Mary Jo Hotzler named editor of the Grand Forks Herald

Posted by on January 21, 2012 No comments

Mary Jo Hotzler, deputy editor of The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, has been named the editor of the Grand Forks Herald, effective in March.

By Ryan Bakken
Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald reporter

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Mary Jo Hotzler has been named editor of the Grand Forks Herald by Mike Jacobs, the current publisher and editor.
“Mary Jo is enthusiastic, energetic and talented,” Jacobs said.
Hotzler is the deputy editor of The Forum in Fargo and the editor of its SheSays daily section. She has worked at The Forum for 10 years, starting as a reporter.
“I’m thrilled and honored to be joining the Herald’s newsroom as editor,” Hotzler said. “I know there’s a lot of great journalism happening there and a lot of talent and tradition in that room.”
Jacobs remains the publisher, the newspaper’s top position, but he is dropping the editor’s job because he will lead the effort to form Forum Communications’ news service.
“The newsroom belongs to the editor and she will create her own organization,” Jacobs said. “There will be a new editor, but not a new newspaper.
“I’ve worked with her on several projects and I admire her enthusiasm for the business, her professionalism and her people skills. She’s highly regarded in (the company) and I know she’s the right person to build on the reputation and traditions of the Herald and to help it continue to be a strong community newspaper.”
Hotzler will start her new job on March 5, allowing time to find a home in Grand Forks. “My plan is to take a little time to get to know the people and community and then go from there,” she said. “I’m not going to assume that the Herald and The Forum are the same paper.”
Hotzler is a native of Watertown, S.D., and a graduate of the University of South Dakota. She worked in book publishing at Simon and Schuster in New York before joining The Forum 10 years ago. She covered city government, served as news editor and became deputy editor in 2007. She is married to Forum sportswriter Heath Hotzler and has 2-year-old twin boys.
In a note to staff, Forum Editor Matt Von Pinnon said he was “both pleased and a little sad” about her new job. “While it’s a loss for us, Mary Jo’s new assignment will be a huge gain for Grand Forks, the staff there and Forum Communications.”
Jacobs has been the Herald editor since June 1984, when he succeeded Bev Kees.
The Grand Forks Herald is owned by Forum Communications Co., a multimedia company headquartered in Fargo, N.D. The company publishes nine daily newspapers and 24 other newspapers in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and South Dakota.FCC also has television, interactive and printing divisions.

Forum Communications to start Upper Midwest news service

Posted by on January 5, 2012 Comments Off

FARGO — Forum Communications Company is expanding its presence in the region with the launch of a multi-state news service, company President Lloyd Case announced today.

Existing FCC newspapers, websites, magazines and broadcast outlets in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin will provide content for the news service – an effort that will begin immediately. Over the next two years, the company will make continued investments into the news service with the intention of building the most comprehensive, affordable product to which other media outlets throughout the Upper Midwest can subscribe.

Mike Jacobs, editor and publisher of the Grand Forks Herald, has been selected to lead these efforts.

“Jacobs is a good, strong newsman and a good, strong manager,” Case said. “Nobody knows more about the region than he does.”

Mike Jacobs

Jacobs, a Stanley, N.D., native and the Herald’s editor since 1984, will continue as publisher, but the search for a new editor in Grand Forks will soon be under way.

One of Jacobs’ first tasks as head of the news service will be to establish a footprint for the company in northwestern North Dakota – specifically the Oil Patch. The search for a reporter to cover the state’s largest ongoing issue will begin immediately. The northwestern North Dakota bureau, as well as existing FCC bureaus in Bismarck, N.D., and St. Paul, Minn., will report to Jacobs.

In the next couple of years, additional bureaus and staff will be added in an effort to further boost the company’s reporting reach, Case said.

William C. Marcil, chairman of Forum Communications, said the Marcil family company continues to dedicate itself and its properties to providing the best-quality news and information to its audiences in the Upper Midwest.

The FCC properties will continue to publish the kinds of regional, national and international stories and photos offered by wire outlets such as the AP. However a company-wide task force will evaluate in the coming year which outside news providers are the best fit for the entire FCC network, which includes daily newspapers in Fargo, Grand Forks, Jamestown and Dickinson, N.D., as well as Mitchell, S.D., and Duluth, Bemidji, Willmar and Worthington in Minnesota.

