January Update: 2011 Highlights and the year ahead

We had a great year in 2011, and I am excited about the year ahead. As usual, you can scroll down to read about some exciting upcoming classes and events, our Winter Party and Sausage Fest, and to read our editors’ reports about the highlights of the past year. But first, I want to say a few words about what we have planned for 2012:

More classes: We’re going to offer at least two classes every month – one focused on citizen journalism, and the other on media skills – everything from Introduction to iMovie to Facebook as a Marketing Tool. To find out about the latest classes, go totcdailyplanet.net/classes.  (January classes listed below).

More journalism: We’re going to recruit more reporters, produce more beat reporting, and dig deeper into our neighborhoods. Renewed funding from the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative and a generous grant from Southeast Publications will make it possible for us to increase our coverage of Central Corridor and southeast Minneapolis neighborhoods, so that’s where we’ll start, but our goal is to expand our coverage of all Minneapolis and St. Paul neighborhoods. We are also expanding our food and dining coverage, by merging my TCFoodies.com website to a new home on the Daily Planet, where we will be serving up fresh food news daily.

More newsletters: In addition to our Daily Headlines, Weekly Highlights and Arts Orbit Radar newsletters, we’ll soon be launching newsletters for TCFoodies, Education News, and Southeast Minneapolis / University District Neighborhood News.

More outreach and events: Last year, our New Normal project published news stories and organized community conversations focused on deciding our community priorities in tough economic times. This year, with renewed support from the Bush Foundation, we are going to build on that work. We’ll be partnering with organizations that work on issues such as Education, Health Care, the Environment, Work, Transportation and Immigrant Communities to hold community social/informational events, where people can learn about the organization, the issues, and how to use the media – including the Daily Planet.

More interactivity: We’re going to add a Facebook Comments box to our stories, so that if you are signed in to Facebook, your comments will appear immediately on the site, under your real name, and you will have the option of also posting them on your Facebook page. We’re also going to start a campaign to get more readers to add their favorite neighborhood businesses and attractions to our neighborhood attractions maps and directories.

A more user-friendly website: We know, it’s cluttered. With the help of our web developer, Steve Hanson, we will soon unveil a redesigned homepage, with many more improvements to follow.

Save the date!: TC Daily Planet Winter Party and Sausage Fest Thursday, February 2 at the Summit Brewing Company. Great beer, great band, great sausages. Details coming soon.

January classes: 

The Twin Cities Media Alliance has a couple of great classes coming up this month: Finding Your Voice Online, next Wednesday, January 11 taught by Twin Cities Daily Planet editor Mary Turck, and Introduction to i Movie, taught by videographer Ben McGinley on Monday, January 23. The tuition for these classes is $10, but scholarships are available on request. Also, scroll down for information about other events this month, including our free How to use the Daily Planet workshop on January 19, (followed by a happy hour!) and our weekly writers groups.

Finding Your Voice Online

Wed, January 11, 7-9 p.m.

2600 Franklin Avenue E, Suite #2 (enter from back of Wells Fargo Bank Building.)
Mpls., MN 55406

“Carrie Daklin is mad as hell and doesn’t want to take it anymore,” begins a column by Ruben Rosario. Want to keep reading? You bet. That’s because Rosario always writes with voice, with attitude, with a passion that grabs the reader. Journalism prof Carrie Brown-Smith writes: “Voice doesn’t HAVE TO mean less facts or more ill-informed ranting … there’s still hard-hitting reporting, but the person behind the story isn’t completely hidden. If anything, the biases they are trying (often to little avail) to hide are instead transparently represented to the audience and become part and parcel of their expertise rather than a liability.” If you want to work on livening up your writing, join us for Finding Your Voice, a two-hour workshop at the Daily Planet office on January 11, 7-9 p.m. Register ahead of time, and e-mail instructor Mary Turck samples of your writing — something boring you’d like to improve or something with voice that you’d like to brag about.

Course tuition is $10; scholarships are available on request. Register by clicking here. (https://www.thedatabank.com/dpg/262/donate.asp?formid=TCM-Event&c=5092822).

How to use the Daily Planet — free January 2012 workshop

Thursday, January 19, 4-5 p.m.

Acadia Cafe, 329 Cedar Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55454

Join Daily Planet editor Mary Turck and associate editor Jay Gabler for an open newsroom and user training session. Want to know how you can use the Daily Planet to connect with your community? Want to learn what stories we’re working on? Have stories to suggest? Please stop by! (And join us for a happy hour afterward, at 5 p.m.)

Introduction to iMovie

Monday January 23, 7 to 9 p.m.

2600 Franklin Avenue E, Suite #2 (enter from back of Wells Fargo Bank Building.)
Mpls., MN 55406

In these two hours, instructor Ben McGinley will go over the very basics of Apple’s iMovie program. We will learn the iMovie interface and its accompanying tools. You will learn how to use these tools to import footage, add cool titles and transitions, and choose accompanying music of your choice from your iTunes library. By the end of the class, you will have an understanding of basic media management and editing that will give you confidence when editing your own movies. The fee for this class is $10, but scholarships are granted on request. Register by clicking here. (https://www.thedatabank.com/dpg/262/donate.asp?formid=TCM-Event&c=3431292)

Writers Groups Come meet the editors and other Daily Planet writers, bring your ideas for written and video stories or photo essays. Our writers group provides an encouraging environment for novice and experienced reporters. In addition to getting feedback on your writing, each week we integrate one lesson that will help you develop your craft. These include themes like fact checking, relations with sources, and telling many sides of one story.

St. Paul Every Monday from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Next Monday’s meeting (January 9) is at Cahoots Coffee Bar 1562 Selby Ave.

Minneapolis - Every Wednesday at 1:30 at the TC Daily Planet offices, 2600 Franklin Ave. E., #2., Minneapolis. (Wells Fargo Bank Building -  Enter from the parking lot.) Future locations may change.

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.

December News: Shop Locally This Holiday Season, Classes and More

Scroll down to read about some exciting upcoming classes and events, and to read our editors’ reports about the highlights of the past month. But first, I want to say a few words about shopping locally this holiday season, and the Daily Planet’s directory of neighborhood attractions and independently owned businesses.

