The Rake Magazine

Month: May 2007

  • Eery Strib Numbers

    While I wait for McClatchy muckety-mucks to respond to my questions I’ll slide along these interesting numbers from the company’s “10Q” report — breaking out the first quarter performance of the Star Tribune this year compared to 2006.

    It ain’t pretty.

    God help you if you ever rely on me for advice on your investments, but this appears to show a $35 million DROP in revenues from year to year, a roughly 40% decline. As I say, I’ve contacted McClatchy’s money gurus for clarification, asking if somehow this precipitous a drop is related to one-time bookkeeping jiggering associated with the sale to Avista Capital Partners. (I’m not holding my breath that they’ll get back to me.)

    Until then maybe one of you can offer an explanation.

    IF the numbers are correct and IF they are a pure reflection of routine business activity at the Star Tribune over the past year, my curiosity is then whether this has come as a surprise to Avista, and whether it in anyway ratchets up their impatience with their new toy and their desire to accelerate profit-taking through forced attrition, real estate sell-offs, etc.

    Here is the link to entire report.

    The Star Tribune entry is located on Page 10, Note 2.

    UPDATE: I should have held my breath a bit longer.

    McClatchy Treasurer, Elaine Lintecum, responded to my question about this drop-off saying:

    “We sold the Star Tribune on March 5. So the 2007 amount includes only 2 months versus 3 months in the prior year.”

    R. Elaine Lintecum, Treasurer
    The McClatchy Company

    That was one line of thought, but the statement didn’t provide a footnote specifically explaining that difference. But okay. If true, that is definitely better for all concerned. Well, for Avista anyway, I’m not sure about its employees.

    Assuming each month represents roughly 33% of income, the Strib’s year-to-year revenue slide is more in the “normal” 7% range than something truly apocalyptic like 40%.

  • Art is Key, but Music Won't Play Second Fiddle

    ART
    Yeah, Yeah… You Already Know About This One

    If art is your scene, don’t miss out on the Northeast Minneapolis Art-A-Whirl this weekend — an open-studio and gallery tour featuring over 400 artists, including potters, tile makers, painters, sculptors, musicians, photographers, glass blowers, printmakers, and textile designers. Plus you’ll get a lot of music and dance thrown into the mix. Grab a copy of the Art-A-Whirl map and schedule, and start the weekend off with the Minneapolis Photo Coop’s first group exhibit, featuring 15 photographers.

    MUSIC
    Are We Not the Musical Capitol of the World?

    We’ve got a well-rounded city here, and the musicians refuse to get left behind, so in addition to the weekend’s fine arts splendor, there are some great musical offerings.

    4070545415.jpgNachito Herrera isn’t the only Latin American music icon living in the Twin Cities now. After studying jazz and classical guitar at conservatories in Lima, Buenos Aires, and London, Peru native Andrés Prado relocated to the Twin Cities in 2005. Don’t miss out on Prado’s unique mix of Andean and Amazon melodies, Afro-Peruvian rhythms, and Miles Davis-style jazz. His beautifully honed guitar skills, along with his use of rhythms and sounds of Peruvian shamanic chants makes him a one-of-a-kind artist. And the rest of his band doesn’t fall too far behind — Peter Schimke on piano, Pete Whitman on sax, Kevin Washington on drums, and Anthony Cox on bass.

    Friday and Saturday at 9 p.m., Artists’ Quarter, 408 St Peter St., St.Paul; 651-292-1359; $10.

    32-matmos2-450.jpgTalk about one-of-a-kind… the electronic duo Matmos actually manages to make music out of strange sounds — the sound of crayfish swimming, rats in cages, the pages of a bible, cards shuffling, spinning coins, and even liposuction surgery! And if that’s not enough, they’ll be teaming up on Saturday with the reknown chamber quartet So Percussion, and ex-Twin Citian Walter Kitundu, known for his sculptural, hand-built turntables that elaborate on the sonic possibilities of the record player. This is a show to be reckoned with. Matmos has collaborated with Björk, the Kronos Quartet, and People Like Us. Hell, they even created music for a pinball machine.

