Watch Now: Mind Opener – The Future of Small, Local, and Cultural Media

A 2024 University of Minnesota study found that more than 12% of all local news outlets in Minnesota have closed since 2018, averaging more than 11 outlets per year. However during the same time period, there have been at least 38 new local and digital news sources that have launched.

Click the video above to watch this important conversation about the challenges and opportunities facing small, local and cultural media outlets; how existing news and media outlets are trying to evolve and adjust operations; and what we can do to preserve local media outlets as critical community resources across the state.

Panel:

  • Tanner Curl, Executive Director, MinnPost
  • Heather Kantrud, General Manager, Fergus Falls Daily Journal
  • Alexis Letang, Editor-in-Chief, Minnesota Daily
  • Tim Murphy, Press Forward Minnesota; Program Officer, McKnight Foundation
  • Vanan Murugesan, Executive Director, Sahan Journal
Click to read panelist bios

Tanner Curl

MinnPost

Tanner Curl is MinnPost’s executive director. He’s overseen the organization’s strategy, management and revenue development since 2020. Prior to that, he was MinnPost’s development director and served in fundraising leadership roles at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. At the Loft, Tanner was the founding producer of Big Ideas, a conversation series at the intersection of literature and civic life. In 2022, he was named to the Emerging Leaders Council of the Institute of Nonprofit News. He serves on the board of Theater Latte Da.

Heather Kantrud

Fergus Falls Daily Journal

Heather Kantrud is the managing editor of the Fergus Falls Daily Journal, where she writes local stories, guides the gathering of local news, edits content, and oversees the newsroom’s reporters and design team. She also writes regular columns and shares her love of literature through book reviews. She’s been a journalist with Daily Journal Media since 2020 and has earned 11 individual awards from the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. As an editor, her focus is on local content and keeping the community informed and engaged.

Alexis Letang

Minnesota Daily

Alexis Letang is a fourth-year journalism student at the University of Minnesota. She was the editor for the arts and entertainment desk here at the Minnesota Daily. Now, she is the Editor-in-Chief. In addition to writing, she loves reading, caffeine, YouTube videos and movies.

Tim Murphy

Press Forward Minnesota

Tim Murphy has served as a program officer at McKnight with the Program Alignment team since 2021. In this role, he extends the capacity of McKnight’s program teams, including leading a portfolio of grants around institutional memberships, democracy, and local media and journalism. He is passionate about the intersection of media, democracy, and equity across the entire state of Minnesota. He is a member of the Board of Advisors at the Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group. He was a 2023 Justice Funders Harmony Fellow and is a 2024 PLACES Fellow with The Funders Network.

Vanan Murugesan

Sahan Journal

Vanan Murugesan joined Sahan Journal as Executive Director in September 2024. As an immigrant from Malaysia who’s built his life in Minnesota, Vanan is passionate about telling the authentic stories of Minnesota’s immigrant communities through inclusive journalism. He sees his role as an “organization amplifier,” building on Sahan’s sound operational, cultural, and financial foundation to extend its reach and impact.Vanan is a former leader at Pillsbury United Communities, a 140-year-old human services agency, deeply rooted in Minneapolis’s communities of color. He helped launch and revamp the agency’s social enterprises, including community media outlets KRSM Radio and North News, and North Market. He also served on the executive leadership team in various roles, including interim CFO, and Head of Transformation.

In a world of information overload, Citizens League Mind Opener conversations aim to go beyond the headlines, clickbait, and sensationalistic social media posts to help attendees develop a deeper understanding of the nuances of complex policy issues – and explore potential solutions.

Since 2020, all events are recorded and can be viewed online here.