Tag Archives: North Dakota

2012 Forum Forward class graduates during ceremony in Fargo

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The 2012 Forum Forward graduating class and mentors, from left to right: Dickinson Press Publisher Harvey Brock, JobsHQ Employment Specialist/Sales Team Leader Lisa Tillotson, Forum Regional Operations Manager Curt Christensen, Forum Communications Printing-Fargo Customer Service Representative Kari Saylor, FCC Director of Multimedia Sales Operations Amy Fredrickson, Forum Features Editor Heidi Shaffer, Duluth News Tribune Ad Director Roz Randorf, FCC Digital Accounts Manager Chad Jacobsen, RiverTowns Newspaper Group Multimedia Producer Roger Sievers, Echo Press Variety Editor Tara Bitzan, Grand Forks Herald Editor Steve Wagner, WDAY-TV Regional Sales Manager Joshua Rohrer, FCC CEO Lloyd Case, Forum General Manager Aaron Beecher, Forum Reporter Ryan Johnson, FCC Executive Vice President and COO Bill Marcil Jr. and Daily Republic Publisher Korrie Wenzel.

FARGO, N.D. – Eight Forum Communications Co.employees were feted this week as the 2012 Forum Forward class graduated and became alumni of the company’s leadership training program started several years ago. Graduation was held Tuesday at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Fargo. Members of FCC’s senior management team were on hand to celebrate, as were each of the graduates company mentors, who are an integral component to the program. “This is a culmination of a year spent visiting various divisions within our company, including Broadcast, Commercial Printing, Digital and Newspaper,” said program facilitator Sonjia Anderson. “This has provided them insights into leadership skills, professional growth, and the opportunity to share best practices.” The graduating class also participated in brainstorming session on company innovation to generate ideas relating to reducing expenses and increasing revenue. Projects coming out of the past innovation sessions include the Forum News Service, the Green Team, and the “We Are Forum Communications” branding video. The 2013 Forum Forward participants and mentors also gathered in Fargo this week to begin their year of training.

Forum Communications Co. CEO Lloyd Case presents Forum Forward graduate Tara Bitzen with her certificate. Her mentor, Grand Forks Editor Steve Wagner stands at right.

Forum Communications Co. CEO Lloyd Case presents Forum Forward graduate Ryan Johnson with his certificate. His mentor, Daily Republic Publisher Korrie Wenzel stands at right.

Forum Communications Co. CEO Lloyd Case presents Forum Forward graduate Joshua Rohrer with his certificate. His mentor, FCC Executive Vice President and COO Bill Marcil Jr. stands at right.

Forum Communications Co. CEO Lloyd Case gives Forum Forward graduate Heidi Shaffer and her mentor Amy Fredrickson a hug.

Forum Communications Co. CEO Lloyd Case presents Forum Forward graduate Lisa Tillotson with her certificate. Her mentor, Dickinson Press Publisher Harvey Brock stands at right.

Forum Communications Co. CEO Lloyd Case presents Forum Forward graduate Kari Saylor with her certificate. Her mentor, Curt Christensen stands at right.

The 2012 Forum Forward graduating class included: – GRADUATE: Tara Bitzan, life/variety/special projects editor, Echo Press, Alexandria, Minn. MENTOR: Steve Wagner, editor, Grand Forks Herald, Grand Forks, N.D. – GRADUATE: Chad Jacobsen, digital accounts manager, Forum Communications Co., Fargo, N.D. MENTOR: Roz Randorf , ad director, Duluth News Tribune, Duluth, Minn. – GRADUATE: Ryan Johnson, reporter, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, Fargo, N.D. MENTOR: Korrie Wenzel, publisher, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D. – GRADUATE: Joshua Rohrer, regional sales manager, WDAY-TV, Fargo, N.D. MENTOR: Bill Marcil Jr., executive vice president and chief operating officer Forum Communications Co., and publisher, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, N.D. – GRADUATE: Kari Saylor, customer service representative, Forum Communications Printing-Fargo, Fargo, N.D. MENTOR: Curt Christensen, regional operations manager, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, Fargo, N.D. – GRADUATE: Heidi Shaffer, features editor, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, Fargo, N.D. MENTOR: Amy Fredrickson, director of multimedia sales operations, Forum Communications Co., Fargo, N.D. – GRADUATE: Roger Sievers, multimedia producer, RiverTown Newspaper Group, Red Wing, Minn. MENTOR: Aaron Becher, general manager, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, Fargo, N.D. – GRADUATE: Lisa Tillotson, employment specialist/sales team leader, Jobs HQ, Fargo, N.D. MENTOR: Harvey Brock, publisher, The Dickinson Press, Dickinson, N.D.