Additionally, Forum Communications owns nearly two dozen weekly papers in the region, including concentrations in the Twin Cities suburbs, the Mississippi River Valley, northeastern Minnesota and the lakes country of west-central Minnesota. The company owns broadcast outlets in Fargo, Grand Forks, Bismarck and Minot, and publishes Prairie Business, a monthly magazine, and Agweek, from its Grand Forks offices.

Iconic Forum newspaper sign taken down so that it can be refurbished

Posted by on December 20, 2011 1 comment


The 40-foot-tall iconic Forum sign that sits atop the building's downtown Fargo headquarters was carefully taken down by industrial cranes on Monday. The 60-plus-year-old iconic sign will be refurbished and placed back on the newspaper's roof.

FARGO – The iconic “Forum” sign was removed from the downtown building Monday afternoon, but it will soon be back – and brighter than ever.

Building Manager Dave Shasky said the sign will be refurbished locally, and he expects it to return in about a month.

The pillar sign has been a fixture in downtown Fargo for more than six decades, illuminating the headquarters of Forum Communications Co., publisher of North Dakota’s largest newspaper, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead.

The white skin, or background, of the sign will be refinished, and the lights will change from fiber-optic to LED lighting, Shasky said.

This will not be the first time the sign has been refurbished. Shasky said the sign was first changed from neon lighting to fiber optics in the late-1990s.

“The fiber optics haven’t worked out where they’re bright enough,” he said. “You can only see them from two to three blocks away. The LEDs are supposed to be really bright lights so you can see it from a farther distance and there is less maintenance on it.”

Shasky said a date of 1946 was found inside the sign, and he estimated the sign was installed around that time.

A two-story building for The Forum was first built between 1927 and 1928. The third, fourth and fifth floors were added in 1935.

The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead is owned by Forum Communications Co., a multimedia company headquartered in Fargo, N.D. The company publishes nine daily newspapers and 24 other newspapers in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and South Dakota. The company also has television, interactive and printing divisions.

The Forum sign is loaded on a flatbed truck to be be hauled away and refurbished. The sign has sat atop the newspaper's downtown Fargo building since the 1940s.

Forum Communications Co. hosts ‘transformation’ conference for newsroom executives

Posted by on November 18, 2011 No comments

FCC Vice President for Newspapers Steve McLister addresses a room full of publishers, general managers, news directors and editors during Forum Communication Co.'s recent two-day newsroom management conference in Fargo.

FARGO, N.D. – More than 60 Forum Communications Co. executives, publishers and editors attended a two-day conference focused on the transformation of the company’s newsroom personnel. The annual gathering held here Wednesday and Thursday served as a training opportunity and a time for discussion among the company’s newsroom managers about the future of collecting and disseminating information.

The event was organized and led by FCC President Lloyd Case to discuss recommendations by The Forum Forward Innovation Committee.  The committee is chaired by Mary Jo Hotzler, and members include; Kirsten Stromsodt, Aaron Becher, and Jenny Porter.

There were also sessions that focused on legal update training, the future of the company’s content management system, fostering community content development, social media and future digital content business strategies.

Other speakers included Steve Johnson of the Vogel Law firm in Fargo, Vice President for Interactive Paul Amundson, Vice President for Newspapers Steve McLister, Product Development Manager Chris Welle, Digital Content Development Director Tracy Briggs, Project Manager Zac Echola and Digital Content Operations Manager Devlyn Brooks.

The attendees of the conference held at the Holiday Inn also participated in social activities that allowed colleagues who may work hundreds of miles apart all year round the time to exchange professional ideas and to get to know one another face to face.

“We have hundreds of journalists working in sites across four states,” Vice President McLister said. “It’s valuable to periodically bring those professionals together so that they can share best practices and bounce ideas off one another. It speaks to the company’s commitment to develop highly trained newsroom professionals to serve the millions of consumers of our broadcast, digital, mobile and printed information products.”