At the Twin Cities Media Alliance, we strongly support locally owned independent businesses. Supporting the vitality of neighborhoods and communities is an important part of our mission, and a healthy local business community is essential to the vitality of local communities. Here’s what the Metro Independent Business Alliance says about shopping locally:

“Supporting locally owned, independent businesses keeps more of your money in your community.  When you spend $1 at a local independent, an average of 68 cents is recirculated into the local economy.  In contrast, when you spend $1 at a national chain, only about 43 cents stays at home.  If Twin Cities consumers shift even 10% of their spending from chains to locals for one day, the Twin Cities economy gains some $2 million.”

That’s why we belong to the Metro Independent Business Alliance, and why we carry the business listings ofBuyLocalTwinCities in the Twin Cities Daily Planet’s directory of local businesses and attractions, and on our Minneapolisand St. Paul neighborhood pages.

Another way to support local businesses: be sure to check out our new program, Theater All Year. Theater All Year ticket vouchers offer you an easy and affordable way to enjoy a huge variety of Twin Cities theater offerings throughout the season – and support the Twin Cities Media Alliance and TC Daily Planet at the same time. The cost is only $99 for six vouchers – a saving of more than 50% off the retail ticket price at some of the participating theaters.

Upcoming classes:

(Our December 6 class on Photojournalism 101 with Judy Griesedieck booked up very quickly, with many more on a mailing list. If you would like to be notified when we offer this class again – or if you have other suggestions for classes, just reply to this email.

Twin Cities Daily Planet December User Training and Open Newsroom

Tuesday, December 13, 4 to 5 p.m.

2600 Franklin Avenue E, Suite #2
Minneapolis

Join Daily Planet editor Mary Turck and associate editor Jay Gabler for an open newsroom and user training session. Want to know how you can use the Daily Planet to connect with your community? Want to learn what stories we’re working on? Have stories to suggest? Please stop by! Free of charge.

January classes: 

Finding Your Voice Online

Mary Turck, instructor

January 11, 7-9 PM,

Twin Cities Daily Planet

2600 E. Franklin #2

Minneapolis, MN

“Carrie Daklin is mad as hell and doesn’t want to take it anymore,” begins a column by Ruben Rosario. Want to keep reading? You bet. That’s because Rosario always writes with voice, with attitude, with a passion that grabs the reader. Journalism prof Carrie Brown-Smith writes: “Voice doesn’t HAVE TO mean less facts or more ill-informed ranting … there’s still hard-hitting reporting, but the person behind the story isn’t completely hidden. If anything, the biases they are trying (often to little avail) to hide are instead transparently represented to the audience and become part and parcel of their expertise rather than a liability.” If you want to work on livening up your writing, join us for Finding Your Voice, a two-hour workshop at the Daily Planet office on January 11, 7-9 p.m. Register ahead of time, and e-mail me samples of your writing — something boring you’d like to improve or something with voice that you’d like to brag about. The fee for this class is $10, but scholarships are granted on request. Click here to register.

Introduction to iMovie

Ben McGinley, instructor

January 23, 7-9 PM

Twin Cities Daily Planet

2600 E. Franklin #2

Minneapolis, MN

In these two hours we will go over the very basics of Apple’s iMovie program.  We will learn the iMovie interface and its accompanying tools.  You will learn how to use these tools to import footage, add cool titles and transitions, and choose accompanying music of your choice from your iTunes library. By the end of the class, you will have an understanding of basic media management and editing that will give you confidence when editing your own movies. The fee for this class is $10, but scholarships are granted on request. Click here to register.

Staff reports: 

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. Here’s project manager Lisa Peterson-de la Cueva’s report on our October conversations:

We had a great crowd at the annual Fall Media Forum, where we talked about the work we’ve been doing with the New Normal project this year. We’ll be wrapping up the project by the new year, but in 2012 we hope to build on this year’s conversations and articles. During last month’s coverage on inequality, Bruce Johansen reported on signs of rising inequity, Latino parents spoke out about education gaps, and Sheila Regan wrote about the impact of inequality on American Indian children. In the next several weeks we are conducting focus group style conversations with leaders working on inequality issues, so stay tuned for reports of these conversations.

Daily Planet Editor Mary Turck reports:

Lots of great stories in November — from Latino parents organizing in South Minneapolis to the re-opening of University Avenue in St. Paul to continuing delays in tornado repairs in North Minneapolis to the fascinating story of the Cave Cafe Food Truck and the miraculous journey of Chef Teddy. We are almost ready to launch our re-configured newsletter on MailChimp. Look for it in December, along with the launch of our TC Foodies weekly newsletter and an Education weekly newsletter. Not all the work is news: I met with two groups of international visitors this month, as well as with a group of middle-school students at Southside Family School. I worked with the students on video production, and hope that they will use the loaned TCDP FlipCam to produce at least one story for us.

Arts Editor Jay Gabler reports:

The list of November’s most-read arts and lifestyle stories demonstrates why the Daily Planet has become a must-read for everyone interested in the breadth and depth of the local arts scene. Readers across the country appreciated our reviews of movies like The Muppets and the touring show Cavalia, but we also found a lot of readers for my review of the Minnesota Opera’s world premiere Silent Night and Matthew Everett’s review ofThe Inland Sea—a play by a MacArthur “Genius Grant” winner that was given its world premiere by none other than the students at Macalester College. Our strong food coverage was represented by Lu Lippold’s and Jeremy Iggers’s coverage of the new Rye Deli, and Sheila Regan produced what a dance insider told me she considers the best coverage of Frank Sonntag’s controversial decision to step down from his leadership role at the Cowles Center after only a few months. Finally, our Who is that? series shone a light on an unsung hero of the local theater scene: superfan Scott Pakudaitis, who attends over 200 performances a year. You won’t find Scott on the pages of any glossy magazines, but at the Daily Planet we know it’s those grassroots advocates who keep our arts scene strong.

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.

November Update: Fall Forum, Training, Happy Hour and More

To read about the past month’s highlights, scroll down to our editors’ reports. But first, I want to tell you about some exciting events coming up this month, including our Fall Media Forum, and our Daily Planet User Training, Open Newsroom, and Happy Hour at Pancho Villa.

Saturday, November 12:  Fall Media Forum, ”Inform, Connect, Organize: Media Tools for the New Normal.” 

Usually, when people talk about the New Normal, they are talking about the economy, and the impact that economic hard times are having on our communities, our schools and our jobs and livelihoods. But the difficult economy isn’t the only New Normal – we are also living in the midst of a “media New Normal” in which citizens have unprecedented access to powerful media tools. This free forum focuses on the challenges of the economic New Normal, and the media tools and information resources citizens can use to face those challenges.

