Kramer’s mission is to provide quality news stories for people who are looking for just that in Minnesota. He feels as though both the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press have lost many readers following staff cuts and ownership changes.

Kramer’s project is receiving national attention, in part due to his staff. He has only ten salaried employees as of now and will rely on about 50 freelancers, many being former Star Tribune or Pioneer Press reporters. This is successful for two reasons. The first is the experience of the reporters. The second is that many are close to retirement and can afford to work for a lot less.

Kramer does not expect to replace either paper from which he recruits most of his staff. He simply wants to produce steady and compelling news stories. “My goal was to create a sustainable model for high-quality journalism," Kramer says.

MinnPost is set up as a nonprofit, receiving money from four founding families, including Kramer’s, and a grant from the Knight Foundation in Miami. The site now has $1.2 million in funding so hopefully “Kramer can concentrate his cash on the kind of journalism that he believes will make MinnPost an eventual success,” says Martin Moylan of the Minnesota Public Radio.

Source: Minnesota Public Radio through the Poynter Institute