    Saturday, Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-375-7600; $20 ($16 Walker and MPR members; MPR members call 612-375-7600 for tickets).

    gallery3.jpgIf you miss Kitundu on Saturday night, catch him on Sunday, alongside two other great artists. Mankwe Ndosi, Carei Thomas, and Kitundu began working together eight years ago on the Coalition for Performance Composition — “focused on the aesthetic of purposeful improvisation among uncategorizeable players in image, sound, and word.” This weekend’s show, Restoring the Human Connection, includes a set of music from Coalition players and special guests, and finishes with a conducted jam session, where a Coalition conductor will set the group structures for short pieces, with everyone joining in at the end. Watch the masters at work — Kitundu on phonoharp and percussion, Ndosi on vocals and text, Thomas on JD800 synthesizer and harmonica with spoken story, Douglas R. Ewart on winds and percussion, and Donald Washington on reeds — and then lend your voice (or musical instrumentations) to their song. Sit back and relax or join in. This is a fully interactive event.

    Sunday at 4 p.m., Center for Independent Artists, Black Box Theater, 4137 Bloomington Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612-724-8392; $10.

    elk.jpgLooking for something with a little more angst and soul, perhaps a bit less experimental and a little more contextually real? Let singer/songwriter/activist Mitch Walking Elk pull you out of your complacency with his songs of social injustice. He’ll be playing Saturday at the Cedar Cultural Center with Wade Fernandez. I’ve got to tell you, I met Walking Elk almost two decades ago, when he was just breaking into the music scene, and there’s just something about this man that makes you feel honored just to stand in his presence. He has much to offer and much to say, and he does so eloquently and powerfully. This is Indian Country music at its finest. (That’s music from Indian Country, not country music.)

    Saturday at 8 p.m., Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-338-2674; $10.

    1cp04.jpgNobody recognizes musical talent better than a musician. And when the top guitar players in the country laud a guitarist, you’ve just got to stop and listen. Folk legend Dave Van Ronk called Dakota Dave Hull “one of the best guitarists in the world.” And when Leo Kottke heard Phil Heywood for the first time, he promptly asked him to join his tour so the two could play duets. Dakota and Heywood are among America’s top guitarists, and having the two together is just one fat bonus. Dakota serves up a mix of jazz, ragtime, folk, blues, Western swing, and vintage pop. While Heywood — former National Fingerpicking Champion (1986) and winner of the American Fingerstyle Guitar Competition (1987) — offers up country blues, and rootsy, soul-grabbing guitar instrumentals.

    Sunday at 7:30 p.m., Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-338-2674; $16.

    THEATER & PERFORMANCE by Christy DeSmith
    Boats on a River

    In 2004, the Guthrie Theater offered to send a favorite playwright, Julie Marie Myatt, to wherever in the world she wished to go, just so long as her travels inspired a new play. Myatt chose Cambodia. Once there, she immersed herself in the sex trade, interviewing child prostitutes and even volunteering for organizations trying to rehabilitate the girls. This wasn’t too far a stretch for Myatt, whose repertoire includes such provocative plays as Cowbird, The Joy of Having a Body, and The Sex Habits of American Women, all of which address complicated issues related to sexual identity. With this new piece, Myatt not only explores the challenging subject of the sex trade, but also looks at the motives of aid workers, mostly Westerners, who feel drawn to Cambodia. These do-gooders strive, perhaps in vain, to restore the country’s lost girlhoods.

    Watch this video interview with playwright Julie Marie Myatt and director Michael Bigelow Dixon, courtesy of the Guthrie.


    Click To Play

    Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (various offerings through June 10), Guthrie Theater, 818 South 2nd St., Minneapolis; 612-377-2224; $19.

    This is also the last weekend to see In The Basement Productions’ presentation of Burning Bright, by John Steinbeck, at the Lowry Lab Theater. And Future/Now opened yesterday at the Bedlam Theater.

    SPORTS
    It’s Even GREEN

    photosolarregatta11.jpgIt’s too late to register for the race, but it’s not too late to watch and cheer on the players. Saturday is the 15th Annual Solar Boat Regatta. That’s right. Can you believe we’ve been doing this stuff for 15 years already? What are we doing going to war over petrolium? We’ve got solar boats and electric cars right here, in our own backyard. The annual Solar Boat Regatta gives mainly high school students a chance to enter their home-made solar-powered boats in a number of races, culminating in a one-hour endurance race. Come cheer them on, watch the chaos, and learn a little about energy conservation (now just another term for peace) in the process. And enjoy some of the activities of Water Fest 2007 while you’re there.

    Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Beach House Beach, Lake Phalen, St. Paul.

    SPECIAL BENEFITS EDITION
    Come on Big Spenders

    There are a few other interesting fundraising events and galas this weekend worth mentioning for all you do-gooders out there with some extra cash on hand.

    tokarabenefit.jpgThe Ragamala Music and Dance Theater Gala starts with a silent auction, followed by a performance of Sva (Vital Force) with Ragamala’s newest collaborative partner — Taiko drumming group Wadaiko Ensemble Tokara (of Nagano, Japan) — a buffet and cocktails, a dessert reception, a live auction, and a Bhangra dance party.

    Friday at 6:30 p.m., SOO Visual Art Center, 2640 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis; 651-209-6799; $65.

    Also on the agenda is the second LEAD event, Get Fresh, a garden party at the Weisman Art Museum with an open bar, DJ, and Flora and Fauna. Proceeds will benefit Fresh Energy, an organization on the forefront of the renewable energy movement. And attend the post-party at the Chambers Hotel to continue your intake of great art in Minneapolis, with a cocktail in hand.

    Friday at 8 p.m., Weisman Art Museum, 333 East River Road, Minneapolis; $95.

    And getting on the pricier side of things, but definitely worth your while — top of the weekend with the The Artists Salon, an evening of gypsy jazz and Parisian cuisine celebrating the one-year anniversary of the new Minneapolis Central Library grand opening. All proceeds benefit the Minneapolis Public Library’s collection. Enjoy a brief program of salon-style entertainment with singer Connie Evingson, Django Reinhart biographer Michael Dregni, bassist Chris Brown, and guitarist Sam Miltich. Mingle with musicians and booklovers. Dine on Parisian cuisine by Thyme to Entertain. And bid on bookish items in the Artists Marketplace.

    Sunday at 5 p.m., Sumner Community Library, 611 Van White Memorial Blvd., Minneapolis; 612-630-6390; $150.

    Oh, yeah… and don’t forget that Shrek 3 opens tonight, and most theaters are giving away cyanide tablets to the first 100 customers.

  • Thursday Update: Disgrace By The Lake

    Yeah, well, you know…uh, boy…ummm, that was…that was…uh, that was….I’m sorry, give me a moment to compose myself…I, ummm, I’m just trying to, you know, I’m trying to get my head around this…I don’t know, it’s, uh, it’s just…it’s just really, really…I mean, seriously, Jesus, it’s really hard…that was…that was, well, I’m not really sure, I can’t quite…I cannot quite…I don’t know…I, ummm…

    (Walks into the kitchen and opens the refrigerator door; stares disconsolately at the pathetic collection of 20th century condiments and takeout containers of fossilized and mold-frosted Chinese food and then drinks maniacally from a carton of chocolate milk; inexplicably removes his flannel pajama bottoms and shoves them in the garbage pail; sits down on the kitchen floor in his boxers, spits into his palm, and absentmindedly spells out F-U-C-K on the oven door with his index finger. A dog appears in the kitchen doorway and stares at him with a puzzled look on its face.)

    (Points at the dog) Tell me the truth: what the fuck was that? Don’t give me that stupid look. That. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. That. That. That. Why do I do this to myself? Seriously, why? I can’t…I cannot take much more of this. I won’t.

    Pussies!

  • Cruise in Style

    Fine Fendered Friends 72dpi (2).jpg

    Another AAW snippet, for cruiser-set cyclists:

    Wheel Good Bicycles (503 1st Avenue NE floor 3) is showing some one-of-kind custom bicycle fender sets, all of which have been designed by local “celeb” artists. (See above, which includes fenders by Jennifer Davis and Ingrid Restemayer.)

  • The Heart Can Be Killed Anywhere On Earth

    concrete swan.jpg

    Burch woke up one morning in a ditch in some low-lying country. He had no idea where he was and no recollection of how he might have arrived there. Whatever possessions he might once have owned –and he had a vague recollection of a backpack full of belongings– were nowhere to be seen.