The morning program starts at 9:30 with a presentation of economic and demographic data about the New Normal by Andi Egbert of the Wilder Foundation, followed by reports from several organizations that have sponsored community conversations about the New Normal in the afternoon – including Minnesota Public Radio, the Uptake, and the Twin Cities Media Alliance.

We’ll conclude the morning session with a conversation about about the most pressing policy issues presented by the New Normal: how can citizens get involved to affect change; and how can citizens use media tools to participate more effectively in this new environment. Invited participants so far include Bill Blazar, MN Chamber of Commerce; Bernie Hess, UFCW; Erica Mauter, blogger and social media expert; and a representative from the League of Women Voters. Conversations will continue over the lunch break.

The afternoon program, which starts at 1:30 p.m.  includes practical workshops on topics ranging from Using Twitter (and other social media tools) for Networking and Tools to Make Your Website More Interactive to how to tell your story using traditional public relations tools, as well as presentations on Compass Neighborhood Indicators: A valuable tool for telling your community’s stories, and how to become a beat reporter.

The event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is encouraged. You can come for the morning session, the afternoon workshops, or both.  Sign up online (and purchase a box lunch if you wish) by visiting: http:bit.ly/TCMAForum.  On-site registration begins at 9 a.m.

Thursday, November 17: Daily Planet User Training, Open Newsroom, and Happy Hour at Pancho Villa

Join Daily Planet editor Mary Turck and associate editor Jay Gabler at the festive Pancho Villa Mexican restaurant on Eat Street (2539 Nicollet Ave. S.) in Minneapolis for a training session and happy hour. From 4:00-5:00, learn how to upload articles, create your own blog, and land paying assignments as a citizen journalist on our award-winning nonprofit community news site. Learn about what stories we’re following, and share your ideas for stories we should be on top of. From 5:00 on, join us for a happy hour featuring 2-for-1 margaritas and tap beer. You are welcome to just show up, but if you want to let us know you are coming – and invite your friends - please visit our Facebook event page and accept our invitation. Questions? Contact jay@tcdailyplanet.net.

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. Here’s project manager Lisa Peterson-de la Cueva’s report on our October conversations:

We had a busy October, with about 130 participants attending six  community conversations on the environment and education. Check out our synopsis of the environment conversations and Bruce Johansen’s extensive coverage of what Twin Cities residents are doing to close the achievement gap. Thanks to the Wilder Foundation and the Committee on the Achievement Gap for co-hosting. If you want a peak at how one of our conversations worked check out this blog post about our conversation with the Latino Youth Development Coalition. This month we’ll be taking a look at how disparities and inequality fit in to the New Normal. Meeting times and dates aren’t finalized yet; if you’d like to co-host a conversation later this month email lisa@tcdailyplanet.net.  And of course, we’d love to see you at our Fall Forum.

Editors Reports:

Daily Planet Editor Mary Turck reports:

TIn October, we published more than 60 articles related to education, from TCDP original reporting, partners and blogs. We published more than 35 food-related articles, ranging from the Finnish Bistro to the farm bill to famine in Somalia. These two areas are very high-interest for our community, and we plan on continuing, deepening and broadening out coverage. We also plan on highlighting it in two new newsletters (watch for them!) and on making our current newsletters (Daily Headlines and Arts Orbit) look better and have a better subscribe/unsubscribe interface.

Arts Editor Jay Gabler reports:

This month we were pleased to be honored with the annual TOSCAR Culture Award from Twin Cities TOSCA  (Theater, Opera, Shakespeare, Culture, Arts). The award recognizes our contributions to local culture, and is a credit to our dozens of talented, devoted citizen journalists—as well as to the generous funders who make our work possible. Also this month, we welcomed our first-ever editorial intern specifically devoted to arts coverage: the talented Morgan Halaska, who’s been lightening my load while earning valuable experience as a budding arts editor. If you know individuals who are looking to gain experience in journalism beyond just writing and reporting, please encourage them to contact Mary Turck (for general news coverage) and/or me (for arts coverage) about an internship at the Daily Planet.

Be sure to check out our new program, Theater All Year. Theater All Year ticket vouchers offer you an easy and affordable way to enjoy a huge variety of Twin Cities theater offerings throughout the season – and support the Twin Cities Media Alliance and TC Daily Planet at the same time. The cost is only $99 for six vouchers – a saving of more than 50% off the retail ticket price at some of the participating theaters.

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.

Best,

Jeremy Iggers
executive director, Twin Cities Media Alliance

October: Arts Reviewing Class / Iraqi Journalist / Last Call for Online Auction

October is going to be a very busy month for the Twin Cities Media Alliance and the Daily Planet – scroll down to read about our upcoming Community Conversations on The New Normal and the Achievement Gap; our Arts Reviewing Class with Daily Planet arts editor Jay Gabler, our Brown Bag event with visiting Iraqi journalist Hiba Qader, our Fall Forum on November 12, and editors’ reports from Jay and Daily Planet editor Mary Turck.

Also, be sure to check out our new program, Theater All Year. Theater All Year ticket vouchers offer you an easy and affordable way to enjoy a huge variety of Twin Cities theater offerings throughout the season – and support the Twin Cities Media Alliance and TC Daily Planet at the same time. The cost is only $99 for six vouchers – a saving of more than 50% off the retail ticket price at some of the participating theaters.

Upcoming Events:

Tomorrow, Sunday, October 2 is the last day of our Daily Planet eBay fundraising auction, with most items closing Sunday evening. (A few late additions will end on Monday). Newest additions include two books and a t-shirt donated by Birchbark Books; two Annual Memberships for Bacchus Minnesota Wine Society contributed by Haskell’s, a photograph by poet and artist Wang Ping, and two tickets to Madame Butterfly at the Minnesota Opera. And there are still a lot of other great deals to be had, with lots of great items, including gift certificates for restaurants, theaters and other top venues  - check it out at http://stores.ebay.com/Twin-Cities-Daily-Planet. Please invite your friends to check it out, too – we have a Facebook event page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=171402146275409.

