Steve Grove is the publisher and CEO of the Minnesota Star Tribune (formerly the Minneapolis Star Tribune). He served as a commissioner in the Walz administration. Both the newspaper and the administration have done untold damage to the state. The state would be better off if the Star Tribune did not exist and if Walz had remained an idiotic congressional backbencher from rural Minnesota.
The Star Tribune, by the way, is owned by Glen Taylor. Taylor is a billionaire. Taylor bought the paper in 2014 for $100 million.
Despite the Star Tribune’s incessant yammering in favor of wretched polcies, Grove now wants to make the Star Tribune a financial burden on all Minnesota taxpayers. He seeks to make support of the Star Tribune inescapable. Cancellation of your subscription won’t cut it. This morning he has sent out The Publisher’s Note below. This comes as news to me:
Hello Minnesota,
I hope you’re enjoying the spring in Minnesota, no matter how halting that transition always feels. Our Outdoors team has been busy reminding us of great hikes and wildlife that come with the season, including some standard resource — my favorite is our guide to urban canoeing.
The legislative session is also in full swing, and this year something unique is happening: Local news publishers from across Minnesota are rallying at the State Capitol to advocate for local news support. The True North News Alliance, a new coalition of local news orgs, has brought together many sensible ideas for ways state government can support our industry — which faces existential threats to success.
The argument is simple: If quality journalism is a service our communities depend on, just like good plumbing, health care or broadband, then government should support its survival. Many states across the country have already passed laws that help fund journalism without influencing its content, why not Minnesota?
In St. Paul, we spoke with legislators from both chambers and both sides of the aisle about the cause. You can read more about the ideas on True North’s website. This moment at the Capitol represents just how big the challenges publishers face are, and starts a much-needed conversation about how to strengthen local news.
Please contact your legislators and tell them how important local news is to you!
With gratitude,
Steve
Steve Grove, Publisher & CEO
“If quality journalism is a service our communities depend on, just like good plumbing, health care or broadband, then government should support its survival.” Does government support good plumbing? I’ll have to fact-check that. The Star Tribune is in any event more akin to the community’s sewage than to the community’s plumbers.
We dispute the gauzy premise and the multitude of unstated assumptions within the premise. To take just the most obvious one, Grove assumes that the Star Tribune produces “quality journalism.” The assumption piles overweening arrogance on a false premise. In its own way it represents the nauseating quality of the newspaper.
Steve, if you want more money for the house organ of the DFL and your subscribers are unwilling to up the ante, please talk to your boss or go away. You are a disgrace.