    He was thirsty as the devil himself for a can of Coca-Cola.

    Alongside the damp ditch in which he found himself there was a poorly-maintained dirt road, its surface pocked and worn with deep ruts. In the distance Burch could see smoke rising from the chimneys of a little town, and he set out along the road in the direction of this unfamiliar village.

    As he walked it became apparent to him that somehow, and somewhere in the lost stretch behind him, he had acquired a rather pronounced limp. Burch felt a dull ache extending from his left buttock all the way down to the area behind his knee. The pain became more acute as he hobbled along the road.

    An angel appeared to him just as he was approaching the outskirts of the village. Burch watched as the angel glided down from the bare branches of a tree.

    You are to undertake a quest, the angel told Burch. An old horse will be provided for your journey, and you are to learn that the heart can be killed anywhere on earth.

    That, Burch said to the angel, does not sound like a quest. It sounds like a sentence.

    To which the angel replied, That is only because you fail to understand the full meaning of the phrase.

    Burch considered the angel as it fluttered there above him on gray and dusty wings. This, he thought, was a most unwelcome and untimely visitation.

    It seems to me that the phrase could not possibly be plainer, he said.

    Only because you cannot yet see clearly, the angel said.

    Burch was in no mood or condition to argue with an angel. For his part, the angel felt obligated to remind his charge of the seriousness of his mission.

    You will understand, I’m sure, at what grave peril to his soul a man refuses to carry out the orders of an angel, he said.

    I understand no such thing, Burch said. And surely you understand that you are looking at a man whose soul is already in considerable peril, if, in fact, it has not already been entirely lost to him.

    What I am telling you, the angel said, is that there is yet hope for you. You are being given a rare opportunity.

    I can barely walk, Burch said.

    That is why you are being provided with a horse, the angel told him.

    From the village Burch heard the ringing of church bells.

    I suppose, he said, that I am to regard that as a sign.

    The angel cocked his head and listened to the sound. The bells? he said. That is nothing more than a custom of the village.

    Burch spit into the road and pawed at the dirt with his boot.

    Let’s have a look at that horse, he said.

    concrete deer.jpg

    Slayed.

    Slaughtered.

    Shattered.

    Crushed.

    Obliterated.

    Burst.

    Busted.

    Broken.

    Destroyed.

    Rubbed out.

    Squashed.

    Flayed.

    Annihilated.

    Massacred.

    Snuffed.

    Shredded.

    Spent.

    Jolted.

    Struck.

    Moved.

    Electrified.

    Blown wide open.

    Stunned.

    Tickled.

    Elated.

    Overjoyed.

    Lit up like a jack-o-lantern.

    Delighted out of all proportion.

    Rocked.

    Resurrected.

    Reborn.

  • I Told Myself I Would Quit



    Will someone please think of the children?

    I keep trying to quit, but it’s an addiction. I know it’s bad for me. It raises my blood pressure, makes me wheeze, and makes my head hurt. It kills brain cells and it’s bad for the people around me.

    No, it’s not cigarette smoking. I quit doing that in 1976.

    It’s Katherine Kersten. She’s a plague upon anyone who would try to clear the air on almost anything.

    Today’s column is a topper, though. The smoking ban that was signed into law yesterday…well, KK’s agin’ it. But not for the sort of reasons you might think. She’s worried that the next thing on the agenda for the American Lung Association is…are you ready for this…steak.

    Yes, steak. Because, as anyone knows, steak is bad for you. Like cigarettes, it ruins your circulation and causes an early death in lots of people. However, unlike cigarettes, it only causes an early death among people who actually consume it. Last I looked (and it wasn’t that long ago that I had an absolutely delicious filet at Mancini’s) there were no noxious fumes coming off that perfectly charred and lusciously pink-centered piece of bovine heaven.

    There was no threat to my companion, who was having a piece of broiled fish and a salad. Not even my pre-steak gin soaked olive concoction posed any danger to her. (I wasn’t driving.)

