Monthly Archives: January 2012

FCC wins big at annual Minnesota newspaper convention; Detroit Lakes tops efforts by winning award for best weekly in state

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FARGO, N.D. - Forum Communications Co. newspapers received more than 90 awards, ranging in categories from “Best Local Breaking News Story” to “Best Website” during the 2010-2011 Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the Minnesota Newspaper Association. The awards were bestowed during the organization’s annual awards banquet held Jan. 26 in Bloomington, Minn.
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Mary Jo Hotzler named editor of the Grand Forks Herald

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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

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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.