You can still get drunk on New Year's Eve; just not on Duluth TV

St. Mary's/Duluth Clinic announced they were ending their annual New Year's Eve Ball, according to today's Duluth News-Tribune. With a price tag of $125,000, the event has become too spendy, SMDC officials say. Also, WDIO Channels 10/13 had announced they would not telecast the Ball as they had in previous years, eliminating a valuable public relations benefit.

Most people subject to the Duluth TV market might not be bothered by this, but I'll miss the New Year's broadcast. Living in the woods as we do, attending drunken New Year's parties is out of the question. But we always enjoyed the awkward revelry of watching local people dance in low light. All the national networks celebrate New Year's at 11 p.m. CST, so this was the only show in town for nerds like us.

Another reason cited by SMDC from today's story:

A final reason is that Duluth nightlife has changed since SDMC started organizing New Year’s parties 23 years ago. With a lot more going on, Bode said SMDC doesn’t want to compete with local businesses that offer entertainment that night.

Meantime, the nightlife in my neighborhood remains the same: night rides with a rifle and a 12-pack. You don't need a holiday; you just need ammo.

"Good Morning Northland" now hosted by Jim, Pam from "The Office"

For those in the Duluth TV market who watch morning TV, let me recommend the new morning team at WDIO/WIRT Channels 10/13 (the ABC affiliate). Cassie Limpert was named the new Good Morning Northland anchor this week after having filled in for a few weeks. She joins weatherman Kyle Underwood who used to do evening weather.

They're both pretty good (and deceptively tall; the set is like an optical illusion), especially by Duluth standards. But that's not why I'm pointing them out. Limpert and Underwood have this The Office, Season One Jim/Pam thing going on. You know, "just really good friends" in this sort of tortured, cute until she mentions her boyfriend sort of way. I don't know if that's all a gimmick, though I doubt WDIO is sophisticated enough to manufacture that sort of thing.

Anyway, they deliver the news and weather as good as the other guys but add just that little slice of human drama that makes the morning interesting. We like to watch for subtle little comments in the banter and analyze them for any signs of angst or longing. Compare that with the Northland's News Center (the NBC and CBS affiliates) where I haven't quite figured out if they're experimenting with crude android technology on their morning show. By any measure, Good Morning Northland is just good TV.

Denny Anderson faces health issues

Dennis Anderson is the Walter Cronkite of northern Minnesota. The Duluth News-Tribune reports today that Anderson, evening anchor of the top-rated Duluth newscast at WDIO/WIRT, is fighting prostate cancer. The prognosis is good, according to the report. Still, thoughts and prayers go out to the dean of Northland media.

For those outside northern Minnesota, Anderson is the only mustachioed anchor in a mid-sized or larger market and certainly the only mustachioed anchor to dominate all competitors in the Nielsons. We dig mustaches. That's how we roll around here.

Cliffs looks to another good year

WDIO reported last night (sorry, no direct link available) that Cleveland Cliffs is anticipating a return to pre-2001 production levels at its Minnesota taconite operations, including HibTac and UTac, in the near future. The company is also considering building a biomass power plant to cover some of the power needs for this revived taconite production. The fuel used would be primarily some kind of wood pulp also grown and processed in northern Minnesota.

Isn't it interesting that these big companies are predicting growth on the Iron Range and yet acknowledge that new coal-fired electricity probably won't be an logistically or financially feasible option? I think that's interesting. Kind of makes you wonder about certain boondoggle energy projects doomed to fail but that enjoy widespread political support. Kind of makes you want it to go away, like the guy you invited to the party because you thought he was cool but who drank all the beer in the first two hours and is starting to creep out the girls.

Anyway, I digress. In the midst of all the potential of big ticket new projects, let's not forget that U.S. Steel, Cleveland-Cliffs and their power broker, Minnesota Power, are all having damn fine years and will have a license to print money next year, too.

Another blow to local news coverage in northern Minnesota

The Duluth News-Tribune, northern Minnesota's largest newspaper, announced 10-15 percent job cuts in all its departments yesterday. This will mean cuts in the newsroom, further diminishing their ability to cover the paper's large two-state readership area. Based on the recent departure of their Iron Range reporter, I infer this will mean reduced coverage of Iron Range news and politics. The DNT will have to cut back their coverage of local news in general, which will lead to a smaller readership and additional job cuts in the future. (That last part wasn't in the story; I'm just saving everyone the time involved in pretending that the traditional journalism industry will ever get better).

Here's WDIO's story by Cassie Limpert:

There is a shake-up at the Duluth News Tribune. The Duluth newspaper is ownsizing, and will do it by cutting staff as much as 10 to 15 percent. Union members of the newspaper staff got a memo today, alerting them of the company's intention.

The memo says the company needs to cut workers because of falling revenue, and to offset the problem, the company will first offer voluntary buy-outs. Then, if necessary, they'll resort to layoffs.

According to the President of the Lake Superior Newspaper Guild, the memo was sent to 140 of its members at the Tribune, warning them that the troubles seen at other newspapers are about to hit home.

Steve McLister, Publisher of the Duluth News Tribune, says the paper has about 220 employees. He says between fifteen and thirty employees could be cut.

Union President Peter Passi, also an employee at the Duluth News Tribune, says they learned of the cutbacks yesterday during contract negotiations. He says he is unaware of an exact timeline, but buyouts could begin in as little as two weeks.

McLister told Eyewitness News that the cutbacks won't just effect Guild members; they could happen anywhere in the building.

Passi says many of the union members were surprised at the news, particularly at how many employees the company wants to cut. He says they're already tightly staffed. He hopes enough employees will accept the buyout offers, so there won't have to be any layoffs.

Forum Communications, which owns the newspaper, did not return calls for comment.

Moody Out

For those who follow TV news out of the Duluth market (Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin), some news. Edward Moody, the accomplished and odd-looking morning anchor for the Northland NewsCenter (Channels 3 and 6) is leaving for Rochester, N.Y.

I don't know who will replace Moody, but I expect the person will look just as strange, if not more. In our house we have been observing the fact that "NewsCenter" personnel have something of a plasticine, robotic quality while their competitors at WDIO (Channel 10) veer to the opposite extreme, deeply realistic humanity -- sometims overly so -- displayed on the screen. We're pretty loyal to WDIO as viewers, but it makes for fun commentary when we flip around the dial. It's probably just the lighting.

(The Hibbing Daily Tribune has a news-sharing agreement with Range 11, an affiliate of the Northland NewsCenter and Channel 6. Thus, it's important to know that my comments are my own and that if any NewsCenter staff are reading this that I'm not talking about them but "you know who" in the other cubicle).