The 136-year-old Minneapolis nonprofit Pillsbury United Communities is making its first foray in the news business.
To kick off its Community Media Initiative, Pillsbury is buying a monthly newspaper in north Minneapolis and launching an FM radio station on the city's south side, which will broadcast in three languages. The goal is to give low-income and immigrant communities a chance to share their experiences firsthand and to help members make their own entries into journalism.
"Often, these individuals have other people telling their stories in the media, and not always in an authentic way," said Adair Mosley, Pillsbury's chief of staff. "This is an opportunity to uplift those voices."
Mosley says the timing was doubly opportune to start the initiative, which comes with a $100,000 initial investment. The nonprofit got a rare chance to apply for a low-power FM frequency; then, a long-standing free monthly went on the market.
The radio station, 98.9 KRSM, will start broadcasting out of Pillsbury's Waite House community center in south Minneapolis by next summer. It will offer news, music and discussions of community issues in English, Spanish and Somali.
Meanwhile, the nonprofit will relaunch the 24-year-old NorthNews in the spring after a short hiatus.
Margo Ashmore, the outgoing owner, said she decided to sell NorthNews and focus on putting out another community paper after the death of her husband and partner last year. She wanted to find a new owner who would preserve the paper's neighborhood focus and run with her dream of turning it into a training ground for young journalists of color.
At Pillsbury, "They have a good reputation and the ability to attract resources," she said.
