MPR News Reflections and observations on the news

By Bob Collins

bcollins@mpr.org • @newscut

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.

Fresh Eye on the Radio: Spoiling the Olympics

Bob Collins February 16, 2010, 4:38 PM Feb 16, 2010

5

Should news organizations give the results of today’s Olympic results?

Keeping secrets

Bob Collins February 16, 2010, 2:54 PM Feb 16, 2010

1

When it comes to ‘national security,’ the New York Times can keep a secret.

In search of Hollywood

Bob Collins February 16, 2010, 12:29 PM Feb 16, 2010

1

Politicians go to Washington looking for Hollywood, only to be disappointed when they find Washington instead.

What an assassination team looks like

Bob Collins February 16, 2010, 12:27 PM Feb 16, 2010

Security camera footage is pieced together to identify assassins of a Hamas commander.

Fact Check: Why businesses leave Minnesota

Bob Collins February 16, 2010, 10:53 AM Feb 16, 2010

19

Anecdotes of companies leaving Minnesota because of taxes aren’t always correct.

Five at 8 – 2/16/10: Share your youth athletic horror stories

Bob Collins February 16, 2010, 7:07 AM Feb 16, 2010

3

The shameful side of sports for kids: Parents.

Five at 8 – 2/12/10: The best presidential moments

Bob Collins February 15, 2010, 7:01 AM Feb 15, 2010

7

One man’s vote for the five most memorable moments in recent presidential history.

Surveys and trivia

The lure of the trivial

Bob Collins February 13, 2010, 11:12 AM Feb 13, 2010

2

Efforts to gauge reader interest by the most-emailed feature of Web sites are doomed to failure.

Suggestive selling

Bob Collins February 13, 2010, 10:17 AM Feb 13, 2010

What if sexual innuendo takes hold in Northfield retail advertising?

Regional history

Carl Larson, 1914-2010

Bob Collins February 12, 2010, 5:06 PM Feb 12, 2010

2

Both brothers, considered living history in northwest Minnesota, have died within the last three months.

Fresh Eye on the Radio: No fun at the Olympics

Bob Collins February 12, 2010, 4:36 PM Feb 12, 2010

2

Complaints about practice time in Vancouver were overshadowed by comedy.

One picture

Bob Collins February 12, 2010, 2:53 PM Feb 12, 2010

The world’s best photojournalism.

Following athletes who are ‘one of us’

Bob Collins February 12, 2010, 1:18 PM Feb 12, 2010

4

Who qualifies as local athletes at the Olympics?

Airline report card

Bob Collins February 12, 2010, 11:31 AM Feb 12, 2010

Examining the government’s report on what it’s like to fly.

Five at 8 – 2/12/10: At a ‘glacial’ pace

Bob Collins February 12, 2010, 7:15 AM Feb 12, 2010

Is ‘grammar change’ real, peeking in the windows of Baldwin Township, how do actors learn their lines, the WiFi bus, and what happens when you ask a politician for specifics?