Arts Writing: How to Write A Review 

Wednesday, October 5:  More and more people are writing about arts events—plays, movies, art shows, books—on their blogs and in news publications like the Twin Cities Daily Planet. But how to do it well? What do readers need to know? How much should be fact, and how much should be opinion? What’s a writer’s relationship to the artist, and to the audience? Daily Planet arts editor Jay Gabler has published hundreds of reviews and features; in this class, he’ll take you through the review-writing process from choosing a publication to attending a show and finding readers for your review. The class will be held at the Daily Planet offices – 2600 E. Franklin #2, Minneapolis from 7 to 9 p.m. (Just one session). This class is free, but enrollment is limited; to register, e-mail jay@tcdailyplanet.net.

October Community Conversations on The New Normal and the Achievement Gap

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 waded deep into environmental waters last month with our coverage of everything from composting and recycling to updates on Troubled Waters and the Legacy Fund. Thanks to the Wilder Foundation and the Land Stewardship Project for their participation in the environmental conversations, and we’re looking forward to chatting with more groups in the next couple weeks.

Education is next up on our list and in October we’ll be focusing on the achievement gap. While all of our New Normal topics are important, perhaps none has come up as frequently in our community conversations.

At the conversations we’ll explore the question:

What’s the best way to close the achievement gap?Is the best solution to: 

a)   Increase engagement between schools and communities
b)   Focus on accountability and basic reading and math skills
c)   Focus on intensive intervention after school and in early childhood, or
d)   A different approach?

At the conversations we’ll provide some basic information about the achievement gap in the Twin Cities and education policy. Then we’ll ask participants to weigh in on what they think we should prioritize when closing the achievement gap.  At the end of the month we write an article summarizing what we’ve heard across all of the conversations we held.

Come to one of our October community conversations on the Achievement Gap:

Wilder Foundation

451 Lexington Parkway North, Saint Paul
October 13 (email lisa@tcdailyplanet.net for information about time.)

Committee on the Achievement Gap (time and location to be determined). 
Noon, October 14

Henry High School Asian Student Association (Tentative)
October 19 or 26

Please join us to share your thoughts on how we should narrow the gap. And, of course, we welcome you to host a conversation yourself, write a blog post, or suggest an article idea. Email lisa@tcdailyplanet.net.

Wednesday, October 27: Brown Bag with Iraqi Journalist Hiba Qader

Please join us for a Brown Bag program at noon Wednesday, October 26 at the East Lake Public Library, 2727 E. Lake St., Minneapolis featuring visiting journalist Hiba Qader Ahmed Al-Hasnawi. Hiba is an independent journalist in Najaf, Iraq. She has also worked for the Governor of Najaf Province and the Najaf 2012 Capital of the Islamic World Council. Hiba is part of a visiting delegation from Najaf hosted by the Iraqi American Reconciliation Project.

The Twin Cities Media Alliance’s monthly Brown Bag Lunches are your chance for casual conversation with some of the Twin Cities’ most insightful journalists (and journalists from around the world) — about journalism, politics, or whatever is onyour mind.

Editors Reports:

Daily Planet Editor Mary Turck reports:

The turnout for our citizen journalism workshop was low, but citizen journalism itself is thriving at the Daily Planet: Makula Dunbar, a North High grad and new Daily Planet writer, returns to write about the present and future of the North Minneapolis institution. Andrea Parrott, who began writing for the Daily Planet after participating in a citizen journalism workshop last year won a fellowship to participate in the MetLife Foundation Journalists in Aging Fellowship Program. in Boston in November, and we’ll publish the articles she writes as part of that. John Kunesh‘s path to publishing started at one of our Bush Foundation-sponsored Community Conversations — he recently covered the Czech and Slovak Sokol. And we have a new crop of fall interns, including Nancy Huynh, Jonas Rosenberger, and Liz Spielman.

Arts Editor Jay Gabler reports:

This month at the arts desk, what initially seemed to be an obscure debate over concert photography contracts exploded into a passionate exchange that attracted national readership, as I responded to a City Pages blog post protesting bands’ increasingly restrictive demands on photographers. Ultimately, Mary Turck also weighed in, helping to draw connections to larger issues of journalists’ rights. In the end, we decided as a staff that we will not cooperate with bands who demand approval of photos as a condition of access—but we remain committed to facilitating the work of non-professional, sometimes unpaid, photographers and writers. Noting that a White House policy of misleadingly staging photo ops was uncontested by professional journalists for decades until a tweet led to the policy’s exposure and reversal, Mary writes, “Like ethics, journalism is too important to be left exclusively to the professionals.”
Save this date:  The Twin Cities Media Alliance’s 7th Annual Fall Media Forum, will be held Saturday, November 12 at the downtown Minneapolis branch of the Hennepin County Library. The topic of this year’s forum is:

Inform, Connect, Organize: Media Tools for the New Normal

Budget cuts and a tough economy threaten many of the things that Minnesotans value most – the quality of our schools, the vitality of our neighborhoods, even our jobs and livelihoods. Our forum will focus  on the media tools and information resources that can help citizens, communities and businesses inform themselves, communicate and work together. More details coming soon.

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.

September Update: Dale Connelly, Dinner, Conversations, Online Auction and More

We have a lot going on this month at the Twin Cities Media Alliance and Twin Cities Daily Planet, including a Citizen Journalism 101 class at the Rondo Public Library tomorrow (Wednesday), a benefit dinner this Sunday, community conversations on the New Normal and the environment starting next week, an online auction, and a Brown Bag with Minnesota radio legend Dale Connolly. Scroll down for details, and our editors’ reports on what we did in August.

But first – here’s early notice that the Twin Cities Media Alliance will have an online auction starting Monday, September 26 to raise money for the Daily Planet and our other programs. We have already gotten lots of nifty donations, including gift certificates fot dinners at Heidi’s Restaurant, Sen Yai Sen Lek, and Cafe Levain, a Rod Carew autographed baseball from the Minnesota Twins, chocolates from Chocolat Celeste, a luscious dessert from Caffe Latte, a gift certificate for the Smitten Kitten, and much more! If you have a gift certificate or a service that you would like to donate (a one-hour wardrobe consultation? face painting for kids birthday party?)  please respond to this email. It’s a great way to promote your business, and support a worthy non-profit. More details coming soon.

Upcoming Events:

Wednesday, September 14:  Citizen Journalism workshop – the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of journalism. If you are curious about citizen journalism, this class taught by Daily Planet editor Mary Turck will be a great introduction. Contact jeremyiggers@tcdailyplanet.net to register. (This is Part I; the other parts have been postponed.)

