Minnesota newspapers recognized for their role in community

February 16, 2015 by Blandin Foundation Posted in Rural Capacity Building

Newspapers inform, educate and can even spur change. It takes a special kind of story to touch readers’ hearts and move them to action – even if it’s only to question their own way of thinking.

This is what the Grand Rapids Herald Review editor Britta Arendt was honored for at last month’s Minnesota Newspaper Association’s annual convention. Her piece on mental illness and suicide won her third place in the social issues reporting category. Of the piece, she said

“It is not with the intentions to sensationalize the stories of our friends, neighbors and other sources that we publish stories on these sensitive subjects. Rather, we offer our confidence to them, our attention and our talent to put their stories to words in order to help our readers understand the real roots of real problems in our local communities and beyond… it was a call to readers to be part of good changes needed in life.”

The Bemidji Pioneer and Savage Pacer were also honored for their social issues reporting. Click here for a full list of winners from the Better Newspapers Contest.

Congratulations to all winners!