Brown on the Air: Mom's Cooking

My weekly commentary for Saturday's "Between You and Me" on 91.7 KAXE is entitled "High Heat" and talks about a couple kitchen stories and life lessons in honor of my grandma on this upcoming Mother's Day. The call-in show will discuss the nostalgic topic of "Mom's Cooking" while sharing great music and probably a recipe or two. It sounds like John Bauer will be filling in as host this week. Tune in between 10 a.m. and noon on Saturday, May 10. It should be fun. You can pick up KAXE on 91.7 FM in northern Minnesota or stream it online at www.kaxe.org.

Brown on the Air: "The Almighty Dollar"

My weekly essay for KAXE's "Between You and Me with Heidi Holtan" will cover the value of a dollar as the show topic asks "What can you get for a buck?" My thoughts range from international currency to Zimbabwe to crappy stuff you can buy at the dollar store. Ideally, this will make more sense when you hear it. An expanded version of my radio essay will run as my Sunday column in the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

Tune to 91.7 FM or set your browser to http://www.kaxe.org/ between 10 a.m. and noon on Saturday to hear "Between You and Me" and check out Sunday's Hibbing Daily Tribune for the column.

48 hour media blitz

Within 48 hours, I'll cover all major forms of media. Tonight at 6 and 10 I'll be on Range 11's TV newscast talking about Dylan Days (May 22-25 in Hibbing); tomorrow the radio commentary on KAXE, Sunday morning's Hibbing Daily Tribune column and, of course, the omnipresent blog you see here. I'm riding the air. Soon, I will live in the phone lines.

Brown on the Air: Parties!

My weekly radio essay for KAXE's "Between You and Me" this Saturday, April 26 will cover the topic of parties. What makes a good one? What makes a bad one? I also talk about the importance of fire in any Iron Range gathering.

Tune in between 10 a.m. and noon on 91.7 FM in northern Minnesota or online at http://www.kaxe.org/.

Hometown Focus to start weekly newspaper

There are two community journalism Internet presences on the Iron Range. (Compare that to your blue collar network of small towns). One is KAXE's nonprofit Community Journalism Project (for which I am a paid blog instructor) and the other is the commercial Hometown Focus, which is run by folks I used to work with. Both have their unique strengths and weaknesses.

Well, the Duluth News-Tribune is reporting today about Hometown Focus's plan to publish a weekly newspaper in addition to their web work. We'll see how well this community news gathering works for the "old media." They'll face some pretty big challenges.

I teach online college courses in addition to what they now call "face to face" classes. When I come home each night I have papers to grade. My wife asks, "Papers or paper papers?" What a weird world we live in.

Brown on the Air: Eyesores

I have converted my column from last Sunday ("Blight Me: the Unique Aesthetics of the Iron Range") into a radio essay for tomorrow's "Between You and Me" on 91.7 KAXE. The weekly talk and music program is exploring the topic of northern Minnesota eyesores. You can call in to share your perspective or just take in the glorious stories of true northern Minnesotans.

Tune in between 10 a.m. and noon on 91.7 FM or online at http://www.kaxe.org/.

Brown (not) on the Air: Join KAXE!

"Between You and Me," the KAXE program for which I contribute weekly essays, is taking a one-week hiatus at the conclusion of the independent public station's spring fundraising drive this Saturday. Instead of listening to my inane ramblings, I encourage you to join or renew your membership in KAXE right now. You can do it online at http://www.kaxe.org/ or by calling (218) 326-1234.

Remember, KAXE is the last great hope for the free media. It's a 100,000 watt station with local news, music for all tastes, community involvement and all things good about the medium of radio (and Internet, for that matter). It's something that we in Northern Minnesota (and anywhere else, by way of the WWW) are lucky to have and should support regardless of our political ideology, musical taste or ethnic origins. Believe me, they take all kinds.

Join!

Brown on the Air: Greatest Dog Moments

Tune in Saturday 10 a.m.-noon on 91.7 KAXE for "Between You and Me" with Heidi Holtan. My weekly commentary will probably run during the first hour. The topic this week is part of the independent public station's spring fundraiser, Greatest Moments, focusing on the greatest moments we've had with our dogs or cats. As some of you know, I vote straight-ticket dog in the dog/cat debate. I'll be talking about MoDog and also a transient dog from my past.

You can listen on 91.7 FM in northern Minnesota or streaming online at www.kaxe.org. If you can, please consider becoming a member of KAXE during the show to show your support of this unique program and the great community resource that is KAXE.

