When I moved to Duluth, the paper had four sections every day, including syndicated columnists in the op ed page. Now it is two sections, the actual "news" content is scattered throughout with no predictable pattern, and the only syndicated columnist is Garrison Keillor.

I've been a newspaper reader for decades, but I don't think I will be for long.  The reason isn't that the content on the internet is free and the paper costs money.  It is because the content isn't in the paper, and it is on the web.

Oh, and the DNT also got rid of Gil Thorp, despite the fact that he gave a personal shout out to Duluth on two occasions.  (The Milford Mudlarks played both the Hilltoppers and the Denfeld Hunters.)

If you want the DNT to improve, don't cancel your subscription. We'd all gripe about it no matter how good or bad it is. But a local rag on your doorstep every day is better than none.

Mevdev -- not only that, but how about the extra screen you get when you try to click on a blog from the homepage?  Why does one have to click through twice?  ARGH.

1. cut the wire service, 
2. do only local and regional stories, except for perhaps the monumental national / international breaks
3. Get rid of the color (unneeded)
4. Drop the price back to .50
5. Sharply curtail editorials

I'll admit I have always grumbled about the paper, but at least in the past I would actually purchase a copy once a week or so and managed to wring a few good things out of it. Nowadays I wouldn't look at or think about the paper if it wasn't at the office and I never purchase a copy. It's kind of like being handled a shit sandwich and told it's the only thing on the menu... but at least there's some miracle whip on it!

I suspect the editorial drift to the political Right of Center has also hurt it some. It puzzled me a bit why a paper in the midst of DFL central endorsed and promoted both McCain and Coleman so heavy last year, and a number of Republican issues this year. I'm not saying it was "wrong" of them, but that it seemed a big mismatch for the area and makes me immediately suspect any endorsement it might make.

I picked up a star trib, a nytimes and a DNT this last weekend. Their heavily religious and backwards opinion section made me write a letter to the editor. Anti-Obama letters that were completely baseless and a reverend writing in how gays are gay they are just sinners. I hope that is their audience they are pandering to, because that pisses me right off.

Barret is right, user comments have no right being there. If they were warranted they should be in the print version.

Edgeways also has a point. You can't beat these larger papers on world & US content. We get it everywhere. I don't have a tv, yet I hear about this stuff immediately. There is definitely stuff going on in town and more than just at SMDC, Cirrus and the mines.

Read DNT publisher Ken Browall's response to this post here. He explains the decline as "a conscious decision to discontinue delivery in some of the outlying areas."

"Readership is the measure that our advertisers use to see if it's a valuable proposition to advertise with us," Browall said. "You really have to look at the two. That is really significant and growing."

And of course, turning "rising readership" into "rising revenue," or even "not falling anymore revenue," is still a challenge, to say the least.

Their web implementation isn't so great either. Mandatory login is an excellent point (and especially irritating when trying to look at a story on a phone.) Has anyone else noticed that you can't subscribe to RSS feeds of their "areavoices" blogs?

I don't see why everyone is complaining so much about logging in.  I use Firefox and Safari, login once and don't have to do so for days after the fact.  My computer remembers my login and it's just a matter of a few extra clicks.  If that is too much labor for you to handle then I feel sorry for you.

The changes contemplated in the above comments are interesting to read. Forum grossly over paid for the paper.  They cut staff to make their numbers work.  Forum has a history of promoting the wrong people.  They're in a tough spot because they have get a return on all that money.  Making changes to make the paper better isn't the same as making changes to make a profit.  Now would be a great time to compete in a meaningful way against them - using edgeways ideas for the print edition and having a co-op of writers like Paul and some of the talent currently employed by the DNT (as an example) filling the pages/web with content.  How hard would it be?  I see the DNT has disputed the circulation claims.  I'd like to see the ad revenue numbers.  Declining circ and declining ad rev.  It's a 1 - 2 punch.  Add a little page rate competition  and you've got a serious problem on your hands.  (bye bye print monopoly)

Rob, great ideas there. I would really love to see a weekly section that is just history. Chuck Frederick has done some great things. The poverty part series was well done and focused every though every letter to the editor still said all our crime was because of black people from Detroit. Why not do a similar thing on manufacturing in this area. Airplanes aren't the only things manufactured here (paper, metal fabs, plastics, trade pubs, printing, etc). Produce a nice directory at the end for in-US outsourcing (out of us outsource is called off-shoring for those that care). Or perhaps not just interview rock bands, but have reviews of shows (which is incredibly rare in the DNT). There is so much potential.



