles Times. But Edmonds has spent years reporting on other regional newspapers that are actually in growing instead of shrinking.
It is, it appears, safe to call it a trend.
“The Advocate/Times-Picayune is going into Shreveport this year and will now be in Louisiana’s four biggest cities,” Edmonds said. “Similarly, The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina, has outposts in Columbia, Myrtle Beach and Greenville. Little Rock’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette covers most of the state.”
Other places we could see more growth include Georgia and Vermont, Edmonds said.
“Seven Days and Vermont Digger cover the state and have pretty much eclipsed the legacy papers there.”
The Star Tribune has the coveted “benevolent billionaire” in owner Glen Taylor, but Edmonds points out that another scenario for success might be as part of a wealthy corporation.
“Hearst has assembled enough properties to control much of Connecticut,” he said. “Advance Local stopped print editions in Alabama and consolidated its three properties into the Pulitzer-winning Al.com.”
Still, he said, this trend deserves a qualifier: “Even in these urgent times, the industry still does a lot of waiting and seeing. Will the satellites build enough audience?”
And even more critical: “When can they break even and then make a profit?”
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