Forum Communications awarded rights to broadcast North Dakota high school activites

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By Tom Mix

VALLEY CITY, N.D. – When TV viewers flip on the North Dakota high school state tournaments next year, they will see new faces in the broadcast booth.
After a three-decade long run of being televised on the North Dakota NBC Network, the broadcast rights for the state’s football, boys and girls basketball and boys and girls hockey state tournaments were officially awarded to Forum Communications in April.
Forum Communications, which owns ABC affiliates WDAY-TV in Fargo, N.D., and WDAZ in Grand Forks, N.D., has already started planning several parts to the upcoming broadcasts, the key one being on-air talent.
“The inner workings are certainly underway,” WDAY sports producer and assistant programming director Stacey Anderson said. “In house we have Dom Izzo and Jody Norstedt, who both have play-by-play experience and we have Pat Sweeney up in Grand Forks at WDAZ.
“We have pretty large stable of broadcasters that can do play-by-play. We are confident in the talent we have already in place.”

North Dakota High School Activities Association logo

The North Dakota High School Activities Association Board of Directors officially approved the television contract by a unanimous vote. The contract runs through the fiscal years of 2013-14 to 2017-18 and is worth $680,000.
The last time WDAY-TV broadcasted a NDHSAA state tournament event was 1982, however the station broadcasted the first three Dakota Bowl football championships starting in 1993 prior to that event being added into the NDHSAA television rights contract.
“These North Dakota High School Activities Association state tournaments are some of the top-tier events in North Dakota and we are really excited about having them and putting them on TV,” Anderson said.
“I think it’s a great day for the NDHSAA, WDAY, WDAZ and ABC sports in North Dakota.”
Anderson did not know how the tournament broadcasts would be split up among the on-air talent and said that could depend on which teams qualify for each tournament based on coverage-area regions.
Television stations KBMY in Bismarck, N.D., and KMCY in Minot, N.D., both ABC affiliates and owned by Forum Communications, will air NDHSAA state tournament programming in the western part of the state.
KBMY and KMCY do not produce live news broadcasts so highlights and pre-tournament team feature stories from teams in the west will be funneled to Fargo through several methods.
Anderson said a working agreement with CBS affiliates KXMB in Bismarck and KXMC in Minot will provide highlight footage from the western part of the state. Those stations as well as WDAY and WDAZ will produce features on select teams that qualify for the state tournaments.
WDAY-TV also broadcasts several Minnesota boys basketball section tournament games, which Anderson said the station plans on retaining.
One part of the contract that was discussed Tuesday was that the NDHSAA will not be able to allow other media outlets to televise or internet stream games during a Forum Communications state tournament broadcast.
Anderson said Forum Communications doesn’t recognize the NDHSAA as a media outlet, so as an association, it can stream footage of state tournaments to the Internet. However, it will not be able to hire another media outlet to produce those webcasts.
“That was a big thing for us,” NDHSAA board president Scott Ulland said of the web streaming flexibility. “We want to look into what else we can do for our patrons and our students in regards to webcasts.”

Tom Mix is a reporter at The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. He can be reached at tmix@forumcomm.com or at 701.241.5562.

WDAY-TV, WDAZ, KBMY and KMCY and The Forum are all owned by Forum Communications Co. Forum Communications is a multimedia information company based in Fargo, and owns dozens of newspapers, websites and television and radio stations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Forum Communications Co. taking newsgathering to new heights

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Jim Manney (left), Forum Communications video manager, and Chris Dorsey, Forum Communications director of multimedia accounts and digital advertising, show the quadcopter, a remote-control aircraft, or drone, that was used for fly-over flood coverage. Photo by Rylee Nelson

By Rylee Nelson
Forum News Service

FARGO, N.D. – Forum Communications Co. has enlisted new aerial perspectives to provide its readers and viewers with over-the-top coverage of the 2013 Red River Valley flood.
Fly-over video captured by way of a remote-control aircraft, or drone, shows the swelling river from a unique angle. This unique approach to reporting the big story is now catching national attention.
In the past few years, high-definition, durable cameras have become increasingly available. And while the use of drones has been somewhat controversial in fields such as law enforcement, the devices are being used in a variety of ways — by outdoorsmen, extreme sports enthusiasts, and in this case, by news gatherers.
Chris Dorsey, director of multimedia accounts and digital advertising for Forum Communications, has been flying his quadcopter, mounted with a GoPro, high-definition video camera, to provide a unique view of the flooding. The idea began from a personal interest of Dorsey’s to simply fly remote-control aircraft. From there, he and Jim Manney, Forum Communications video manager, put together a plan to use the aerial machine for video on InforumTV.com, a video-focused news website owned by Forum Communications.
“The whole idea stems from the idea to take our viewers to a place they have never been. A place they couldn’t go,” Manney said.