Sunday, September 18: We still have a few tickets left for our Pick of the Market Dinner with chef Shelagh Connolly at the Black Dog Cafe in Lowertown Saint Paul. It’ll be a great dinner and a great time. Chef Shelagh Connolly has 30 years of experience at local fine dining restaurants including W.A Frost, Bravo!, the New French Cafe, Dakota Bar & Grill, Tria, and The Mildred Pierce Café, where she served as both chef and owner. On the day of the dinner, Connolly will stroll across the street from the Black DogCafé to the Saint Paul Farmers Market. There, she’ll select the freshest ingredients to create her “Pick of the Market” menu.
The cost? Only $45 per person for Daily Planet members and their guests, including wine and dessert; $50 for non-members.*
Where: The Black Dog Café, 308 Prince Street, Saint Paul
When: 6:30 p.m., Sunday, September 18. Special members-only aperitif hour, 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m., next door at the AZ Gallery.
Where to park: On- and off-street parking is available near the Black Dog Café. Best bet: The surface lot located on Prince Street directly behind the café. Parking there costs only $1 for the entire evening.
To purchase tickets, click here:
(https://www.thedatabank.com/dpg/262/mtglistproc.asp?formid=TCM-Event&caleventid=19657)

*To become a member, simply click here; any donation of $10 or more qualifies.

http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Twin-Cities-Media-Alliance

September Community Conversations on The New Normal and the Environment

The New Normal: Deciding Community Priorities in a Downsized Economyis 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.

“During our August focus on transportation,” reports New Normal project manager Lisa Peterson-de la Cueva, “Bruce Johansen got our gears shifting with his bike and transportation coverage, and we had fascinating conversations. Thanks to Transit for Livable Communities and the Bike Depot for their participation in the New Normal conversations on transportation.”
This month, we’ll be taking a close look at environmental issues in the Twin Cities.  As we witness more environmental destruction, and watch our natural resources diminish, what is the best way to protect the environment? Should we:
1) Implement stronger regulations?
2) Educate for individual actions?
3) Rely on market approaches?
4) Try another alternative?

You can join the conversation at any of these community meetings:

Tuesday, September 20 • 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Wilder Foundation
451 Lexington Parkway North, Saint Paul
R.S.V.P. http://tinyurl.com/environmentconversation

Thursday, September 22, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Land Stewardship Project • Focus on urban agriculture
821 East 35th Street, Suite 200, Minneapolis
R.S.V.P annac@landstewardshipproject.org
Another conversation is tentatively scheduled with the Audubon Society in October with a focus on Birds and the Big Picture. Check here for updates.

And, of course, we welcome you to host a conversation yourself, write a blog post, or suggest an article idea. Email lisa@tcdailyplanet.net.

Wednesday, September 28: Brown Bag with KFAI News Director Dale Connolly

Please join us for a Brown Bag program Wednesday, September 28 at noon at the East Lake Public Library, 2727 E. Lake St., Minneapolis featuring KFAI news director Dale Connolly. Before joining KFAI, Dale spent 34 years at MPR as a journalist, producer and disc jockey, and was for many years the co-host Jim Ed Poole (Tom Keith) of MPR’s Morning Show. Dale also hosts the Trail Baboon blog, takes on freelance writing, voice work and consulting projects and does volunteer work for organizations that inspire him.

Editors Reports:

Daily Planet Editor Mary Turck reports:

We continue to offer strong, daily news coverage, from the demise of GangNet and the rise of police security surveillance to Minnesota returning veterans, local connections with the Somali famine, and what’s happening in North Minneapolis, post-tornado. Our most recent columnist additions are Lu Lippold (Bite It!) and Nicky Stein-Grohs (#MSP). Ifrah Jimale’s Ask a Somali continues to generate a lot of interest.

Arts Editor Jay Gabler reports:

In August we saw wide readership for our Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage and for our columnists—including our newest columnist Nicky Stein-Grohs, who writes about diverse local people and places in her column #MSP. We also started running Local Lists, an occasional series of fun, satirical lists written collaboratively by our arts contributors. (For example, what should you yell as you go down the giant slide at the State Fair?) As the fall season swings into gear, look for our excellent theater and dance coverage to pick up—including a report from the grand opening of the new Cowles Center for the Performing Arts!

Save this date: The New Normal: Deciding Community Priorities in a Downsized Economy is the Daily Planet’s year-longroject 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. The New Normal is also the topic of  TCMA’s 7th Annual Fall Media Forum, to be held Saturday, November 12 at the downtown Minneapolis branch of the Hennepin County Library:

Inform, Connect, Organize: Media Tools for the New Normal

Budget cuts and a tough economy threaten many of the things that Minnesotans value most – the quality of our schools, the vitality of our neighborhoods, even our jobs and livelihoods. Our forum will focus  on the media tools and information resources that can help citizens, communities and businesses inform themselves, communicate and work together. More details coming soon.

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.

August Update: Community Conversations and Editors’ Reports

July was a very busy month for us at the TC Daily Planet and Twin Cities Media Alliance (see the reports below) but August is going to be pretty quiet. Our New Normal conversations will continue while we take a break from our other programming. But we will be back in action after Labor Day with a full schedule of  classes and workshops, a Happy Hour, brown bag with a journalist and more. Stay tuned for details.

Save this date: 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. The New Normal is also the topic of  TCMA’s 7th Annual Fall Media Forum, to be held Saturday, November 12 at the downtown Minneapolis branch of the Hennepin County Library:

 Inform, Connect, Organize: Media Tools for the New Normal

Budget cuts and a tough economy threaten many of the things that Minnesotans value most – the quality of our schools, the vitality of our neighborhoods, even our jobs and livelihoods. Our forum will focus  on the media tools and information resources that can help citizens, communities and businesses inform themselves, communicate and work together. More details coming soon.

Here’s project manager Lisa Peterson-de la Cueva’s report  on July’s New Normal conversations:

We debated how to fix a broken immigration system during last month’s New Normal conversations, and heard from about 80 American-born Minnesotans and immigrants from at least 17 countries. Check out out last month’simmigration articles, including “Following their dreams on Lake Street,” an article on undocumented students, and an account of the month’s conversations. Thanks to the Minnesota Literacy Council, the Wilder Foundation, Resource Center of the Americas/La Conexión, and Grove Christian Center for co-hosting the conversations. Next up, Transportation! Fired up about biking, walkability, or public transportation? How about potholes? Read Bruce Johansen’s article about Twin Cities transportation and join us for one of our transportation conversations in August.