Conference attendees listen to a discussion on the future of the industry.

Forum Communications Co. is a multimedia company headquartered in Fargo, N.D. The company publishes nine daily newspapers and 24 other newspapers in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and South Dakota. The company also has television, interactive and printing divisions.

West Central Tribune in Willmar, Minn., announces new advertising management team

Posted by on November 11, 2011 No comments

WILLMAR, Minn. — The West Central Tribune has reorganized its advertising department to help take advantage of its powerful print, digital and mobile media platforms, Publisher Steve Ammermann has announced.

The West Central Tribune is one of 30-plus newspapers owned by Forum Communications Co., a multimedia company headquartered in Fargo, N.D. The company publishes nine daily newspapers and 24 other newspapers in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and South Dakota. The company also has television, interactive and printing divisions.

Kevin Smith has been named the new advertising director at the Tribune, and Jan Queenan has been named assistant advertising director, Ammermann said.

Smith, of Edwardsburg, Mich., has been the advertising director at Leader Publications in Niles, Mich. The Leaders group publishes two small dailies, three weekly newspapers and two shopper publications in southern Michigan.

“Kevin has an impressive background in sales and marketing. His wealth of experience will be instrumental as we move forward. I’m excited to have him put his skills to work for the West Central Tribune,” Ammermann said.

Smith previously worked at the Lansing (Mich.) State Journal’s advertising department as a niche product supervisor and as a retail zone sales manager. He has also managed his own direct mail franchise business, worked as an account executive for a Lansing television station, worked as a marketing director for a network radio sales organization and worked as an account executive for an outdoor advertising company.

Queenan of New London has worked in the advertising department at the West Central Tribune for 27 years. She has previously worked as advertising director, assistant advertising director and account executive.

The West Central Tribune is the leading media company in west central Minnesota. The Tribune’s print edition has a daily readership of 43,350.

The newspaper’s website wctrib.com averages 1.2 million page views and more than 75,000 unique visitors per month. The newspaper’s mobile site averages more than 50,000 page views monthly.

Forum Forward leadership class reconnects with mentors, colleagues at mid-year

Posted by on October 11, 2011 No comments

The 2011 Forum Forward class (from left) includes: Jennifer McBride, managing editor, The Dickinson Press, Dickinson, N.D.; Christopher Berdahl, operations and technology manager, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, Fargo, N.D.; Mike Noll, pre-press manager, Forum Communications Printing-Detroit Lakes, Detroit Lakes, Minn.; Christopher Welle, product development manager, Interactive Media Group, Fargo, N.D.; Nick Omberg, sales and digital media consultant/online coordinator, Detroit Lakes Newspapers, Detroit Lakes, Minn.; Stacey Anderson, assignment editor, WDAY TV, Fargo, N.D.; Jaclyn King, ad director, The Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer; and Shane Mercer, community content manager, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, Fargo, N.D.

FARGO, N.D. – Forum Communications Co. held its first-ever, mid-year Forum Forward meeting Oct. 5 and 6.

Forum Forward is an internal company leadership program created in 2009 to broaden the leadership skills of the dedicated employees across Forum Communications Co. and to build the company’s next generation of leaders.

The new mid-year event was created on the basis of feedback from former Forum Forward graduates who said it would enhance the leadership program.

Those attending this year’s mid-year meeting were:

  • Jennifer McBride, managing editor, The Dickinson (N.D.) Press, and her mentor Matt Von Pinnon, editor, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead.
  • Chris Berdahl, operations and technology manager, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, and his mentor, Ken Browall, publisher, the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune.  (Ken was unable to make it.)
  • Nick Omberg, sales and digital media consultant and online coordinator, Detroit Lakes (Minn.) Newspapers, and his mentor, Phil Frebault, ad director, RiverTown Newspaper Group.  (Phil was unable to attend.)
  • Chris Welle, product development manager, Interactive Media Group, and his mentor Bill Marcil, publisher, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead.  (Bill was unable to attend.)
  • Mike Noll, pre-press manager, Forum Communications Printing – Detroit Lakes, Minn., and his mentor Harvey Brock, publisher, The Dickinson (N.D.) Press.
  • Stacey Anderson, assignment editor, WDAY, and his mentor Robin Washington, executive editor, Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune.
  • Jaclyn King, advertising director, The Pioneer of Bemidji, Minn., and her mentor Zac Ahrens, ad director, Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald.
  • Shane Mercer, community content manager, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, and his mentor Dennis Doeden, publisher, The Pioneer of Bemidji, Minn.  (Dennis was unable to attend).