Jim Manney (left), Forum Communications video manager, and Chris Dorsey, Forum Communications director of multimedia accounts and digital advertising, demonstrate the quadcopter, a remote-control aircraft, or drone, that was used for fly-over flood coverage. Photo by Rylee Nelson

The rather small idea has gained big attention from national audiences this week. Even the Weather Channel commented on how neat the idea was, Dorsey noted. Several national media outlets have contacted Dorsey and Manney to use the video in their own broadcasts.
For Dorsey and Manney, it’s a matter how far they can go to bringing new and unique perspectives to viewers.
“Video is such a huge part of where we are going … it is information for the public. This is evident in our investment in InforumTV,” Dorsey said, noting that the quadcopter may be used for other story coverage in the future, such as the Fargo Marathon or even a RedHawks baseball game.
Still, Dorsey and Manney say they are well aware of their boundaries when it comes to the use of the personal aircraft. To begin flying the device, they had to be in contact with the FAA to make sure they were following drone law. They also say they want to respect people’s privacy. You won’t find them flying over anyone’s fence.
Video of the Red River flooding is available on www.inforumtv.com.

Rylee Nelson is a Forum News Service reporter stationed in Fargo. He can be reached at rnelson@forumcomm.com.

InforumTV.com is owned by Forum Communications Co. Forum Communications is a multimedia information company based in Fargo, and owns dozens of newspapers, websites and television and radio stations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Matt Cory named next editor of The Pioneer of Bemidji, Minn.

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Matt Cory was named the next editor of The Pioneer of Bemidji, Minn. He replaces exiting Editor Steve Wagner who was recently named the editor of the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald.

By Justin Glawe

BEMIDJI, Minn. – In a media landscape rapidly changing as outlets and reporters, editors and publishers try to keep up, deadlines are by the minute and priorities are sometimes judged by the second.
Matt Cory, named Wednesday as editor of The Pioneer, has been witness to the sea change still transforming the industry, and it’s a challenge he’s willing to meet.
“As newspapers have learned in the last 10 years, or so, and really ratcheted up in the last five, we have to be a lot of different things to different people,” Cory said. “You want to cover the big stories but you want to tell the stories of individual people within the community as well.”
For the last 19 years, Cory, 42, has been with the Grand Forks Herald in myriad roles. Stints as a reporter in news and sports, time spent policing grammar, style and spelling as copy editor and several years as night and city editor round out a resume soaked in newspaper ink.
“We are fortunate to hire an editor of Matt Cory’s skills and experience,” said Pioneer Publisher Dennis Doeden. “Matt has a passion for newspapers, and I am excited to add him to our leadership team in Bemidji. Matt brings experience as a reporter, editor, page designer and manager to our newsroom. He understands the newspaper’s responsibility in our community.”
Cory will bring a wife and two children with him to Bemidji when he takes over in mid-April. A third child attends college in Nebraska. Cory will replace Steve Wagner, editor since October 2011. Wagner was named the Herald’s editor March 8.
A native of East Grand Forks, Cory attended the University of North Dakota. UND holds his heart in hockey, but Cory said he prefers basketball of the maroon and gold variety.
“It’s kind of like coming home for me in a way,” Cory said, looking ahead to starting his third decade in newspapers at The Pioneer. “I’m excited about being back in Minnesota full-time.”
And while the future of the print product – already reduced in size, circulation and days-printed elsewhere around the country remains to be seen – the future of newspapers as institutions of truth is as imperative as ever.
“Newspapers will always be a vital link in the process of communication,” Cory said. “I’ve heard the saying that radio had the immediacy, television had the video and newspapers had the whole story. Well, now we have to do all three. And that’s a challenge we have to face every day.”

Justin Glawe is a reporter at The Pioneer.

The Pioneer is owned by Forum Communications Co. Forum Communications is a multimedia information company based in Fargo, and owns dozens of newspapers, websites and television and radio stations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Monke named managing editor at The Dickinson Press; Byrd promoted to news editor

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Dustin Monke has been named the managing editor of The Dickinson Press in Dickinson, N.D.

By Bryan Horwath

DICKINSON, N.D. – The Dickinson Press didn’t go far in its search for a managing editor.
Calling his promotion a “dream come true,” Press Sports Editor Dustin Monke has been tapped to lead the newspaper’s entire newsroom.
“I’m excited to start this new chapter in my life and in my career,” Monke said. “I’m ready to tackle the challenges that come with being the managing editor of a newspaper. We hope to continue to provide southwest North Dakota with the excellent coverage that The Dickinson Press has been known for, while also improving in some facets of how we present readers the news both in print and online.”
Monke, a 2002 graduate of New England (N.D.) High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 2006. He worked for Forum Communications Co., which owns The Dickinson Press, as a sports clerk and sports reporting intern at The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead while in school.
After a brief stint as editor of The Herald in New England, where he got his start as a reporter while still in high school, Monke was hired to head up the Press sports department in July 2006 and won multiple awards for his work.

Klark Byrd has been promoted to news editor at The Dickinson Press.

Also ascending to a new role at The Press is Klark Byrd, who will be news editor. He started at The Press in 2011 as a copy editor.
Monke replaces Jennifer McBride, who left the newspaper in February to take an editor position in her home state of Wisconsin.

Bryan Horwath is a reporter at The Dickinson Press.

The Dickinson Press is owned by Forum Communications Co. Forum Communications is a multimedia information company based in Fargo, and owns dozens of newspapers, websites and television and radio stations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.