  We’d love your help! If your organization would like to co-host a community conversation on transportation contact lisa@tcdailyplanet.net.

Editors Reports: 

Daily Planet Editor Mary Turck reports:

In July, we finally got a big chunk of the information we asked Minneapolis Public Schools to deliver in February – AFTER we published two articles describing problematic contracts and problematic processes. The problem with all of the laws guaranteeing public access to information and transparency in government is that they don’t work if government bodies are allowed to ignore them – and our job as journalists is to shine the light on shady stories. Kudos, once again, to Sheila Regan for following the story. Our New Normal focus on immigration also stirred lots of attention, online and in well-attended real life discussions around the Twin Cities.

Arts Editor Jay Gabler reports:

I was just talking by phone with a Fringe producer from Massachusetts who’s never been to Minnesota, but when he heard I was with the Daily Planet, he exclaimed, “Oh! You have the Fringe Bloggers!” Word of our unparalleled Fringe Festival coverage has apparently spread nationwide, and this year it will be stronger than ever. Some of our Fringe bloggers were among the big crowd of contributors and friends who turned out at the Aster Cafe on July 28 for a Daily Planet training session and happy hour. We’re proud to have the best, most diverse arts coverage in the area—thanks to our dedicated citizen journalists, and to your continuing support.

You can support our work by donating to the Twin Cities Media Alliancethrough 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.

July Update: Meet Ifrah Jimale, Happy Hour, Daily Planet training and more

Upcoming this month: community conversations on Immigration and the New Normal; a brown bag with the Daily Planet’s new “Ask A Somali” columnist Ifrah Jimale, and a Daily Planet user training, followed by a happy hour at the Aster Cafe.  Scroll down for details, and our editors’ reports.

We are wrapping up our 2011 membership campaign this month. If you want to renew (has it been over a year since your last donation?) or to join up for the first time, you can do so now by going to http://givemn.org/Twin-Cities-Media-Alliance, and making a donation in any amount.

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 last month’s New Normal conversations:

“Why is universal, single-payer coverage so hard for people to talk about?” someone asked at one of our June community conversations on health care policy and the New Normal. For that matter, why is health care policy in general so hard for people to talk about? It could because it’s just so darn complicated. But we took a stab at it in our June community conversations where more than 80 participants explored the ins and outs of health care coverage and had some fascinating things to say about our health care system. Check out our full June coverage of health care policy here.

Next up, immigrant communities and reforming immigration policy! In July we’ll be talking about immigration and immigrant communities, so please join us for one of our July community conversations.   We’ve partnered with the Wilder Foundation, the Minnesota Literacy Council and the Resource Center of the Americas and hope you’ll join us at least once!

Brown Bag with Ifrah Jimale

Why do some little Somali girls in schools wear head coverings and some don’t? Why do Somalis like to live in Minnesota? Ifrah Jimale answers these questions, and many more, in her new column, Ask A Somali, which appears every Wednesday in the Daily Planet. You can meet Ifrah in person – and ask your own questions -  Wednesday, July 27 at noon at the East Lake Public Library, 2727 E. Lake St., Minneapolis.  In addition to writing for the Daily Planet, Ifrah works for Common Bond Communities and Caribou Coffee.

Learn how to use the Daily Planet (free)

Thursday, July 28, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Aster Cafe, 125 Main St. SE, St. Anthony Main, Minneapolis.

Want to learn how to use TC Daily Planet?  We’ll go over the basics – registering and uploading articles – as well as answering questions and problem-solving. If you don’t have a laptop, email editor@tcdailyplanet.net and we’ll try to find one for you to use at the cafe. Arts Editor Jay Gabler will be leading this training, with a special focus on arts coverage and photography—but the training is open to all. The how-to session will last no more than an hour, after which you are invited to join us for our

Daily Planet Happy Hour: 

Thursday, July 28, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

Aster Cafe, 125 Main St. SE, St. Anthony Main, Minneapolis.

Join TCDP editors, writers, photographers, readers and anybody else who cares to show up for drinks and conversation. Everyone is welcome, and there is no charge.Editors Reports: 

Daily Planet Editor Mary Turck reports:

Ah, summer! Time to head “up north” and forget the news — except that’s hard to do this year, with Minnesota state government in disarray. We have stories from regular Minnesotans about their fears of the shutdown and from public figures from former Governor Arne Carlson to Representatives Phyllis Kahn and Jim Davnie. We also have good news stories about our 35W Rainbow Bridge and insights from our new Ask a Somali column, as well as a TC Daily Planet mobile app, so you can take us with you on vacation.

Arts Editor Jay Gabler reports:

We’ve been winning praise for our newly highlighted weekly columns by Courtney Algeo (“Lit Lyfe”), Jim Brunzell (“The Optimistic Pessimist,” on film), Dwight Hobbes (“Sounding Off On Sound”), Jeremy Iggers (“Iggers Digest”), and me (“Front Row Seat,” a newly award-winning blog). Our next addition: former romance columnist Nicky Stein-Grohs returns to the Daily Planet with “#MSP,” a column about being out and about in the Twin Cities. Besides our regular readership for local stories like the closing of Play by Play Books—an independent business that we’ve covered since it opened in 2009—we’ve won international audiences for our incisive reviews of performances like Glee! Live! and Taylor Swift’s St. Paul appearance.

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.

June Update: Happy Hour, Brown Bag, Community Conversations, and More

photo by David McCrindle

Thanks to everybody who came to the Daily Planet’s Fifth Birthday Party Happy Hour last month. We had so much fun that we decided to make happy hours a monthly event – at least, for this month. This one will be preceded by a training session on how to do stuff on the Daily Planet. Other upcoming events include a Brown Bag with veteran Twin Cities journalist Art Hughes, news director of Rick Kupchella’s Bring Me The News, a class on finding your audience online, and the next round of community conversations on the New Normal. Scroll down for details, and our editors’ reports.

We are in the middle of our 2011 membership campaign this month. If you want to renew (has it been over a year since your last donation?) or to join up for the first time, you can do so now by going to http://givemn.org/Twin-Cities-Media-Alliance, and making a donation in any amount.

