HOT PURSUIT
Our unprecedented effort to preserve local news for future years has received a big boost with the arrival of a longtime businesswoman with deep ties in Steele County.
Debra Gnemi of Owatonna has joined our staff as community outreach coordinator focusing on the Report Local nonprofit campaign that we rolled out last November. She will be helping in a volunteer role to build a program that has never been done before locally.
Gnemi and I, as well as the rest of our staff, share a vision of keeping local news alive. This is incredibly important right now because as the headwinds for local news are stronger and mightier than ever.
In the last decade, Minnesota has lost around 35% of its newspapers and more than 65% of journalists. Alex Malm, the editor for our sister newspaper in Dodge County and sometimes contributor for the Times, knows this firsthand. Two years ago, the Twin Cities metro weekly newspaper where Malm worked abruptly shut down. I love that a young journalist like Malm stuck with it and continues to share his passion for journalism with southern Minnesota.
The funding dynamic has changed with news outlets turning to philanthropy as an important source of funding, and in many cases, survival. For example, the Seattle Times funds 27 of its journalists through philanthropy.
Over the past four months we have done a soft approach to the Report Local campaign. I have been focused on educating readers about the importance journalism plays in our communities. With the addition of Gnemi, we are going to step up our efforts even more to make citizens think of the Times as a civic institution they cannot be without.
What makes me especially excited about Gnemi is the fact that she chose a little and perhaps unknown local news effort to give back to her community. As we all know, there are hundreds of volunteer opportunities to get involved with around Steele County. And to think that Gnemi wants to explore something extraordinary like saving local news is in my book very noble and honorable.
As Gnemi will tell you, it all started back when she was a little girl in elementary school. Some of her earliest and fondest memories are reading the local newspaper. And it’s something that has stuck with her all these years later. Throughout her life, she has depended on the newspaper to keep informed of what’s going on around her.
It’s something that I remember with fondness as well. At my house during my childhood, we used to receive four local newspapers (only one of them is still around today) every week and the battle was on to see who could rip into them first. While I was never a sports jock, I waited patiently to see my name and photo in the paper maybe once or twice a year for 4-H accomplishments I achieved. Nothing excited me more than the local newspaper with people I knew.
For me, it’s almost mind blowing that I am now on the other end trying to keep an institution alive that so many people have depended on for generations: print journalism. And I can’t think of a better person than Gnemi to help me with this endeavor. I hope you will consider helping build the momentum needed to make this nonprofit successful.
We’re proud that local news is alive and well here in Steele County. With your help, we can keep it that way and continue to tell the stories that matter most to our neighbors—all while never cutting corners on the coverage you trust and depend on.
Thank you for going in hot pursuit of standing with us and for believing in the value of local news—and in Steele County.