    But, if Katherine the Great had her way, she would have you defy all logic and FEAR THE GOVERNMENT! Because if they can step in to protect people who are being harmed by the actions of others, who knows, next time they’ll probably step in to protect people who aren’t being harmed by the actions of others. It’s only a short step from banning smoking in public places to banning steaks, pork chops, palm hearts and those damn raspberries whose little seeds get stuck in my teeth.

    Damn government. Next thing is they’ll be banning food altogether. I’m writing my legislator right now. This has got to stop.

    Ok, you say, I’m not being fair. And you’re probably right. Because KK didn’t stop at steak. Because, she had a column to fill, and we hadn’t got around to family values yet. And, logic dictates that, if you’re going to ban smoking, you should also ban divorce and pornography, because, in the words of that Simpson’s character, “Will someone please think of the children?”

    I’m going to start thinking of the children right now. Here’s what I’m thinking: If you don’t care if they rot their lungs, go ahead and smoke around them. If you don’t care if they rot their brains, leave the Strib laying around where they can get their hands on Kersten’s columns.

  • Jumpstart Your Weekend

    ART AND NIGHTLIFE
    Gallery Grooves

    gg_0805.gifJoin us for Gallery Grooves, The Rake’s monthly art, jazz, and wine event. Socialize and discuss the latest jazz with Kevin Barnes from KBEM. Enjoy free libations compliments of The Wine Company and airforce Nutrisoda, and hors d’oeuvres. Featured jazz selections include the Turtle Island String Quartet’s A Love Supreme, Kurt Elling’s Night Moves, and Dean Magraw’s Unseen Rain. Your Arts Desire hosts an eclectic mix of Twin Cities artists, including Sara Rosenblum Jennifer Nelson, Linda Mix, Steven Lang, and Tanya Garvis.

    7 – 9 p.m, Your Arts Desire, 12928 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka; 952-988-9772; free.

    MUSIC AND ART
    Open Art-A-Whirl with a Little Music

    heliotrope4.jpgToday marks the unofficial start of the Northeast Minneapolis Art-A-Whirl weekend, and what better way to start it than with the Heliotrope music exhibit, which begins this evening and goes all weekend. Heliotrope aims to bring some of the area’s most interesting and exciting musical artists together in a theater setting. Psychedelia, free jazz, damaged folk, sound collage, no wave, improv, noise, instrumental rock, and even some Tin Pan Alley influence will all be on display this year. As in the past, film projections will also be featured throughout the festival.

    7 p.m., Ritz Theater, 345 13th Ave NE Minneapolis; 612-623-7660, 612-871-6659; $8.00 per night, $15.00 for two nights, $20.00 for all three nights.

    DANCE
    Tradition or Truth?

    2059603092.jpgThis weekend, you’ll have an opportunity to see Ballet Minnesota’s rendition of Swan Lake at the Fitzgerald Theater — and there are few traditional ballets as beautiful as this one. But start the grand fantasy off with some real tradition — commerce and colonialism. Get a little truth in the form of beauty, with Faustin Linyekula’s performance. Dancer/choreographer Faustin Linyekula of Kinshasa, Congo, is both a powerful dancer and a powerful advocate. His 30-minute solo installation/performance piece deals with themes of displacement and circulation that reference the dark part of his heritage and the commerce of colonization, decolonization, and organized tourism. Don’t miss this. It’s a one-night-only deal. And follow if up this weekend with SwanLake at the 19th Annual Minnesota Dance Festival.)

    7 p.m., Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-375-7600; free.

    THEATER AND PERFORMANCE by Christy DeSmith
    The Savage Joy of Breaking Things

    JoySavage.jpg“David Lynch meets Mother Goose“: That’s the vision Hardcover Theater’s writer/director Steve Schroer has for his new play, inspired by an obscure Victorian fantasy called The New Mother. This source material was written for children — it’s a fable that warns, with rich imagery and plenty of fright, against being naughty. And yet Schroer insists his play is for grownups. He lists a secondary source of inspiration as Edgar Allan Poe’s essay, “The Imp of the Perverse,” which allows him to riff on the human compulsion to behave badly at any age. Schroer also has layered in enough sexual tension and bone-chilling ambience (via set, sound, and lighting designs) to turn this creepy kids’ story into a hair-raiser for adults.

