Jake Benson has a strong pitch for supporting local news.
“Don’t get fooled by the bright lights of Fox News and CNN, because once the story is done, they’re gone,” he said. “They don’t really care about you, and your local reporters do.”
Since the late 1970s, Benson has been one of those local news hounds in northern Minnesota. He publishes the Proctor Journal and two other papers, but his roles are varied enough to include deliveries when duty calls.
Wearing multiple hats is common in local news, where outlets often want for staff and work within tight budgets. Between the Proctor Journal, Hermantown Star and Floodwood Forum, Benson said his papers have about nine total workers.
Any additions to organizations of this size are welcome, which is why he hopes the state will start funding an internship program for newsrooms.
“I see it as a needed benefit,” Benson said. “Certainly for a number of papers, it could be a lifesaver.”
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The money would come through a bill proposed at the Legislature that would establish public funding for a local news talent pipeline program. Rep. Julie Green, DFL-Edina, and Sen. Heather Gustafson, DFL-Vadnais Heights, introduced the proposals, gaining bipartisan support in committees.
Advocates spotlighted the proposal and other plans for supporting local news last week at the Capitol. A newly formed group of news and civic organizations known as the True North News Alliance organized a rally calling for internship funding, media literacy incentives and tax credits for newsroom staff, among other legislative priorities. (MinnPost is a member of the Minnesota Newspaper Association, which is involved with the alliance.)
How could the funding be used?
House bill 4072 and Senate bill 4183 would give $500,000 worth of workforce development grants to the Minnesota News Media Institute. The institute, a nonprofit arm of the Minnesota Newspaper Association, currently supplements internship wages at newsrooms.
State funding would build on it, said Lisa Hills, executive director of the association. The program currently provides up to $1,000 each for about 10 interns per year, while the proposed pool of money could cover an intern’s full salary.
“(The internships have) been a good program, good experience, and we’re excited about the possibility of this moving forward,” Hills said.
As written, the bill takes a holistic approach to local news. Many small newsrooms in Minnesota are in Greater Minnesota, but the program wouldn’t have geographic constraints.
It wouldn’t be limited to reporter internships, either, or newspapers. A television or radio broadcaster or digital outlet could apply for funds, and an intern could gain experience as a reporter, advertising designer, sales person or any other role involved in operational functions.
The premise is to get people interested in learning about the news industry through the doors, said Andrew Meuleners, the general manager of Herald Journal Publishing based in Winsted. Given the known workforce gaps in the industry, he doesn’t think the bill is seeking too much.
“We’re not asking for the moon,” Meuleners said. “We’re asking for something that has happened for other industries for years.”
His newspaper group has between 20 to 25 employees. Reporters cover anything from government meetings to 100th birthdays to high school sports.
A recent intern started out primarily interested in sports reporting. They left with experience writing sports, features and meeting stories, plus shooting photos.
Benson is just as effusive in his praise for the internship program. It fills gaps that are hard to fill in Greater Minnesota, he said.
“It’s getting increasingly tough to find people, especially at smaller publications,” he said.
Yet there’s undoubtedly news to report in these communities, said Tara Brandl, co-owner of Above the Fold Publishing. Her group of four publications, with a combined five full-time staffers, includes the Tracy Area Headlight Herald.
Bringing in an intern in past years meant more coverage at city events and meetings, coverage that readers expect from their hometown paper. No one, least of all national and statewide news organizations, would be there to cover those stories otherwise.
“We run our newspapers with the motto that everyone has a story and it’s our job to tell it,” said Brandl, who is also serving as the Minnesota Newspaper Association president this year. “That’s what local journalism is.”
Have other states done anything like this?
Yes. Minnesota’s bill would be akin to programs adopted by Washington state, California and New Mexico since 2020. Rebuild Local News, a nonprofit, detailed each state’s approach in a letter of support for the Minnesota bill.
New Mexico’s program has placed 35 fellows and 27 paid interns at local news organizations since 2020. Since 2023, California is up to 111 fellows in 110 newsrooms. To go with its 16 fellows since 2024, Washington has a goal to place one in every county by 2029.
Illinois went in another direction in 2025, providing refundable tax credits to local news outlets trying to retain or hire journalists. In its first year, the Illinois Local Journalism Sustainability Tax Incentive Program distributed $4 million, according to a policy paper by Rebuild Local News.
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These state-level initiatives overcame concerns that government support would compromise editorial independence. They also went against the federal grain, where Republicans in Congress have severed public funding to broadcast stations they deem to be partisan. On editorial independence, backers of public funds for news have argued that preserving local reporter positions are worth it as long as guardrails are in place.
Brandl is encouraged by the reception she’s seen to the internship funding proposal. Support for it goes beyond the news industry, bringing in lawmakers from across the aisle, civic organizations and businesses. The city of Proctor, where Benson serves on the City Council, even passed a resolution in support of it.
“We saw some support both on the Senate and House sides, and across party lines, which is super important,” Brandl said. “Our reps are really seeing the impact of local news and it’s not a Democrat or Republican issue; it’s a state of Minnesota issue.”
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