Media

As if to underscore what an erratic year it’s been in political polling, the latest Minnesota numbers in the presidential and US Senate races come sporting a gap like none I can remember in any past contest here. Last week SurveyUSA and KSTP released numbers indicating adead heat between John McCain (47 percent) and Barack Obama (46) and a 10-point lead for Norm Coleman (43 percent) in his race with Al Franken (33) and Dean Barkley (19). Over the weekend, the Star Tribune/Princeton Survey Research Associates poll produced an almost diametrically opposed portrait of those races:Obama 55-37 over McCain, Franken (43) up by 9 over Coleman (34) and 25 over Barkley (18). SUSA/KSTP was conducted on 9/30 and 10/1; PSRA/Strib on those two days plus 10/2. MORE »

After 15 years, Steve Nelson can still remember exactly what was said at 6 a.m. on Oct. 1, 1993 in a studio on the top floor of the Rarig Center: MORE »

Every culture has its fairy tales and storytellers, and in Somali folklore, Egal Shidad is a character known as a “wise fool.” Now Egal Shidad is the star of a new production that focuses on mental health issues in the Somali communities of Minnesota. The program airs Monday, October 6 on both radio and TV. While the program uses the Somali language, it will also be translated into English, and will be available online. MORE »

A forum held by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) in Minneapolis this week centered on the relationship between law enforcement and the media at the Republican National Convention (RNC) and indicated the extent to which journalism is evolving. MORE »