    8 p.m., The Playwrights’ Center, 2301 Franklin Ave. E., Minneapolis; 612-581-2229; $18.

    And this is also the final weekend to see Future Perfect: A Genetically Modified Musical at the Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, 212 N. 3rd Ave, Suite 140, Minneapolis, 612-339-5145; $15.

    FILM
    The Imaginative Mind

    gondry sit.jpgThis weekend, the Walker is running a few Michael Gondry films as part of their Michel Gondry: The Science of Dreams film retrospective. Jumpstart the weekend with a look into the filmmaker’s creative process in the documentary I’ve Been Twelve Forever — a look at some of Gondry’s memories and dreams. The documentary will be accompanied by as number of his eclectic music videos

    7:30 p.m., Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-375-7600; free.

    Filmmakers: Today is the deadline to register for the Minneapolis Film Race. On May 19th you’ll have 12 hours to write, shoot, and submit an original four-minute film with a pre-determined theme and surprise element.

    Share your secrets. If you know of any interesting upcoming events, let me know (cristina@rakemag.com).

  • It's Soon and It Ain't Lookin' Good

    I don’t envy Strib writer, Matt McKinney, who has the job of walking the razor’s edge describing the convulsions at the Strib to the satisfaction of both his employers and the general public.

    But in his May 8 story on the latest round of cuts, there were these graphs …
    .
    .
    .

    “The Star Tribune’s problems aren’t unusual: Newspapers nationwide saw daily circulation fall 2.1 percent and Sunday by 3.1 percent, according to the Newspaper Association of America.

    Other papers also are focusing locally. The Dallas Morning News last year closed foreign bureaus and refocused the paper on local coverage. It’s too soon to know if that has paid off, but the trend is clear, said Rick Edmonds, a newspaper industry expert at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla.”
    .
    .
    .
    While it is “soon” to be assessing the impact of calling home foreign correspondents in favor of emphasizing more “local” coverage at The Dallas Morning News, with Strib executives determined to mimic the same strategy here, it isn’t exactly a testament to their due diligence to note that circulation at the new, more “local” Morning News dropped a stunning 14.27% in the most recent circulation report.

    Here are the Top 25 Daily and Sunday Newspaper lists from Audit Bureau of Circulation for the six-month period ending March 2007. Industry-wide, circulation slipped more than 2% daily and 3.1% for Sunday. All daily averages below are for Monday-Friday. The comparisons are based on the six-month period ending March 2007 and the six-month period ending March 2006.

    Newspaper, Daily circ as of 3/31/07; % Change:

    USA TODAY 2,278,022; (+0.23%)
    THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2,062,312; (+0.61%)
    NEW YORK TIMES, 1,120,420; (-1.93%)
    LOS ANGELES TIMES, 815,723; (-4.24%)
    NEW YORK POST, 724,748; (+7.63%)
    NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, 718,174; (+1.37%)
    WASHINGTON POST, 699,130; (-3.47%)
    CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 566,827; (-2.12%)
    HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 503,114; (-2.00%)
    ARIZONA REPUBLIC 433,731; (-1.14%)
    DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 411,919; (-14.27%)
    NEWSDAY, 398,231; (-6.91%)
    SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, 386,564; (-2.93%)
    BOSTON GLOBE, 382,503; (-3.72%)
    STAR-LEDGER OF NEWARK, 372,629; (-6.08%)
    ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 357,399; (-2.09%)
    PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 352,593; (+0.61%)
    STAR TRIBUNE OF MINNEAPOLIS, 345,252; (-4.88%)
    CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER, 344,704; (+0.45%)
    DETROIT FREE PRESS, 329,989; (-4.70%)
    ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 322,771; (-0.08%)
    PORTLAND OREGONIAN, 319,625; (-1.05%)
    SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 296,331; (-6.58%)
    ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 284,613; (-5.07%)
    SACRAMENTO BEE, 279,032; (-4.83%)

  • Strib-Watch: Hard News, Re-Design and the End Game

    I gotta tell ya, it is a real, “Where to begin?” situation following the no-ups and all-downs of the Star Tribune lately.

    Indecision over where to begin may explain why what follows is even more scatter-shot and incoherent than usual.