The group toured WDAY, a Forum Communications Co.-owned television station in Fargo, on Oct. 5. The event was coordinated by Operations Manager Sue Eider, who is also a Forum Forward graduate. The group spent the evening learning behind the cameras, viewing the evening news cast live with WDAY personalities Dana Mogck, Kerstin Kealy, John Wheeler, and Trevor Peterson. And the group spent time in the control room.

The group spent the morning of Oct. 6 at Forum Communications Printing’s Fargo plant. FCP Sales Manager Laura Feldner coordinated the visit, which included a tour by Plant Manager Dave Erstad, and presentations from Vice President of Printing Dennis Hall, Student Planner Coordinator Laura Olson, Customer Service Manager/Wholesale Postcard Account Executive Carmen Wallander,  also a Forum Forward graduate, Feldner, and Business Development Manager Rick Rea.

The group completed their visit Oct. 6 with the Interactive Media Group headquartered in Fargo. Vice President of Interactive Media Group Paul Amundson hosted the tour, with presentations from:

  • Digital Content Operations Manager Devlyn Brooks and Digital Content Development Director Tracy Briggs.
  • Jobs HQ Sales Manager Amy Fredrickson and Digital Sales Director Chris Dorsey.
  • Ad Operations Manager Jeremy Driscoll and Support Manager Lindsey Guajardo.
  • Creative Services Manager Bonnie Cook, also a graduate of Forum Forward).

Forum Forward Coordinator Sonjia Anderson said that the mid-year visit was a great opportunity to have the class come together with their mentors to reconnect and reengage with the Forum Forward process.

Each year, FCC employees have the opportunity to apply for Forum Forward and company executives choose the finalists who undergo a year of site visits, leadership studies and mentoring. Each graduate is assigned a mentor from inside the company, someone who has demonstrated leadership and the ability to help build the skills of their employees. The class then spends a year traveling to various FCC sites and learning from respected leaders in all aspects of the company’s ventures.

The 2011 class began its adventure May 23 at The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, where company executives provided an overview of the company and a tour of The Forum. Later, the class met their mentors and participated in a leadership training program.

Bemidji Pioneer hires longtime FCC journalist for top newsroom post

Posted by on October 6, 2011 No comments

Steve Wagner has been named editor of The Pioneer in Bemidji, Minn., another Forum Communications Co. newspaper.

Steve Wagner, a longtime reporter and editor at The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, has been named the new editor of The Pioneer in Bemidji, Minn., another Forum Communications Co. newspaper.

Wagner begins his new duties at The Pioneer on Oct. 24.

Wagner is currently news director at The Forum. He replaces former Pioneer Editor Molly Miron, who retired.

Wagner, 39, is a native of Moorhead, Minn.

Wagner has more than 15 years of newspaper experience and earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from North Dakota State University in Fargo.

He also has worked at newspapers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and in Iowa and has received several awards for his investigative reporting.

Forum Communication Co. writers receive prestigious health journalism fellowships

Posted by on August 10, 2011 No comments

John Lundy of the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune

FARGO, N.D. – Two Forum Communications Co. reporters have been named to the Association of Health Care Journalists’ inaugural class of the Regional Health Journalism Fellowship, designed to train journalists in the tools needed to improve the depth and amount of coverage focused on localizing critical health issues.

Reporters Katie Ryan-Anderson of The Jamestown (N.D.) Sun and John Lundy of the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune were among the first 12 journalists accepted for the prestigious fellowship. Ryan-Anderson has worked for The Sun for four years, covering topics such as health, education, crime and economic development. Lundy has worked for the News Tribune for 10 ½ years and covers health care and general assignments.