The future of small town media in 1,000 words

A really interesting comment about local newspaper websites crossed the blog yesterday morning. As you may know, the ACM family of newspapers on the Iron Range now require readers to sign up for a free account to use its newspapers’ websites. A MinnesotaBrown blog reader responded to the change in this way:

What the hell are they thinking with this "free account" crap? I refuse to register. I find their sites difficult to use, and damned annoying in that they don't include all the articles. In fact, I've pretty much quit going to the sites at all because they try to make it hard for me to use their sites, in the apparent hope that by doing so, I'll buy a paper.Well. I don't. I am not a newspaper reader. I don't buy newspapers, and I'm not about to start buying them. I DO go to websites to read news. Presumably they derive ad revenue from the advertisers on their website who count on me to buy their goods and services just like those who advertise in the paper assume there is a connection between readers and sales.

I feel the Range papers are marginalizing their online readers. They are marginalizing the potential of their online business. And they are marginalizing their future existence.

The comment prompted this thought on my part. If and when the storied “e-Media Revolution” that people keep talking about happens (the time when the Internet finally and fully absorbs the functions of "old media" like newspapers and broadcast TV) the first wall that crumbles won't be the big city daily papers or CNN, but the small town newspapers and local TV news affiliates. This massive change will happen from the ground up.

These are my own thoughts based on my experience as a college communication instructor, former Iron Range small town daily newspaper editor and current writer and blogger. I still write for the Hibbing Daily Tribune, so it's important to note that I'd like to keep that job and that I'm not picking on that publication (or its parent company and affiliates), nor can I reveal any trade secrets (if I ever really knew any). But I can talk generally about the struggles that small town papers face in the Internet Age.

Here’s the problem. Let’s consider a hypothetical small town newspaper that had a circulation of, say, 15,000 in 1988. This paper has probably lost half its readers since. Today’s circulation, 6,000-7,000, consists of people disproportionately older and less Internet savvy than the population at large. Meantime, new readers were learning that they could get a good deal of what they wanted from this hypothetical paper’s website. Papers without a website were openly mocked by the Web-proficient members of their community, to the point where all papers adopted websites. As these websites developed, enthusiastic news people realized that the Internet is a really great medium for the written word and the websites grew in popularity.

But web readers got the product for free, advertisers weren’t willing to pay much to get on the website and the whole effort was costing the industry gabuldyjillions of dollars (an approximation). Newspapers were well aware this was happening and their leaders held numerous meetings (believe me). Some tried password protecting their web versions, but few would pay to read the papers online. Others tried making their web versions so awesome that they could entice advertisers to buy online ads. Some customers did, but this still didn’t make up the revenue.

Let me crystallize the problem: More people (and most young people) are using the Internet to receive news, but no one has figured out how to make as much money operating an online news site as newspapers USED TO be able to make before the Internet. Because media consolidation has driven up the debt service on your average small town paper to well above what is financially prudent, the old revenue figures are crucial to maintaining company stock prices. Unless this problem is figured out (and that ship may have sailed) we are trolling toward a total media realignment that will begin not with the New York Times, but with all the small papers about the size of the Anytown Whig-Observer. When these weeklies, small dailies and mid-sized papers in competitive markets realize that their revenue has fallen so low that it is equal to what they could make off the Internet alone AND when a majority of their readers are already on the Internet (two things not yet true, but coming), they’ll reconfigure. Add in the fact that many newspapers are now either owned by or in some kind of partnership with a local television network affiliate, and we’re talking about united, multi-media news operations functioning with the same editorial staff and disseminating news on TV and high-end websites, or perhaps a yet unknown combination of the two.

Oh, but there will be hundreds of bankruptcies and tens of thousands of layoffs before this occurs, so let’s not get too excited.

I teach blogging seminars for the KAXE Community Journalism Project. I’m not speaking for them either when I say this. But there is an efficiency argument that the Internet is a much more cost effective way to gather and share news in small towns. Over time, I could easily see community news websites that combine video, audio and print content replacing the old media. We definitely aren’t there yet, but nonprofit community journalism operations like KAXE are way out ahead of commercial companies in small towns. Streaming media on the big sites like http://www.cnn.com/, http://www.msnbc.com/ and http://www.foxnews.com/ is great – and will remain the standard into the future. But the “revolution” won’t really be at hand until the dams break in small and medium markets. When it happens, the results will be part chaotic, part fascinating and most assuredly remarkable. And while people in today's media industry will be affected negatively at first, it's important to remember that we will still need journalists, editors, technicians, graphic designers and photographers in this new media.

Now, there’s no reason that my current employer (I hope still current after speaking this heresy) and its sister publications on the Iron Range can’t survive or even thrive through all of this, but doing so will require a nimble approach when the majority of their readers make the leap to the Internet. None of this will happen next year, but I expect that it will happen before long. And it will happen in every corner of the world.