    1. As expected, Guild employees of the Star Tribune voted overwhelmingly yesterday to accept the paper’s terms for a buy-out offer that commences this Friday and closes at 5 p.m. June 1. (I was in error when I said yesterday that the “window” would open today. My apologies.) The company then has until the end of business on June 8 to post a list of those who are walking away.

    2. A supreme irony of this latest round of “right-sizing” is the trashing or marginalizing of significant elements of the paper’s very expensive, (over seven figures) and absurdly protracted “redesign” which it unveiled in October in 2005. Don’t get me going on “re-designs”.

    The joke at the Pioneer Press when I was there was that preparing for and working on the next re-design was every management regime’s best excuse for avoiding dealing with garden variety problems like under-performing beats, redirecting assets to better effect, yadda yadda. The standard response to any suggestion/complaint was, “We can’t get to that until we finish the re-design.” Then, once it was finished, the next one began.

    But I think it is safe to say now, after 17 months, that the Strib’s 2005 re-design added little if any value to the paper. Circulation has dropped steadily if not precipitously in its aftermath. I know my first reaction to seeing it was a shrug. “All that time and money for this?” It was pretty much one, “Big whoop”.

    But the Strib’s features section played a prominent role in the grand design. Yes, it came with the usual mantra of “shorter, shorter, shorter”. (Modern, design-driven managers are convinced all readers are averse to “long” stories, i.e. 20 inches or more. But they see the supposedly younger and more female audience for features sections being even more impatient and having almost no tolerance for words. Any picture and any list trumps every “wordy” story.) But under the re-design the Strib’s feature section was key to that other mantra, the preeminent, “local, local, local” babble.

    (I don’t know which image is more appropriate to newspaper managers chanting, “local, local, local”, a sprawling turkey farm or a radical, head-bobbing madrassa.)

    Anyway, the excising of what were once key locally produced components of the Strib’s Arts and Entertainment; TV, classical music, architecture, some percentage of theater, Randy Salas’s eminently readable “Web Search” and DVD columns, along with talk of folding in, cutting or “right-sizing” the whole jumble of “Scene”, “To Go” and all those other barely identifiable sub-sections effectively confirms suspicions that the vaunted re-design has proven a non-asset, at best.

    For the record, the Strib is planning to continue TV coverage via syndication, classical music looks likely to move to some kind of free-lance status, architecture will get added atop a visual arts beat and while both theater critics, Graydon Royce and Rohan Preston will stay on, Royce will devote some yet-to-be-determined percentage of his time to editing.

    The very ironic overall effect: However it is cut, the new post re-design Strib will be less “local” than previously.

    3. A recurring theme from meetings Stribbers are having with bosses Nancy Barnes and Scott Gillespie is the two editors telling reporters they are making tough cuts in features because they simply have a “hard news” orientation. (Several staffers have expressed notes of sympathy for the two, quoting Barnes and Gillespie subtly pleading for understanding, saying, “We have bosses, too.”)

    To be fair, Barnes and Gillespie are only following a tread-worn strategy first laid out by publisher Par Ridder’s father, Tony, across the entire Knight-Ridder empire through the 1990s. It was a re-organization plan that when matched with Ridder’s deal with Wall St. devils seriously undermined the quality of every Knight Ridder newspaper and eventually led to the entire chain’s abrupt sell-off. (I’m broad-stroking there. But the Tony Ridder survival strategy is an object lesson in how NOT to enhance the value of your product.)

    There’s no point belaboring my opinion that regular, sustained coverage of suburban community minutiae is anything but, “hard news”, or that the Strib is open to serious criticism over how “hard” it has been on several very high profile, relevant stories in recent years. My point is only to suggest that Barnes and Gillespie might want to dial back the “hard news” talking point if they want to maintain credibility with their staff.

    Based on my conversations with Stribbers there isn’t a person in the newsroom who believes these latest cuts (or the buy-outs before them) have anything whatsoever to do with improving the paper’s production of news, “hard” or otherwise. More to the point, if there is anyone in the newsroom who thinks Ridder and Avista are committed to producing a better, healthier, more relevant product, those people have no business or future in journalism.

