The Minnesota Journalism Center's research team focuses on applied projects that support the Center's mission of supporting a more vibrant, equitable and sustainable ecosystem for journalism in Minnesota.
Research spotlight: The Minnesota Poll at 80
Since 1944, the Minnesota Poll has catalogued the opinions and perspectives of generations of Minnesota residents, telling the story of the state's complexity and nuance across generations.
The Minnesota Journalism Center joined partners across the university to archive eight decades of results -- and related research -- in a newly launched website.
Report: Mapping Minnesota's news ecosystem
For those working in or around local news in Minnesota, it's been clear that the state -- at least, anecdotally -- resides in an unusual space in the story of local news in the U.S. While Minnesota is by no means immune to the financial and logistical pressures facing journalism across the country, we have a flourishing landscape of startups and long-established news organizations.
The Minnesota Journalism Center's new Ecosystem Mapping Project puts data behind that experience. It is the first comprehensive effort to map every news organization in the state of Minnesota. It tracks closures, ownership changes and newly launched organizations since 2018.
Ongoing research projects
Newsroom approaches to tracking source diversity
A project examining how news organizations approach tracking the diversity of their sources -- and the tradeoffs of such efforts. Graduate student affiliate Cydney Grannan is leading the project.
Monitoring the health of Minnesota's local news ecosystem
A long-term study of the changing ecosystem for local news and information across Minnesota. It is the most comprehensive effort to date that tracks the closures, changes in ownership and new outlets in the state over the past several years. | WATCH: The MJC launched the research findings and hosted a conversation about the health of local news in Minnesota
AI and the future of journalism
Studies examine how the public -- locally and nationally -- thinks about the use of artificial intelligence in gathering, reporting and presenting the news.
Engaging with young adult audiences on social media
A series of focus groups in Minneapolis and Texas to better understand community members' expectations and preferences around news presented on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. The project is in collaboration with Minnesota Public Radio, the Texas Tribune and other local news outlets. Additional support comes from the Alliance for Trust in Media.
80 years of the Minnesota Poll: The past, present and future of public opinion research
An interdisciplinary collaborative workshop commemorating the eight decades of public opinion research on the people of Minnesota; their political opinions; and attitudes about their way of life as well as the future of journalism that covers public opinion. | mnpoll.umn.edu
About the Minnesota Journalism Center
We support more vibrant, equitable and sustainable news ecosystem in Minnesota through educational initiatives, applied research and engagement with journalists.
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