DAVID FOLKENFLIK, HOST:
For years, the Minnesota Star Tribune has been pointed to as a rare model of financial success in the news business. They've managed to stay solvent, even thrive. The newspaper is owned by the billionaire entrepreneur Glen Taylor, and it produces critically acclaimed journalism. They just won a Pulitzer Prize this spring. But the Star Tribune recently laid off 15% of its staff, and there's an even bigger change in store. Its CEO, Steve Grove, announced it would be pursuing a nonprofit model, joining an increasing number of big city papers. Steve Grove joins us now. Steve, thanks for joining us on WEEKEND EDITION.
STEVE GROVE: Thanks for having me, David.
FOLKENFLIK: Steve, this is a big change for you guys. What prompted the decision?
GROVE: Yeah. Well, it has been a really intense time for, I think, every local news organization in the country. And at the Strib, we've been on a pretty big journey. We've rebuilt our entire platform for journalism. We've rapidly shifted our model towards digital. When I started just three years ago, we had about 75% of our revenue coming in through print. Now it's about 50-50, and digital subscriptions are really where their growth is. We've really kind of retooled our whole organization for a new future. And we've seen digital revenues really grow. So we've got a lot of reasons for optimism.
And at the same time, we know that to keep a local news organization of the size and scale and impact that we want to have for our state, we've got to find other ways to fund local news. And so this idea of exploring a model of being owned by a foundation rather than by our current owner, Glen Taylor, is something we're pretty excited about 'cause you think it opens up new opportunities for philanthropy to play a pretty key role in our revenue mix.
FOLKENFLIK: Going nonprofit doesn't mean you instantly resolve matters to the bottom line. What challenges do you see lying ahead for you in this new path?
GROVE: We haven't yet launched this new structure. Part of the reason we talked about it last week as we restructured is we wanted to begin to build it with members of the community who care about our journalism. So we're on a journey. We're not at the finish line yet. But I think importantly, we're not sure we ourselves would become a nonprofit, but our owner, Glen Taylor, wants to make sure the Strib lasts long into the future, that it remains independent and that others can contribute to it in a meaningful way.
And so the model that we're pursuing is one in which we would transfer ownership from our current owner into the ownership by a newly created foundation. And you see models like this happening in other parts of the country. Philadelphia is a model that is pointed to often with the Lenfest Institute. We've been talking to organizations like that and others.
But the core idea here is to remain in a sort of for-profit orientation with subscriptions and digital advertising and events and other ways to raise revenue, but also really opening up a chance for others who care about journalism to donate philanthropically to it. Without doing that, it's hard to have the kinds of revenues you need to do the really great deep reporting and the expansive reporting that we think Minnesota deserves. So repositioning ourselves in the community as an asset for the community, I think, is really important.
FOLKENFLIK: You mentioned that this has happened in Philadelphia. You know, there've been a bunch of big city papers that have adopted this model. You know, among them, the papers in Chicago, Portland, Maine, Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh, most recently, Spokane.
GROVE: Yeah.
FOLKENFLIK: What have you learned from their experiences?
GROVE: Well, I think what we've learned is that there's probably not one model that works in every location, but really leaning into being innovative about generating money to fund journalism is the most important piece. And I think what we've also learned is that when you give the community an opportunity to fund a journalism in new ways, oftentimes it steps up. You know, I mean, the truth matters. What local news does really stitches a community together and holds it together. And when you give a really clear opportunity for a community to support that, we've seen so many communities across the country donate to step up and fund these institutions.
In Minnesota, we happen to be in a state that has some of the highest rates of giving in the country. We have the highest voter participation in the country. It's a very civic state. And so we think the model holds particular promise here in a state that's long been known for its civic fiber, and by repositioning ourselves as a community asset, we're optimistic that's going to help us generate revenues that keep us independent and strong and robust long into the future.
FOLKENFLIK: Some nonprofit news outlets like NPR and the Chicago Sun Times and The Guardian offer their journalism for free. Meanwhile, the upstart Baltimore Banner has won accolades and a lot of paying subscribers. It's among those with a hard paywall, much like your Star Tribune. Going forward, how much of the Star Tribune's journalism will be available to the public free of charge?
GROVE: When breaking news hits and when really critical news events are unfolding, we always lift the paywall. A great example of that would be during Operation Metro Surge, when our whole state was under siege from ICE agents who'd come here to roam our streets and arrest immigrants. And so, you know, the Star Tribune's coverage in that moment was taken outside the paywall so that people could read it and see it from around the world. And, you know, interestingly, we got more subscriptions during that window than in - during any other window of the year. And so I think it's a reminder that sometimes you really do need to lift the paywall.
At the same time, journalism costs money, and it requires funding to have reporters in the streets. And so we're trying to get that balance right. I think, as it relates to a foundation ownership model and having philanthropy play a more key role in what we do, we're thinking a lot about making sure that that funding goes towards making the most important public service journalism that we have available to everyone, that it allows us to engage our community in new ways and that we still are held accountable as a company to run a great business with advertising and subscriptions and the rest of it. But that the public service dollars we bring in really are focused on making sure our public service journalism can travel far and wide and really meet the needs of our state.
FOLKENFLIK: I've been speaking with Steve Grove. He's the CEO of the Minnesota Star Tribune. Steve, thanks.
GROVE: Thanks, David. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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