As a video companion to recent Eden Prairie Local News (EPLN) stories about the end of Southwest News Media, the local access TV series “Democratic Visions” has launched a new episode on SWTV Channel 799 and its YouTube Channel.
Guest host Mike McIntee is joined by Jonathan Kealing of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) and Mark Weber, one of EPLN’s founding board members and busiest reporters.
Before his successful turn as head of the Eden Prairie Community Foundation, Weber worked for Southwest News Media as a reporter, publisher, and general manager. His three and a half decades, mostly at Eden Prairie News, made him one of the city’s best-known and most respected residents.
Stan Rolfsrud, the man who hired Weber in 1979, appears in a backgrounder segment before the McIntee-Kealing-Weber studio roundtable chats about the future of community journalism. Also appearing in the backgrounder are city officials and residents of Chaska and Chanhassen.
“Each of the journalists appearing in the program,” says “Democratic Visions” producer Jeff Strate, “agree that the print and online versions of today’s newspapers, whether profit or nonprofit, are a business. Nonprofits like EPLN need donations, grants and advertising to be sustainable.”
Strate also serves as this program’s presenter and is an EPLN founding board member and reporter.
Watch Democratic Visions: RIP Local News
• The program can be seen on SWTV (Comcast) Channels 799 or 15 through the July 4 holiday weekend at the following times:
Sundays – 9 p.m.
Mondays – 10 p.m.
Wednesdays – 5:30 p.m.
Saturdays – 2 p.m.
• The program can also be seen anytime on YouTube.
Related Eden Prairie Local News stories
• End of an era: Former Southwest News Media News leader reflects on newspaper closures
• June 30, 2022, story about Mark Weber’s time in Eden Prairie.
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Make a donation to EPLN here.
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