Even, perhaps especially, here on the Iron Range of Northern Minnesota (U.S.A., the World, the Universe).

PS: And for those who prefer political posts, I'll leave you with this: the biggest uncontrollable variable in the budget of a small town paper is the cost of employee health care. Guess what happens as a result? Layoffs and a gradually crappier health care plan.

Brown on the Air: Statehood now!

Tune in Saturday, March 29 to KAXE's "Between You and Me" with guest host Scott Hall to hear a show about rebellion. What kind? All kinds! My weekly essay will discuss the history of the "State of Superior," the forgotten 51st state in the union. I'll suggest, ever so gently and perhaps with a small amount of irony, that we Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan northerners should stick together to throw off the shackles of our metro/suburban oppressors.

Statehood now! Brothers and sisters, we can create a wild paradise, funded by casinos and natural resource revenue sharing! Our highways will be fixed and there will be no Met Council because we will have no Met.

The show runs from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday on 91.7 FM in northern Minnesota and streaming online at http://www.kaxe.org/.

Thanks ... now the work continues

A belated thank you to all the people who have attended the KAXE Community Journalism Project blog sessions across the Iron Range. We held our third session in Virginia last night and a great group of people spurred a good discussion of community blogging. The work continues. Stay tuned for news about future sessions and the next stage of the project.

For more information, see www.kaxecommons.org.

Blog revolution needs more revolutionaries

UPDATE: We're on! You can still register, but we have enough people to hold the session now and you can just show up if you want.

If you're interested, please register for Wednesday night's free blogging seminar at in room C-156 at Mesabi Range Community and Technical College in Virginia. You can just show up (it runs 6-8 p.m.), but we still need a couple more advanced registrants or they might have to cancel.

The seminar is sponsored by the KAXE Community Journalism Project.

Join the Northern Minnesota blog revolution!

Hello friends.

On Wednesday, March 26 I'll be hosting yet another blogging seminar for the KAXE Community Journalism Project at Mesabi Range Community and Technical College in Virginia, Minn. I briefly explain blogging, how it works and how to start a blog and then share information on a community project that supports new and existing bloggers across northern Minnesota. This is a great opportunity for beginners and for those who know about blogs but are looking for more readers and to network with grassroots news gatherers from across northern Minnesota. You don't need any experience to be a part of the class and there are no obligations after you attend. Blog topics can range from news and politics to hobbies and local culture.

Also, it's free!

And totally awesome.

In all seriousness, I taught the same class at Itasca Community College two months ago and another at my home base, Hibbing Community College, in February. Each session has increased in quality and in the number of people participating. This is a very cool project that is laying the groundwork for a hometown network of community journalists that will be standing ready if traditional small town media outlets collapse into the black hole of consolidation. Meantime, community blogging is filling in the gaps and keeping our people informed. To paraphrase and pluralize the words of my two-year-old son, "We do it 'self!"

Anyway, I need you to register in advance if you're interested. You can just show up, but if everyone does that they'll cancel it because no one signed up. I vow to make this a useful opportunity for all concerned. If 10 MinnesotaBrown readers show up, I'll buy a couple pitchers afterward.

Virginia Community Journalism Blog Workshop

KAXE's Citizen Journalism project continues with a workshop on Wednesday evening, March 26th, at 6 o'clock, at Mesabi Range Community and Technical College (Room C-156) in Virginia. This workshop is designed for anyone interested in journalism, creating a blog, or producing audio, video, or written content for a web site. Journalist and KAXE commentator, Aaron Brown, will lead the workshop.

No previous journalism experience is necessary. You can register for the class at kaxecommons.org or call Scott Hall at KAXE, 326-1234

It is free and open to anyone in the KAXE listening area - or out of it really. There is no charge, but we would like to know if you can make it, so registration is required. Call KAXE at 218-326-1234, e-mail: kaxe@kaxe.org or register online.

If you didn't know, I teach communication at HCC now but before that I was a radio and newspaper reporter and editor on the Iron Range and briefly in Iowa and Wisconsin. I still write a column for the Hibbing Daily Tribune while writing commentaries and producing special projects for KAXE. I think I've developed a pretty interesting theory as to what's been happening in local news media and what might be coming in the next decade. Sign up and find out. (Something for everyone! Did I mention, it's free!)

Brown on the Air: Personality Quirks

My weekly radio essay for Saturday's episode of "Between You and Me" on 91.7 KAXE will focus on personality quirks. The call-in and music show will explore some of the interesting quirks of our northern Minnesota friends, family members and neighbors.

Tune in between 10 a.m. and noon on 91.7 FM and streaming online at http://www.kaxe.org/.

