Disclosure: In the final days of Utne Reader as an independent publication, Mike Sweeney was brought in as an advisor. Utne Reader was sold shortly thereafter to Ogden Publications, Inc., and I was laid off.
Newly-minted Star Tribune chair, Mike Sweeney, gets space today to rail against government-funded media, or, more accurately, government-funded competition for his Twin Cities media empire.
Sweeney begins with an apparently astounding lack of knowledge of both the internet and publishing business models, writing, “Large technology-driven companies like Google and Yahoo are competing with niche businesses like Politico and the Huffington Post.” But that’s another article.
Sweeney’s first swipe at his cross-metro, partially publicly-funded competitor, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), is claws-in and mostly just a playful tap: “My colleagues have stressed the special obligation a news organization has to be open and transparent.” MPR recently received a US$5 million grant for enterprise reporting, the source of which it has failed to disclose. The public radio outlet hasn’t disclosed the total compensation of its top-level management in, oh, I don’t know, 20 years or so discloses executive compensation each year on publicly available IRS Form 990. Local media critic David Brauer wrote an excellent analysis of the most recent MPR 990, although total executive compensation remains somewhat unclear.
Sweeney, for his part, says that the company is profitable—and promises to soon publish information about ownership and financials—but fails to mention that profitability was a result of a bankruptcy, opting instead to call it a “financial restructuring.”
Then Sweeney’s claws come out. Writing, justifiably, that the community faces an “important public policy question. One that particularly concerns us is whether the government should provide taxpayer dollars to subsidize news media companies. ... We have numerous concerns about publicly funded news, but our primary question is how an organization funded by government can objectively report on government.” Sweeney points to MPR recently receiving Legacy Amendment funds of US2.65 million over two years. Money, Sweeney justifiably says, MPR will likely use to compete with private media outlets.
Sweeney conveniently doesn’t mention that the Star Tribune‘s bankruptcy—that would be bankruptcy under federal law—resulted in large layoffs, force union concessions, and the elimination of piles of amassed debt.
And, as MinnPost‘s David Brauer not-so-idly asks: “If Star Tribune board chair Mike Sweeney is so against MPR getting taxpayer money, will he refuse to sell the Strib’s land for a publicly supported Vikings stadium? That would send far more taxpayer bucks flowing to the new Strib owners than Bill Kling’s troops received from the Legacy Amendment.”
MPR staffer Bob Collins has been twittering madly all day about the issue. The jewels:
“Sweeney left out a comparison: One company stiffed local people to whom it owed money. One company didn’t.”
“Pub broadcasters can’t cover govt. objectively. Remind me: What news org uncovered the memos on Nidal Hisan last week, Mike?”
“Sweeney should be concerned that 1st Amendment protections he enjoys, be extended to public broadcasters, who don’t enjoy it. Level field?”
“Somehow I don’t think MPR is the Strib’s #1 competitor. Link included to not-safe-for-work vita.mn story.” [ed. note: vita.mn is the Star Tribune’s entertainment website.]
Stay tuned. This food fight promises to be at the very least very amusing.
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