In the Star Tribune’s ‘reporting’ of my team’s two-year investigation, documenting the drivers of serious decline in our beloved Twin Cities, the Star Tribune has doubled-down on its disservice to the people of our state. They choose to focus on who funded the investigation – rather than what might be done to address the verifiable statistics cited in our work regarding the decline of public safety, education, and growth in Minnesota. In their latest ‘news’, they have named a list of ‘potential’ funders, none of whom are funders of our work.
Their reporting – with no evidence, let alone attribution – casts my team’s work as some kind of ‘work for hire’ by unnamed, presumed unscrupulous, business leaders.
Precarious State was not a work–for–hire.
I’ve been a working journalist most of life. The team I assembled is among the most professional, credentialed, accomplished in the nation. Collectively, winning – all – of the highest awards in broadcast journalism, including the Peabody, Dupont and Polk Awards, multiple Emmy’s, National Press Photographer of the year, Best of Show at the NY International Film Festival, etc.
I started Precarious State two years ago. It’s the most important story I’ve ever reported.
At about the one-year mark I laid out the research in a ‘presentation’ deck and drove around the state, sharing it with business and community leaders. I shared it with others who’d already left. All of them have loved this place as much as me and my own family.
It is a story no other news organization in this town either – could – or would tell.
The people who stepped up to fund this work… had – zero – editorial influence.
They never saw a script.
They never saw the documentary before we sent it off to the broadcast stations as done/done.
They contributed to the effort upfront. And that’s been the entirety of their involvement.
Some in socialist/political circles try to discredit the work despite its deep attribution. They argue this is some sort of fake, cautionary tale.
That is a disservice to the people of our state.
To be clear: We would have published this work with NO funding. Funders gave us scale and allowed us to recruit the extraordinary journalistic team that helped verify, document, and edit this story. The funders’ interest was a bold, heartfelt effort, that was nothing short of a ‘Hail Mary’ pass to save our cities and state.
We will drop a new story later this week on the rise of the DSA – in Minnesota.
In the meantime… take a look at this one, by former network anchor, John Stossel, who interviewed Minneapolis City Councilmember Aisha Chughtai, a few years ago. At the time… she was trying to enact Rent Control in Minneapolis. It’s something she’s still working on today.
This is a time for Minnesota to wake up – and go to work – together to build back our great cities and state.