The DNT should convert their little tiny TV thing to a morning show. Have it taped the night before, have a house band, a real host that doesn't sound like he's calling it in. Have local guests, musical acts, local stories, product reviews, scenes from local plays, etc.

I know you are expecting more from, but for now I can only muster a "meh."

The DNT's quality has dropped precipitously.  I used to get it but no more!  I think it deserves its fate.

Settle down you two, or I'll stop this car and everyone will have to walk.

I lived here 10 years ago and enjoyed the local, unique stories of the DNT. Just moved back and am disappointed in how thin the paper is - not just literally in terms of number of pages, but also in worthy content. I went to pick up a Sunday paper last week, and both the DNT and Star Tribune were 75 cents. The Strib was a better value, sad to say.

The News Tribune has lost the equivalent of about 18 to 20 newsroom positions in the past 18 months - either through cuts or by not hiring replacements for people who left on their own.

That leaves a newsroom of about 35 people, give or take a couple. That's still the largest newsroom by far in the Northland - but it has decreased in size by about 35 percent since early 2008.

lol, Stan. Nice picture. Can I borrow it?

So now that we've established that it sucks, what's to be done?

Lessons from the Rocky Mountain News (text & video).

Nonprofit News Media Organizations.

We still get the Sunday DNT (nearly) every week, and we get some solid reading mileage out of that (plus the coupons).   The only exposure I have to the daily edition is at work--I usually only have time to flip through the first few pages, but I agree it does seem to keep getting thinner and thinner.  I don't even know if my boss gets around to reading it--I think we might just get it as part of a package deal with the Wall Street Journal (which he does read daily).

The decrease in revenue for the newspaper can also be blamed on the increased use of free online ads such as craigslist and freecycle.  Much less ad revenue, which pays for quality journalists to ply their craft

I'm pretty disappointed at the direction the paper has taken. At this point, it takes me about 1-5 minutes to read, which I'm not sure is worth my .30 a day subscription. 

I don't appreciate the editorial cartoons with the right wing slant, and I'm not sure why they think that would play well in Duluth.

Emphasizing local content makes sense, but not to the point where say, the Pope could be mowed down by Abyssinian terrorists while choking on a anomalous chicken bone that formed inside a piece of GMO broccoli, and the DNT's headline that day would still be 'Local Man Sees T-Shirt He Doesn't Like'.

Sorry for the employees that may lose their jobs, but that is how our system works after all. I'd rather direct my support towards a business I believe in, and perhaps they can get a job at a place that provides such services.

Generally, I refrain from eating at restaurants that give me food poisoning or provide substandard fare.

I've noticed redesign similarities between the (Chicago) Tribune Company newspapers and the DNT.  Anyone out there know if Lee Abrams has done consulting for Forum?  

before and after example:

http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/newa1.jpg



 "There was a big myth that you could not have these [newsroom] cuts ... and still produce a quality paper, and that's just nonsense." -Lee Abrams

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/esearch/e3id53e7ac87972131edd2dcfc148c06c7a?pn=1

Knight News Challenge.

I agree with Rob that another daily could successfully compete with the DNT. A key factor in this happening would be having a stable of quality reporters who were willing to work for lower wages than the industry average. Since everybody else works for lower wages in Duluth, I don't think this would be too difficult.

It's too bad I'm not very entrepreneurial.

Ramos- I'm not sure I buy the low wage prerequisite.  I have no idea what the wages are for the DNT writers, but the DNT can afford to pay them.  I doubt the DNT is losing money.  I think they're just not making as much as they want.  What I do know is that the DNT has legacy costs and the old business model weighing it down.  The barrier to entry, profitable entry, has never been lower.  Like most things though it takes money to make money. A new paper / media enterprise will take a large investment, paying writers to write, and printers to print, BEFORE the ad rev is there.  But so what?  I'd bet it will cost less than what Forum paid.  And once Forum is gone, you'd have your nice print monopoly back.

On a related note, this was just announced by the Daily Press in Ashland:

"Beginning Tuesday, the Nov. 3 The Daily Press will be offering an online edition featuring local news and sports but will cease publishing a Tuesday print edition.

The change is part of a move to enhance the newspaper's multi-media presence and at the same time cut some of the cost associated with producing a print newspaper. The Press will be produced and delivered by carrier or postal service the remaining five days of publication, Wed.-Sat., and Mondays."

http://www.ashlandwi.com/articles/2009/10/19/news/doc4adc83216af9d007192326.txt

I hope their efforts to increase their multi-media presence include making their website look better.