Bob Collins retired from Minnesota Public Radio in 2019 after 12 years of writing NewsCut and pointing out to complainants that posts weren’t news stories. A son of Massachusetts, he was a news editor 1992-1998, created the MPR News regional website in 1999, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started several blogs, and every day lamented that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.
After taking a stand for forgiveness, Sen. Al Franken couldn’t withstand the pressure to cancel an appearance with Kathy Griffin, the comedian who was stupid enough to be photographed holding a bloodied head that obviously was meant to portray President Donald Trump. Read more →
If ever there was a stroke of brilliance in Minnesota, it was the moment someone thought to create drug courts to help people get rid of their addiction, rather than sending them to jail or prison. Read more →
What’s more rare these days than the Twins staying within 10 runs of their opponents? A triple play. Even better: An around-the-horn triple play.
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In the category of ‘out of touch with 2017’, few are so deserving of ridicule as the people who make their living in the advertising business, consistently cranking out material that offends people and then claiming they had no idea it would. Read more →
The role of an internship at a news organization is to learn the business and a Sioux Falls intern may be about to learn an important lesson: Don’t make up quotes.
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Kaylee Gossen, a junior from Marshall, could’ve just kept quiet and she’d be on her way to the state high school golf tournament.
But that’s not the way it works for high school golfers. Read more →
It’s a sign of the times when even a jumbled bunch of letters in a tweet split the country in half. Read more →
It will come as no surprise to you, perhaps, that it’s not working well at the moment, either nationally or locally.
In Minnesota, for example, legislators are shocked — shocked — that Gov. Dayton responded to a sneaky poison pill in budget bills that forced him to sign them, by going low in his own way: stripping funding for the Legislature. See you in court.
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As documented here a few years ago, local TV meteorologists historically have been reluctant to take a position on — or even discuss –climate change. Too many viewers were quick to pounce. Paul Douglas has never been a coward on the subject, however, as he showed again yesterday with a single tweet. Read more →
The tragedy in Portland, Ore. over the weekend in which two men were killed by a knife-wielding white supremacist, might give some people pause before risking their safety to help someone else. But people whose instinct is to help someone else aren’t the type to pause. Read more →
Perhaps it’s unrealistic to expect financially strapped news organizations to pay someone to publicize its flaws. But even if trust in newsrooms weren’t eroding, it would still be true that readers and listeners deserve someone on their side in a position of power. Read more →
Here’s more proof that when it comes to sportsmanship, the track and field kids are the coolest ones. Read more →
Graham Day turned 8 on Sunday and his parents did what parents of 8-year-olds often do when kids turn 8: they planned a party, sent out invitations, and then baked and stocked-up on food. Read more →
Eric Kussin was kind of a big deal in the National Hockey League, where he was the chief revenue officer for the Florida Panthers.
So it’s unusual, to say the least, that he’s posted his email address and cellphone number, asking people to contact him if they’ve experienced personal trauma/professional stress and need some help.
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It was a short first day in the trial of officer Jeronimo Yanez, charged in the killing of Philando Castile during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights last summer. The jury pool is filling out questionnaires about their potential as jurors. There’s no question on it asking the jurors their race; that’s illegal in Minnesota. So reporters were left today to look at individuals and try to figure out race and ethnicity. Read more →
Bob Collins