We had a busy month in March, and have some exciting events planned for the weeks ahead. Scroll down for our editors reports, and to read about our Premack Award, New Normal conversations, upcoming classes, open editorial meeting, and a Brown Bag lunchtime event with former journalist Dane Smith, president of Growth and Justice.
Thanks to Anna Christoforides of Gardens of Salonica for hosting our fundraising dinner on March 24, and to Dr. Angela Mortari and the Greek Dancers of Minnesota for a great performance. The dinner was a sold-out success, and a great time was had by all.
The New Normal: Deciding Community Priorities in a Downsized Economy is the Daily Planet’s year-long project of news stories and community conversations, funded by the Bush Foundation, devoted to finding solutions to new economic challenges in our communities. We’re tackling a different topic every month. Here’s project manager Lisa Peterson-de la Cueva’s report on our March New Normal conversations:
In April more than 60 people joined us for rich and insightful community conversations on Neighborhoods and the New Normal. A special thanks to WSCO and Hamline Midway, the West Broadway Coalition, Northeast Community Development Corporation and the Lake Street Council for co-hosting. Click here if you’d like to read our comprehensive neighborhood coverage from March.
“Next Up, The State Budget! We’ll be asking participants, “As the legislature and governor clash over a taxes and spending, what should our priorities be for the state budget?” Check out our April calendar of community conversations on the state budget if you would like to attend. We’d love your help! If your organizations would like to co-host a community conversation on the state budget, check out the April dates and locations, and contact lisa@tcdailyplanet.net to find out how.”
Here’s one opportunity to discuss the budget: Please join us for this month’s Brown Bag program, to be held Wednesday, April 20 at noon at the East Lake Public Library, 2727 E. Lake St., Minneapolis.We’re expanding the scope of our monthly Brown Bag sessions to include not just journalists, but also experts with insights on topics in the news. The battle over the state budget is a very hot topic at the moment, so for this month’s conversation, our featured guest will be Dane Smith, president of Growth and Justice. Growth and Justice describes itself as “a policy research group focused on job growth and economic justice, through smart public investments in human capital and physical infrastructure.”
Dane is sure to have a lot to say about the budget battles, and what our state’s spending priorities should be. Before joining Growth & Justice, Dane enjoyed a 30-year career as a Minnesota journalist, where he developed a solid reputation writing about state, local and federal government and politics for Minnesota’s largest newspapers. These included the Star Tribune, from 1986 to 2007, the St. Paul Pioneer Press from 1980 to 1986, and the Minneapolis Star from 1977 to 1980. For almost two decades at the Star Tribune Dane was a senior reporter at the state capitol covering politics and state-local budget issues. Tax fairness and the debate surrounding government’s proper size and role in society were among Dane’s favorite topics as a journalist, and he has particular
expertise in these areas.
(Classes are free, but donations are gratefully accepted. )
Daily Planet Editor Mary Turck reports:
March came in like a lion, with the announcement that a prestigious Premack award for investigative journalism would go to Twin Cities Daily Planet writer Molly Priesmeyer and editor Mary Turck for last year’s Troubled Waters coverage. Community engagement with the Daily Planet continues to grow, with 31 Free Speech Zone submissions in March, and a growing number of Neighborhood Notes. Our interns also continue to diversify coverage—look for Alexander Holston’s video round-ups of the week’s news during April! We are still looking for more neighborhood correspondents and more neighborhood news, so if you have news from your part of town, just email editor@tcdailyplanet.net.
Arts Editor Jay Gabler reports:
This month I traveled to Texas to report on the massive South By Southwest music festival, but our biggest readership of the month went to a news scoop: the City of Minneapolis slapped CLOSED notices on the doors of two West Bank buildings with growing reputations for fun but slightly shady parties. On the venue-closure beat, Sheila Regan also reported on the Heritage Preservation Commission’s unanimous vote to allow the destruction of the Oak Street Cinema—our coverage also included quotes and memories from community members with fond memories of the theater. Local movie buffs can dry their tears, though: the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival is coming up in April, and we’ll host pages for readers to rate and comment on every movie in the fest.
You can support our work by donating to the Twin Cities Media Alliance through the GiveMN.org donation website, (http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Twin-Cities-Media-Alliance). If you prefer, you can send a check to TCMA, 2600 E. Franklin, suite #2, Minneapolis MN 55406.
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