    Finally, 4. I have the utmost respect for reporters who take on Guild steward jobs. I was far too lazy and misanthropic to volunteer for anything of the sort. In the current situation at the Strib, Guild stewards are like exhausted, under-equipped smoke-jumpers mashing down forest fires with shovels. Forget about getting your day job done. It’s everything you can do to answer dozens of frantic, anxious questions from colleagues in between attending and holding meetings.

    The concern here is that the Strib Guild not be played like the pre-Rahm Emanuel Democrats, who got flattened in every big game by ruthless operators focused solely on the bottom line. The Guild really ought to reach out beyond its usual legal representation/advisors to some aggressive local labor law firm for advice on a strategy that considers how best to play several key elements in the current situation, not the least of which is the impatience of Avista Capital Partners with a worse-than-expected financial performance of the Star Tribune and an expensive and an embarrassing civil law suit thrown at their publisher, Par Ridder.

    Like everyone else in the world the Guild needs leverage, and there may be some to be had in toying with Avista’s impatience and their fear of discovery, if some kind of legal action can be mounted.
    Guilds have been accused of playing easy on personnel disputes relative to their effect on the next contract negotiation. But in the current situation it would seem prudent to apply a worst case scenario mindset to that next (2008) contract and assume Avista will be even more insistent on guaranteeing return on investor dollar via truly draconian cuts in employee compensation and staffing levels.

    Ten years ago laid-off newspaper people had some hope of sliding into another paper in another town. That ain’t happenin’ no more. At the risk of sounding hysterical, now is good time to approach all events leading to next year as though they were part of an end-game for an industry as we once knew it.

  • Fashion Guide to Art-A-Whirl

    It’s not that I lack a soft-spot for watercolors. But when a girl’s got a teensy budget to mind, such as I do, that bit of cash seems so much better directed when spent on … well, let’s just call it wearable art, for politics sake. (I’m all for supporting those NE Artists!)

    Far as I know, there are no shoes for sale at the weekend’s jam-packed Art-A-Whirl festival. But with the help of some kind folks at NEMAA, I’m able to toss off this abridged version of an AAW shopping list–for the fashionista set. Something for everyone; now the clotheshorses and shopaholics can enjoy Art-A-Whirl, along with everybody else.

    FIRST, A FEW JEWELRY SELECTIONS:
    CariJohnson.jpgCari Johnson
    Northrup King Building

    1500 Jackson St. NE

    Studio 423

    These are bubbly pieces inspired by coasts and shorelines

    daphnekoop.jpgDaphnae Koop
    Northrup King Building

    1500 Jackson St. NE

    Suite 401-B

    Daphnae Koop is showing her beach stone and bead jewelry. Bonus: she’s sharing a studio with the well-known fiber/print artist Ingrid Restemayer (someone a clotheshorse can appreciate).

    CariJohnson.jpgLauzon Ciresi Jewelry
    IBR Gallery

    2844 Johnson St. NE

    Kathy Lauzon and Rae Ciresi create their one-of-a-kind jewelry from flameworked glass and polymer clay beads made in their studios.

    CLOTHES, CLOTHES, AND MORE CLOTHES:
    anotherland.jpgAnother Land
    Northrup King Building

    1500 Jackson Street NE

    Studio 263

    Specializing in hand-made, fair-trade accessories inspired by traditional Barabaig fashions. They’ve also got some fashionable, earthy-chic handbags by local artist Nichole Smaglick.

    * Another important stop is Foat Design (sorry, I didn’t get my hands on any pics) — This company is the brainchild of twin sisters KKaja and Zoë Foat. They do two lines: Urban Yoga Wear and Born Again, a line of funky, eco-conscious knits.

    AFTER A HANDBAG:
    Jean_Rostad_handbag.jpgJean Rostad

    Grainbelt Bottling House

    79 13th Ave.
    Jeanne Rostad has been making handbags since 1991 using new, recycled and vintage fabrics.

    LAST BUT NOT LEAST, FURNISHINGS:
    furniture.jpg
    Spinario, a new Northeast boutique specializing in mid-century modern furnishings (to go along with the Danish Teak Classics store in NKB) celebrates its grand opening at Art-A-Whirl this weekend, too. Happy Shopping!