An update from Minnesota
Georgia Fort livestreams just moments before her arrest. (Courtesy Facebook)
It was just Tuesday – three days ago – that I wrote about the independent journalists on the ground in Minnesota covering the ongoing ICE raids and the protests that continue to gain momentum across Minneapolis.
Today, news broke that independent journalists in that city appear to have been targeted for arrest, bringing into focus another area of infrastructure that needs to be built out in a big way for independent creator-model journalists: legal support.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrests of Georgia Fort and former CNN anchor turned YouTuber Don Lemon on social media today for their presence at a church protest earlier this month.
Fort spoke to her followers moments before her arrest via a Facebook livestream. You can support her work, and one hopes her legal defense fund, here.
Lemon, the NYT noted, is represented by high-profile defense attorney Abbe Lowell. The journalism community in Minneapolis, and the independent ecosystem are swinging into action to support their peers.
Too Much TV’s Rick Ellis, who is based in Minneapolis, wrote about the arrests today:
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🔥 the latest things
📌 The Next Gen News Report is out from Medill and FT Strategies. I haven’t sifted through the report fully yet, but some good topline takeaways:
While younger audiences are highly engaged with news, they are overwhelmed by volume and complexity.
"Emerging news producers" (that’s us) are embracing novel ways to attract, orient, and engage news consumers. Yeah, we are!
They’ve updated their framework on how young audiences identify and engage with news:
(Courtesy Next Gen News Report)
📌 ICYMI, carve out some time this weekend to listen to Fernando Hurtado’s Creator Spotlight interview. He charts his journey from legacy media to YouTube and shares some important lessons he learned along the way. Must-listen: His time-boxing approach to video production.
📌 Okay, so, it isn’t just me who suddenly has a bumper crop of local weather influencers showing up in my Instagram feed.
📌 Alicia Kennedy goes deep on her move from Substack to beehiiv. Anyone still hanging out on Substack really should give this your attention. I’m a fan of how she talks about the difference between quality audience vs. what is often bot-fed scale.
📌 Things are getting weird on TikTok for journalists. Revenue seems to be disappearing, algorithms are suddenly not elevating content critical of the Trump administration and many are reporting new levels censorship not seen prior to the US spinoff was finalized. Gaza-based Bisan Owda (who made last year’s Top 50 list) had her account removed after the takeover, though it now appears to have been reinstated.
Lisa Remillard with the latest:
📌 Bari Weiss’ Free Press-ification of CBS News continues apace.
📌 Looking for a place to learn the fundamentals of a move into the creator journalism space while Going Solo is out of session? Learn directly from Under the Desk News’ V. Spehar - who just launched a five-part workshop with the Knight Center at UT (where, full disclosure, I also taught a course last fall.)
What’s coming up at Project C!
Each month, we bring members of the Project C Community at least one, but usually more, live events. Here’s what’s coming up:
🚀 Friday, Feb 6 | Fundraising Series, Part 2: Making the Ask - Join Marcia Parker and Nick Swyter of the New York Times' Philanthropic Partnerships team for an introduction to philanthropic funding and sponsors. This time, they’ll speak directly to pitches and proposals. | MEMBERS ONLY!
🚀 Monday, Feb 9 | Writing for Transparency & Trust - Television Critics Association president (and independent journalist) Andy Dehnert leads a workshop to help you to use more transparent, human language without sacrificing fairness.| MEMBERS ONLY!
🚀 Friday, Feb 27 | Fundraising Series, Part 3: Managing A Grant-Funded Project - Join Marcia Parker and Nick Swyter of the New York Times' Philanthropic Partnerships team for an introduction to philanthropic funding and sponsors. This time, we’ll concentrate on what happens after you get the grant. | MEMBERS ONLY!
Join the Project C Community!
If you’re ready to go deeper and connect with 160+ other creator-model journalists building their own stand-alone ventures, $39/month gets you into the growing Project C Slack community, access to our best resources and exclusive invites to monthly members-only events.