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 last month’s New Normal conversations:

Last month we had a great round-up of community conversations and editorial coverage on the future of work and jobs in Minnesota. Susan Brower of the Wilder Foundation pulled together lots of statistics on Minnesota’s work economy and turned these into a fantastic and informative presentation, which helped frame our conversations. It will be up shortly on the MN Compass website, and until it is you can check out the Planet’s editorial coverage here, and a write-up of the conversations here.

In June we’ll be talking about health care coverage, so please join us for an evening community conversation on  June 20 at the Wilder Foundation, or on June 21 at Pax Salon. We’ll be asking participants,“How can we ensure that all Minnesotans have access to good, affordable, dependable health care?”  We’d love your help! If your organization would like to co-host a community conversation on health care contact lisa@tcdailyplanet.net.

Brown Bag with Art Hughes

What will the journalism of the future look like? And how will it be funded? Locally and nationally, publishers are experimenting with new models for generating revenue. One of the most interesting experiments is Rick Kupchella’s Bring Me The News, which describes its business model as follows:

“Instead of block advertisements and pop-ups on our Web site, we have a new approach to advertising: we’re working with a small group of sponsors to provide informational advertising of interest to our audience. At BringMeTheNews, our client content manager works directly with sponsors to develop greater insight into those stories that matter to people — in areas like health, education, technology and energy. And because we recognize the value of the material coming from our sponsors, we integrate our advertising alongside our headlines and reporting.

Because BringMeTheNews is dedicated to journalistic ethics and transparency, even though sponsored content appears on the homepage, we will always clearly identify which information comes from our sponsors — just as we show the sources of the news stories we link to.”

Please join us for this month’s Brown Bag program,  to be held Wednesday, June 22 at noon at the East Lake Public Library, 2727 E. Lake St., Minneapolis. This month’s featured guest is Art Hughes, news director of Bring Me the News. Art has provided news for a variety of news organizations including National Public Radio, Reuters, Marketplace, CBC and BBC. He worked for 11 years at Minnesota Public Radio covering, among other things, education and Minneapolis city issues. Art is a long-time advocate for First Amendment and open government issues, serving on the boards with the state chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information.

Learn how to use the Daily Planet

Thursday, June 23, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

East Lake Public Library, 2727 E. Lake Street, Minneapolis.

Want to learn how to use TC Daily Planet?  We’ll go over the basics – registering and uploading articles – as well as answering questions and problem-solving. If you don’t have a laptop, email editor@tcdailyplanet.net and we’ll try to find one for you to use at the cafe. The how-to session will last no more than an hour, and then we’ll all walk over next door to T’s Place for our

Daily Planet Happy Hour: 

When: Thursday, June 23, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Where: T’s Place, 2713 East Lake Street, Minneapolis
Who: Everyone is welcome, and there’s no charge.
Join TCDP editors, writers, photographers, readers and anybody else who cares to show up for drinks and conversation. T’s Place has great happy hour specials – domestic beers for $2.50; imports, wine by the glass, and mixed drinks for $3.

Parking is available at meters.  (Do not park in the East Lake Public Library lot if you are staying for the Happy Hour – you may be towed.)

Classes:

Finding Your Audience Online

Tuesday, July 12, 7-9 p.m.

 Twin Cities Daily Planet office, 2600 E. Franklin #2, Minneapolis

So you’re online: you have a blog, or a website. Now how do you find your audience? Whether you’re looking for like-minded souls to read your writing or share recipe tips or whether you’re looking to spread the reach of your organization with a more robust online presence, this class will give you valuable tips and tools to help you find your audience. Topics include:

• How can you use social media to best effect?

• Content: how much is too much?

• How much should you be “yourself” and how much should you give people what you think they want?

Instructors Jay Gabler and Becky Lang are two of the co-founders of the successful creative writing blog The Tangential; Jay also serves as associate editor of the Twin Cities Daily Planet, and Becky works as a creative at the marketing firm Zeus Jones.

The class is sponsored by the Twin Cities Media Alliance, a nonprofit organization advocating media literacy and community connections.

Registration for this class is free, but enrollment is limited. To register, send an e-mail to jay@tcdailyplanet.net.

(Classes are free, but donations are gratefully accepted. )

Editors Reports: 

Daily Planet Editor Mary Turck reports:

When bad weather hits, Minnesotans traditionally tune in to WCCO—but now other media are also winning the eyes and ears of Minnesotans. And, while TC Daily Planet is NOT the place to go for immediate, as-the-wind-blows news, we are the place that many community members came to share their tornado stories and to find grassroots, on-the-ground accounts in the days and weeks after the North Minneapolis tornado. Besides this big news, we are proud of the continuing growth of our neighborhood coverage, much of it contributed by community members. For one great example, check out the multimedia coverage of the bargains and laughs at Seward’s garage sale!

Arts Editor Jay Gabler reports:

It was another big month for Daily Planet arts coverage, with Google AdWords continuing (via a donation from Google in consideration of our nonprofit status) to boost our coverage of movies in particular. We also kept close to the community, with great photos of a community band celebration in St. Paul and a first-timer’s account of taking African drum and dance classes in Minneapolis. Our media partnerships continue to bear fruit: one of our most-read articles of the month was a feature about the new restaurant Soul Daddy, republished from Insight News. Finally, we’re pleased to welcome our newest arts columnist: Courtney Algeo, whose column Lit Lyfe will focus on all aspects of the local literary scene.

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.

Best,

Jeremy Iggers

executive director

Community Conversations, Brown Bag, Birthday Party and More

Upcoming Twin Cities Media Alliance events this month include community conversations about how best to keep and create good jobs for Minnesota’s workforce; a celebration of the Daily Planet’s fifth birthday; a brown bag conversation about what the iPad means for journalism (with a free book offer for all who attend); and a citizen journalism class on using online tools such as Facebook and YouTube. Scroll down for details, and our editors’ reports.

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 April New Normal conversations:

Thanks to all of those who came and provided great insight at our three community conversations on the state state budget last month. And we were glad the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition and Growth and Justice co-hosted with the Twin Cities Daily Planet. Click here if you’d like to read last month’s coverage of the state budget.

“Next Up, Work and Jobs! We’ll be asking participants, “What’s the best way to secure work and good jobs for Minnesotans in the future?” Check out our May calendar of community conversations  if you would like to attend. We’d love your help! If your organizations would like to co-host a community conversation on work and jobs (May) or health care (June) contact lisa@tcdailyplanet.net.

