對抗在地新聞危機 明星論壇報逆勢擴張

Many metropolitan newspapers across the country have narrowed their ambitions in recent years, closing regional bureaus and cutting back statewide coverage in an effort to trim costs.

全美各地許多都會報紙近年來已縮減它們的雄心，關閉地區採訪辦事處，並且砍掉全州範圍的報導，以努力削減成本。

The Star Tribune in Minneapolis is taking the opposite tack.

明尼阿波利斯的「明星論壇報」正在反其道而行。

The paper will now be called The Minnesota Star Tribune, and it will use an injection of money from its billionaire owner to expand its coverage beyond the Twin Cities into other parts of the state.

該報現在將被稱為「明尼蘇達明星論壇報」，它將運用其億萬富翁所有人注入的資金，將報導擴大到雙子城以外，進入該州其他地區。

Steve Grove, the publisher and CEO, said the push, which includes hiring reporters in various parts of the state, was part of an effort to as much as triple the publication’s paid digital subscriptions over the next five years.

該報發行人兼執行長格羅夫說，這項行動包括在該州不同地區聘僱記者，是未來5年內將該報付費數位訂閱量增為3倍努力的一部分。

The expansion is a rare big bet in the newspaper industry. Local newspapers have been shrinking across the country in recent years. A 2023 report from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern found that almost 2,900 newspapers had shut down since 2005.

此次擴張在報業是罕見的重注。近年來，全國各地的地方報紙一直在萎縮。西北大學梅迪爾新聞學院2023年的一分報告發現，自2005年以來，近2900家報紙已停刊。

But the Star Tribune has remained a bright spot: It hasn’t made major layoffs in recent years, and its newsroom has remained around 225 people for years.

不過，明星論壇報仍是一個亮點，它近年來沒有進行重大裁員，其新聞編輯室人力多年來一直保持大約225人。

The Star Tribune is owned by Glen Taylor, a billionaire who bought the paper for about $100 million in 2014, several years after it filed for bankruptcy.

明星論壇報為泰勒所有，這位億萬富翁於2014年該報申請破產數年後，出資約1億美元收購。

Taylor declined to disclose how much he was investing. But he said in a statement that he had decided to inject capital because of “my belief in the team’s plan, and in our audience’s demand for quality, objective local news.”

泰勒拒絕透露他投資了多少資金。但他聲明表示，他已決定注入資本，因為「我對這個團隊的計畫及讀者要求優質客觀地方新聞的信念」。

Grove’s mandate is to help the publication have a more digital focus. When he joined, the print newspaper generated 70% of the company’s revenue, but subscriptions were falling 15% a year. Digital subscriptions have hovered around 100,000, he said.

格羅夫受命進行的工作，是要幫助該報更加專注於數位。當他加入時，印刷版報紙占公司營收的70%，但訂閱量一年下跌15%。他說，數位訂閱量一直在10萬左右徘徊。

“You can’t manage decline toward a profitable future,” Grove said. “You’re going to have to at some point take a pretty big swing.”

格羅夫說，「你無法透過管理衰退走向一個獲利的未來。在某個時刻，你必須做出非常大的轉變」。

Grove embarked on a tour last year across Minnesota to hear what people had to say about local news. He hired some new business leaders and directed an overhaul of the technology used to power the Star Tribune’s website and mobile apps and a redesign of the homepage.

格羅夫去年在明尼蘇達州各地旅行，傾聽人們對地方新聞的想法。他雇請一些新的業界領袖，並指示徹底修改用於驅動明星論壇報網站和行動應用程式的技術，還重新設計首頁。

He has also made plans to share content with hyperlocal news organizations across Minnesota. He is looking at possible subscription bundles and says he will start a philanthropic arm.

他也制訂計畫，跟明尼蘇達州各地的超在地新聞機構分享內容。他正在研究可能的訂閱組合包，並稱他將啟動一個慈善部門。

大學用新課程和更嚴法規 壓制挺巴潮

Daniel Diermeier, Vanderbilt University’s chancellor, on Monday told hundreds of new students what the school would not do.

范德堡大學校長迪邁爾周一告訴數百名新生學校不會做的事。

The university would not divest from Israel.

本所大學不會從以色列撤資。

It would not banish provocative speakers.

不會驅逐發表煽動性言論的講者。

It would not issue statements in support or condemnation of Israeli or Palestinian causes.

不會針對以色列和巴勒斯坦議題發表支持或者譴責聲明。

It would not tolerate threats, harassment or protests “disrupting the learning environment.”

不會容忍威脅、騷擾或示威「擾亂學習環境」。

Last month, Vanderbilt required all first-year undergraduate students to attend mandatory meetings about the university’s approach to free speech, with the hope that clear expectations — and explanations for them — would help administrators keep order after protests rocked American campuses toward the end of the past academic year.

上月，范德堡大學要求所有大學一年級學生，參加學校關於言論自由方針的強制性會議，希望明確的期望和向他們解釋，有助行政人員在上學年末抗議活動撼動美國大學校園後維持秩序。

“The chaos on campuses is because there’s lack of clarity on these principles,” Diermeier said in an interview.

迪邁爾在一場訪談中表示：「校園這些混亂，是因為這些準則不夠明確。」

There is no guarantee that the preemptive meetings will work. Many student activists and professors at Vanderbilt have condemned the university’s rules as suppressing their speech, and even universities with histories of hard-nosed tactics have struggled with demonstrations.

無法保證預防性會議奏效。范德堡大學許多學生維權人士和教授，已譴責學校法規壓制他們的言論，即使以強硬手段著稱的大學，也難以因應示威活動。

But university officials nationwide are grasping for new approaches as they brace for renewed protests over the Israel-Hamas war, along with a bitterly contested presidential election. Many administrators remain shaken by the closing weeks of the spring semester, when encampments, building occupations and clashes with police helped lead to thousands of arrests across the country.

但全國各地大學校方人員正在尋求新方法，因應以哈戰爭引發新的抗議活動，以及競爭激烈的總統大選。許多行政人員仍對春季學期最後幾周發生的事感到震驚，當時示威營地、占領建築物和與警察衝突，導致全國各地數千人被捕。

The strategies that are coming into public view suggest that some administrators have concluded that permissiveness is perilous, and that a harder line may be the best option — or perhaps just the one least likely to invite blowback from elected officials and donors.

已經公開的策略顯示，一些行政人員認為寬容很危險，採取更強硬的措施或許是最佳選項，或者也許是最不容易招致民選官員和捐助者反彈的選項。

University presidents used summer break to huddle with police, lawyers, trustees and other administrators to rewrite rules, tighten protest zones, and weigh possible concessions to maintain, or restore, order. Many have studied universities that temporarily defused tensions by striking deals with protesters.

大學校長利用暑假，聚集警方、律師、受託人及其他行政人員改寫法規、收緊抗議區域，並考慮可能的妥協措施，以維持或恢復秩序。許多人研究了和抗議者達成協議暫緩緊張局勢的大學。

Universities are signaling little overt interest in negotiations.

各大學對談判沒什麼明顯的興趣。

“The question is how do we get more consistent in the way we respond to these issues — and clearer about what the rules are and what the tiered responses will be,” said Richard K. Lyons, the new chancellor at the University of California, Berkeley.

柏克萊加州大學新校長萊恩斯表示：「問題在於，我們應對這些議題時的方法如何變得更加一致，並表明法規是什麼，及各層級的應對措施是什麼。」