 | |
Type of site | Online magazine |
|---|---|
| Owner | American Independent News Network |
| Created by | American Independent News Network |
| URL | www.minnesotaindependent.com |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | To Add Comments |
| Launched | August 2006; shut down in November 2011 |
| Current status | Inactive |
The Minnesota Independent, formerlyMinnesota Monitor, and sometimes known asMnIndy, was an independent online news website. It launched in August 2006, with a focus on coverage of political issues. The website was funded by theAmerican Independent News Network. The website was closed down in 2011.[1]
Minnesota Independent was staffed by both salaried reporters and paidfellows who received a stipend for their writing contributions.[2] The initial pool of writers included a number of journalists and liberal Minnesotabloggers, including original site editorRobin Marty,Somali journalist Abdi Ayne, Joe Bodell and others. Later, the site brought on board professional journalists, such as Eric Black, who had written for theStar Tribune, and formerCity Pages writers Paul Demko and Molly Priesmeyer.
The site was edited byPaul Schmelzer, and received about 150,000 unique visitors per month. Traffic surpassed 250,000 in the month preceding the 2008 U.S. elections and surpassed 260,000 unique monthly visits in April 2009.[3] A week after election day, the Center for Independent Media cut funding for two of six full-time staff members, Andy Birkey and Molly Priesmeyer, and for the entire freelance staff.[4] Birkey has since been hired back, and a freelance budget, albeit smaller, was reinstated.
Minnesota Independent broke a number of stories. During theKeith EllisonQur'an oath controversy, theIndependent's Abdi Aynte reported that Keith Ellison would not change his mind about being sworn in on the Qur'an. TheIndependent was the first to report that Living Word Christian Center may have violatedIRS guidelines during a speech at the Church byMichele Bachmann.[citation needed] The story resulted in an ethical complaint being filed byCREW against the church.[citation needed]
The site also broke news that MinnesotaUnited States AttorneyRachel Paulose was under investigation for mishandling classified information, and that a staffer for Rep.Michele Bachmann had sent out an emailed plea for support that violated house ethics rules.[5]
Minnesota Independent reporter Andy Birkey won a 2010 Page One Award from theSociety of Professional Journalists for best continuing coverage of the controversial Christian ministry You Can Run But You Cannot Hide.[6] Media writer Paul Schmelzer won a 2008 Frank Premack Award for Public Affairs Journalism from the University of Minnesota School of Journalism[7] and a 2nd Place in the 2006 Society of Professional Journalists Page One Awards.[8] The site was nominated for theKoufax Award in 2007,[9] andAndy Birkey was a finalist for the 2007 Online Journalism Award for his coverage ofLGBT issues.[10] In 2008, the site won three Society of Professional Journalists Page One Awards,[11] and in 2009 increased the number of SPJ prizes to eight, including four first-place awards. Among independent online news enterprises it won best single news story (Paul Demko), best use of multimedia (Newsroom), best use of video (Paul Schmelzer) and best news blog (Newsroom).[12]
TheMinnesota Independent's focus and editorial slant was politicallyleft. Fellows were drawn from media outlets includingCity Pages and theStar Tribune, as well from the left-of-center blogging community in Minnesota. The site featured a code ofethics that reads in part, "New Journalist Fellows should be honest, tireless, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information for the public."[13]