Brown on the Air: Gas Prices

We get topical on "Between You and Me" this week as the music and call-in show will focus on gas. My commentary discusses gas prices and continues my growing advocacy for legalized moonshine. Huh? You'll have to tune in to "Between You and Me" Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon on 91.7 FM in northern Minnesota or streaming online at http://www.kaxe.org/.

Brown on the Air: Germs

I'll be on KAXE with my weekly essay for "Between You and Me" Saturday between 10 a.m. and noon. The show's topic this week is germs and I'll be talking about a particularly nasty set of germs that leveled my family a couple weeks ago.

Fun fact: my flu story involves the Minnesota State Highway Patrol.


Tune in between 10 a.m. and noon on 91.7 KAXE in northern Minnesota or streaming online at http://www.kaxe.org/.

An extended version of the essay will also run as my Sunday column in the Hibbing Daily Tribune. I'll post that over the weekend as usual.

Brown on the Air: Souvenirs and 'C is for Comfort Food'

I am a triple media threat this weekend. Jump back!

Old Media (TV): I will be baking fudge bars using a recipe from Bob Dylan's mom's personal file on "C is for Comfort Food" on WDSE Channel 8 in Northern Minnesota from 1-4:30 p.m. this Saturday, March 1. I promise to tell you the story of how that happened next week.

Older Media (Radio): As usual, an essay of mine will be featured on Saturday's "Between You and Me" on 91.7 KAXE, streaming online at http://www.kaxe.org/. The topic for the call-in/music show this week is "Souvenirs: Things that remind us of trips and special times as we battle cabin fever." The show airs from 10 a.m. to noon on KAXE.

Oldest Media (newspaper): My column runs as usual in the Hibbing Daily Tribune this Sunday. I'll post it here over the weekend. It's about the "Tobacco Monologues" we have seen cropping up around Minnesota bars, hastily produced "plays" that are used to defy the new state smoking ban by exploiting a loophole for theatrical productions that use cigarettes.

New Media? This is it. It's happening RIGHT NOW. Convergence, baby. I'm still broke, but damn if I'm not converged.

Brown on the Air times Two: Northern Cheapskate Saturday!

It's been a rough week. Normally, when I tell you what I'll be doing for the Saturday "Between You and Me" program on KAXE I've already written, recorded and edited the piece. This week, I have done none of those three things. But I do know the topic and it is close to home, believe me.

This week, "Between You and Me" will feature the Northern Cheapskate talking about bargains and budgeting in Minnesota's north woods. The Northern Cheapskate is, of course, my wife Christina Brown. She blogs at http://www.northerncheapskate.com/ and also records radio segments for KAXE. My traditional Saturday essay will explore the topic of what it's like to be married to the Northern Cheapskate. I have comprehensive notes on the subject, but haven't put it all to paper yet. You'll have to tune in Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon to hear Christina join host Heidi Holtan and callers from around the region to talk about saving money.

The show will be streaming online at www.kaxe.org.

Raising a blogger militia

Thanks to the good folks who showed up at the blog class at Hibbing Community College last night. I taught the class for KAXE's Community Journalism Project, an initiative to get people started with community blogging all over northern Minnesota. When we have a strong network of bloggers working, we'll be able to aggregate a top-notch online news, culture and opinion hub But as with all important things, we must start at the grassroots with organization, organization, organization. We got a start in Hibbing last night.

For more information about the project, go to www.kaxecommons.org.

This is very much a nonprofit operation led by citizens for the good of our entire region. As commercial news gathering operations battle market forces, people on the streets can pick up the slack and take the mass media in a whole new direction.

Free blog class this Wednesday night in Hibbing

This is a cool opportunity for HCC students and staff and the Iron Range community at large. Next Wednesday from 6 to about 8 p.m. I'll be leading a free class about blogging as part of the KAXE Community Journalism Project. Essentially, if you're interested in starting a blog this will give you some strategies and walk you through the process if you're unsure. We'll talk a bit about what community journalism is and how everyday folks can contribute to making communities more informed about what's going on. I think we only have room for about 20 in the class, so be sure to register if you're interested and tell your friends on and off campus.

KAXE’s Citizen Journalism project continues with a workshop on Wednesday, February 20th, at 6 o’clock, in the D110 computer lab at Hibbing Community College. This workshop is designed for anyone interested in journalism, creating a blog, or producing audio, video, or written content for a web site. Journalist and KAXE commentator, Aaron Brown, will lead the workshop. No previous journalism experience is necessary. You can register for the class at http://www.kaxecommons.org/journalismregistration.php or call Scott Hall at KAXE, 326-1234.