Just a reminder: The Daily Planet is turning five, and we’re celebrating on May 17 with a birthday bash and happy hour.
When: Tuesday, May 17, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Where: T’s Place, 2713 East Lake Street, Minneapolis
Who: Everyone is welcome, and there’s no charge.

Join TCDP editors, writers, photographers, videographers, media partners, readers and some special guests, for birthday cake, drinks, and conversation.  Jimmi and the Band of Souls will provide the music. T’s Place has great happy hour specials – domestic beers for $2.50; imports, wine by the glass, and mixed drinks for $3.

We are launching our 2011 membership campaign this month. If you want to renew (has it been over a year since your last donation?) or to join up for the first time, you can do so now by going to http://givemn.org/Twin-Cities-Media-Alliance, and making a donation in any amount. We can also help you with a membership at the door on May 17. If you do choose to join up or renew your membership, we’ll buy you a beer (or other beverage) and enter you in a drawing for some nifty prizes, including a pair of tickets to Cirque de Soleil’s OVO show. To RSVP, simply reply to this email. If you have a Facebook account, you can also visit our Facebook Birthday Party event pageand invite your friends to come, too – the more the merrier. Or just show up – that’s okay, too.Parking is available at meters, and in the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church parking lot, across from US Bank between 29th and 28th Avenues. (Do not park in the East Lake Public Library lot – you may be towed.)

Brown Bag with Julio Ojeda-Zapata

Do you have an iPad? Do you wish you did? Do you wonder what impact the iPad 2 and other tablets will have on the future of journalism. Please join us for this month’s Brown Bag program,  to be held Wednesday, May 25 at noon at the East Lake Public Library, 2727 E. Lake St., Minneapolis. This month’s featured guest is Julio Ojeda-Zapata, editor, blogger, consumer technology columnist and award-winning reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, a MediaNews Group newspaper. Julio is a nerd. A native of Quito, Ecuador, he was raised in San Juan, P.R., and he now lives in St. Paul with his wife and son. Everybody who comes to this presentation will receive a complimentary pdf copy of Julio’s newest book, ‘iPad Means Business,’ a book about how the Apple tablet became an essential work and school tool.

Classes:

(Classes are free, but donations are gratefully accepted. )

Hands On: Citizen Journalism 201

May 18

Rondo Community Outreach Library, 461 N. Dale, St. Paul

Week Four: Adding value on-line – links, interactivity, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr (May 18, Electronic Classroom). You are welcome to come even if you have not attended the previous sessions.

Editors Reports: 

Daily Planet Editor Mary Turck reports:

Big news this month: continuing New Normal coverage of the state budget and a roll-out of our new our new weekly columns feature – check it out! We have Behind the Story with Sheila Regan on Mondays, Sounding off on Sound with Dwight Hobbes on Tuesdays, Iggers Digest with Jeremy Iggers on Wednesdays, Front Row Seat with Jay Gabler on Thursdays, and News Day with Mary Turck on Fridays. We also have two sets of classes: Hands On: Citizen Journalism 201 began April 20, and continues on May 18 at Rondo Community library at 6:30 p.m., and Digital Storytelling at Corcoran Neighborhood Group, a Spanish-language class that is engaging Mujeres en Acción y Poder.

Arts Editor Jay Gabler reports:

We’ve seen enthusiastic response to our Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Fest rating and review pages—if you’ve been to MSPIFF, or if you’re considering going, stop by, read up, and weigh in! We’ve also been making use of a grant from Google to promote our coverage via advertisements linked to searches; this has especially boosted traffic to our growing movie coverage. We’re also working to implement a slideshow function that will allow us to showcase our amazing photography—especially of live music—in a bigger, better way than you’ll find on any other local news site. Watch this space!

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.

Best,

Jeremy Iggers

executive director

April Update: Community Conversations, Classes, Brown Bag and More

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.”

Brown Bag Lunch with Dane Smith

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:

(Classes are free, but donations are gratefully accepted. )

Hands On: Citizen Journalism 201

April 20, April 27, May 4, May 18. 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Rondo Community Outreach Library, 461 N. Dale, St. Paul

Some writers have asked for a nuts-and-bolts, hands-on workshop as a follow-up to What’s Your Story? Citizen Journalism 101. Here it is! This four-session workskhop will be offered for the first time in April-May 2011. If you have taken Citizen Journalism 101, you will learn more here, but you can jump right in even if you haven’t taken the first workshop. Here’s an overview:

Week One: Who, what, when, where, why, how (April 20, Multipurpose Room)
Assignment: two phone calls + two paragraphs=one story

Week Two: Interviewing (April 27, Electronic Classroom)
Assignment: Q&A story

Week Three: Getting the picture – photos, slideshows and uploading to Flickr (May 4, Electronic Classroom)
Assignment: Photo essay or slide show – five photos on a theme

Week Four: Adding value on-line – links, interactivity, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr (May 18, Electronic Classroom).

As part of this workshop, you will produce three original stories—and we hope to publish at least some of them on the TC Daily Planet. If you can’t make it to all four classes, you are also welcome to come to as many as you can.

Before the first meeting, please register as a TC Daily Planet user. And then send an email to jeremy@tcmediaalliance.org to pre-register.

Learn how to use the Daily Planet

Thursday, April 28, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Peace Coffee Shop, 3262 Minnehaha Ave. S., Minneapolis.

Want to learn how to use TC Daily Planet?  We’ll go over the basics – registering and uploading articles – as well as answering questions and problem-solving. If you don’t have a laptop, email editor@tcdailyplanet.net and we’ll try to find one for you to use at the cafe. The coffee, tea or pop is on us. The how-to session will last no more than an hour, and then editor Mary Turck will stick around for a working news desk session (see below.) You’re welcome to stay and contribute your ideas, or just to show up for the news desk editorial meeting at 4:30. To pre-register, email jeremy@tcdailyplanet.net.

followed by:

Open News Desk Editorial Meeting, 4:30 to 5:30 pm.

Want to find out what stories are in the works for the Daily Planet? Want to tell us what stories you’d like to see? Come to the open news desk and get an insider’s look at what we do. We are planning to have an open news desk at least monthly during the year ahead, meeting at various venues around the Twin Cities. (If you want a hands-on lesson in posting your own stories, events, etc. on the Daily Planet, come at 3:30 for a how-to workshop.)

Editors Reports:

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.

Best,

Jeremy Iggers

executive director