Photo credit: Downtown Minneapolis (Photo credit:  zman z28/flickr)

Historically, a robust media ecosystem in Minneapolis-St. Paul has supported residents’ demand for large and diverse quantities of information on both political and quality-of-life issues. Today, the demand for quality journalism in the Twin Cities remains high, but many local media outlets struggle to deliver it sustainably. The digital age has presented significant challenges to a media landscape centered around a print format; however it also presents new opportunities.

This paper evaluates the quality or “health” of the Minneapolis-St. Paul information environment through a study of its challenges, opportunities, and existing institutions. To guide our investigations, we have relied on the report of The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy, Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age. The report provides a series of indicators for assessing three important elements of “information health”:

• the availability of relevant and credible information to all Americans and their communities;
• the capacity of individuals to engage with information; and
• the individual engagement with information and the public life of the community.

As the Knight report highlights, it is crucial to consider these elements as we analyze media and democracy in today’s world. Through the lens of Minneapolis-St. Paul, we assess the potentials and successes of numerous types of institutions in adapting to the digital age to serve local information needs.

In 2010, as the Twin Cities move into the digital age, institutions of journalism need to adjust business models in order to continue delivering quality information. In addition to the two major newspapers, the Twin Cities are home to an extensive market of neighborhood-specific papers. Many of these local outlets show signs of growing online readership, a trend encouraging to an information ecosystem only if institutions can adapt their strategies accordingly. Unfortunately, tight budgets and operating costs largely constrain innovation and experimentation; nevertheless, a number of nonprofit, online-only publications have launched in Minneapolis-St. Paul in recent years, some of which have met considerable success in building audiences. Additionally, several local nonprofit organizations provide public access television and others analytical reporting on both television and radio. The strong institutional framework and market demand already present in Minneapolis-St. Paul afford a crucial opportunity to develop sustainable, pragmatic models of media for the 21st Century.

Read the full policy paper here.