According the the AHCJ, this fellowship evolved from the former Midwest Health Journalism Fellowship, which trained journalists in Kansas and Missouri during the past four years. The new regional fellowship will draw from a larger region, which changes each year. This first set of fellows was selected from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Katie Ryan-Anderson of The Jamestown (N.D.) Sun

The remaining fellows are:

  • Tony Leys, Des Moines (Iowa) Register
  • Jackie Crosby, Star Tribune, Minneapolis
  • Christinia Crippes, The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa
  • Erik Hogstrom, Telegraph Herald, Dubuque, Iowa
  • Tom Hauser, KSTP-St. Paul, Minn.
  • Mark Andersen, Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star
  • Lynn Taylor Rick, Rapid City (S.D.) Journal
  • Grant Gerlock, NET Radio, Lincoln, Neb.
  • Michelle San Miguel, KFYR-Bismarck, N.D.
  • Elissa Dickey, Aberdeen (S.D.) American News

The fellowship’s training includes a reporting boot camp at the Missouri School of Journalism, briefings at the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, attending the annual AHCJ conference and mentoring from veteran health journalists.

“We are extremely proud that the AHCJ has recognized the work that Katie and John do for their respective newspapers and communities,” said FCC Vice President for Newspapers Steve McLister. “They represent the hard-working journalists that serve all of our Forum Communications Co. communities across the upper Midwest and our company’s commitment to publishing quality local journalism.”

The Association of Health Care Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public understanding of health care issues. It has 1,100 members and is based at the Missouri School of Journalism.

Cook named to head Forum Communications Co. creative services department

Posted by on July 21, 2011 2 comments

Bonnie Cook has been named director of Forum Communications Co.'s creative services department.

FARGO, N.D. – Forum Communications Co. has announced that Bonnie Cook, a longtime employee of The Pioneer in Bemidji, Minn., was recently appointed to lead the company’s creative services department.

Cook will supervise the department, which is housed at Forum Communications Co. headquarters in Fargo, N.D., and will over see the continuing consolidation/innovation of ad creation for the company’s 33 newspapers. She also is charged with ensuring that clients’ needs will be met on deadline, even as the company continues to evolve its ad-creation process.

Cook’s experience as a production services manager/systems administrator at The Pioneer, a Forum Communications Co. newspaper, made her a great fit for this new position, said Vice President for Newspapers Steve McLister. Overall, she spent 17 years working for The Pioneer.

“Bonnie has a distinguished history of performance with The Pioneer and is an excellent leader, communicator and total team player,” McLister said. “She understands the needs of the advertiser, the needs of the newspapers we serve and the wants/desires of sales personnel.”

Cook also was a recent graduate of Forum Communication Co’s internal leadership program known as “Forum Foward.” She started her position in early July.

Forum Communications Co. recognizes 15 sales reps for leading digital media sales

Posted by on July 20, 2011 No comments

Forum Communications Co. has announced that 15 sales professionals were named “Pacesetters” at the close of the company’s fiscal quarter that ended June 30.

The company’s “Pacesetter” award recognizes sales representatives who have achieved their digital media sales goals during the quarter.

“The Pacesetter sales representatives are doing a great job in working with our clients to communicate and demonstrate how digital media can be an effective part of their advertising budget,” said FCC Digital Media Sales Director Chris Dorsey.

Pacesetter sales reps included:
- Lori Landa, FCC Employment Sales Center
- Kathy Costello, FCC Employment Sales Center
- Lisa Tillotson, FCC Employment Center
- Beverly Suckow, RiverTowns Newspaper Group
- Lana Birkhofer, Duluth Newspaper Group
- Sandy Dobrava, Duluth Newspaper Group
- Sue Wilson, RiverTowns Newspaper Group
- Jennifer Ekberg, Grand Forks Herald
- Patrick Moore, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead
- Eric Olson, Duluth Newspaper Group
- Jason Rolland, Grand Forks Herald
- Nick Omberg, Detroit Lakes Newspapers
- Lisa Stevens, Grand Forks Herald
- Kyle Houske, Grand Forks Herald
- Kayla Anderson, Grand Forks Herald