Last month, after Gannett axed several good reporters from that Sioux Falls paper, content strategist Patrick Lalley was bragging that remaining journalists Jonathan Ellis and David Montgomery were "unparalleled in this market."
David Montgomery, who in the past six years has reported for the Pierre Capital Journal and the Rapid City Journal as well as his current employer, just won a promotion right out of Lalley's market:
It’s with both excitement and sadness that I can announce I’ve accepted a job as a political reporter at the Pioneer Press newspaper in Saint Paul, Minn.
This is a step up for me — a bigger city and a bigger audience, just like my past moves.... I’ll be stepping into some huge shoes: the spot I’m taking is being vacated by Bill Salisbury, a 37-year veteran of the Pioneer Press and the dean of the Minnesota Capitol press corps, who is retiring on Jan. 5.
Though it’ll be tough, I’m looking forward to the challenge and the competition in the bigger Twin Cities media market. (I’ll also enjoy covering a legislature in the city where I live, instead of having to spend months in a motel room every winter.)
It’s going to be a fast transition. My last day at the Argus Leader will be Friday, Dec. 19, and I’ll start at the Pioneer Press a few days later on Monday Dec. 22....
I’m sorry to be moving on but am definitely richer for my time here in South Dakota. Thanks for six great years! [David Montgomery, "My Next Step," Madness and Truth, 2014.12.05]
David Montgomery attended a blog party at my hacienda in 2009. I was pleased to meet him then, and have been pleased to read, learn from, and build on his work here in the South Dakota blogo-newsosphere. Montgomery provided swift reporting, keen analysis, and wonderfully wonky spreadsheets. I will miss his contribution to our understanding of South Dakota politics. I wish him nothing but the best.
Coming on the heels of Gannett's vicious downsizing last month, Montgomery's departure makes me wonder: was he shopping for a new boss in case the Sioux Falls axe fell on him? Are Gannett's changes creating an environment where a serious political journalist feels he cannot fully and freely practice his craft? Or is it just what it is: a great career move to a bigger market (and one more brain that South Dakota's low-tax, low-wage economy couldn't keep)?
Montgomery mentions the challenge his employer faces in replacing him. Montgomery can trade Pierre motel rooms and four-hour drives for a nice flat on Grand Ave and a twenty-minute trip to the Capitol on the bus (mass transit—Montgomery can write his stories while commuting!). Meanwhile, his boss Lalley has one month to find someone else willing to drop their plans and decamp for to one of the most remote (and hence corrupt!) state capitals in America.
If content strategy and audience analysis determine that the consumer experience won't be enhanced by Legislative coverage, South Dakota will be down to one full-time statehouse reporter. One man, Bob Mercer, telling us what's going on in our state government—Mercer's great, but even Mercer alone is bad for political coverage.
Let's hope Lalley recognizes that he has to consider more than a business case here: he has to consider the public obligation of the state's largest newspaper to fully cover the Legislature. Lalley, I hope you're speed-dialing Denise Ross.
(I check the classifieds: that Sioux Falls paper has two listings for a city/county reporter and a listing for two breaking-news reporters, diurnal and nocturnal. Perhaps Jon Ellis drew the short straw for a room at the Pierre Super 8.)
Political reporting isn't easy, has a lot of stress and deadlines and won't get a person rich, so I have a lot of admiration for this guy. David is very talented and well deserving of an opportunity to work in a bigger market and have a bigger audience. Minnesota is gaining some good brains on Dec. 22nd which will be missed much by our community.
There you go Cory. Jump in and apply. I would like to see what excuse they would use in not hiring you. Argus turns down number one investigative reporter. That's the SD way, don't hire the best candidate, hire a company man.
Hey now, there is nothing wrong with the Pierre Super 8, I stay there all the time.
Tara, would lack of journalism degree, lack of newspaper experience, and certainty of refusal of 51% of state officials to grant me interviews suffice as "excuses"?
Tim, Super 8 is usually near the top of my call list, but a Super 8 anywhere is never as comfy as my own bed. Montgomery sleep in his own bed every night on his new Capitol beat.
Cory, don't sell yourself short. You don't need a college degree to teach at Harvard. I think you're over qualified for SD media. They don't want the REAL news, and they don't want investigative reporters.
David is a class act who tries hard to write fair news. Sorry to see him go
This isn't surprising. I'll bookmark the Pioneer Press so I can continue reading Montgomery's articles.
Cory, I read your excellent LTE on the Daily Republic's website this evening. I would love to be a fly on one of John Shaw's walls when he reads it. :)
Sorry to see Montgomery leaving. Can't blame the guy though. I wish him much success.
Rich,thanks for mentioning Cory's LTE. I don't typically pay attention to the MDR anymore,so I'm very pleased to see that they deviated from their norm and actually printed Cory's LTE. Excellent letter Cory!
Lots to like about him including my favorite little trivia item that David is a pastors kid. I figured he'd go the long haul in reporting in our state like Woster. It'll take a few years to get another reporter up to his level of knowledge of SD politics.
Was talking today with someone you all know and respect about the Mount Blogmore glory days. I'd like to see a one stop shop of all our best political reporting and conversation.
Yeah, Montgomery in StP! I hope he likes it here.
The Pi-Press, as it is known here, is somewhat conservative and Roman Catholic. The Strib is a big city paper. The Pi-Press is closer to a parochial small town rag. It has its devoted followers and does a good job. It will be fun to read his stories on MN. I wish him the best.
Gannett owns the local NBC affiliate, KARE 11. That's the station I watch for local news. They are fighting it out with the CBS station for top ratings here. I have detected no cuts there.
Does Gannett own the RC Journal?
I've always thought that you can't really report from Pierre unless you live there year around. Sending reporters to Pierre for 3 months is not enough.
What reporters used to cover (key committee hearings on important bills) can now be done more thoroughly by the LRC website, so reporting needs to change. There's really no mystery about how 99 percent of the bills will fare, so the only thing you are reporting is the Republicans gloating and the Democrats whining, and very little else.
If you're serious about journalism, Pierre should be a year round beat. There are enough stories there for 5-10 full time reporters. Covering all the board, commissions, etc., is a big job, even before considering doing research into issues, which may require getting into government files.
The next legislative session really begins with sine die of the session before. Further, the Legislature is pretty weak, and basically does what the executive branch suggests. The real stories involve how the executive branch is or is not governing, what new programs or projects are in the works prior to session, who is meeting with whom to grease the skids for whatever comes next. What the government is doing the 9 months of the year when the Legislature isn't meeting is far more important than all but about 3 weeks of the session.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d-0SRubxGK8
Donald Pay makes a lot of valid points but the Argus Leader is not the only media to abandon state government It is just the latest. Back in the day, the Associated Press and United Press International (remember them?) both had fully-staffed offices and reporters had a cubby hole to call their own in the capitol building. The Pierre Capitol Journal also had a reporter in the halls of government. The wire services left, then the Rapid City Journal, now the Argus Leader. As far as the Capitol Journal, it quit journalism when it sold. Bob Mercer, no doubt, is getting tired being the only reporter with such a large, demanding beat to cover. What is happening in Pierre is happening throughout the state. The Fourth Estate is on its death bed and it won’t be much longer before the citizenry realizes they too died a little when journalism as a profession ceased to exist.
How much, if any, the media coverage of the state government was influenced by the fear and awe of Bill Janklow?
I do not recall specifics but it seemed that Janklow was liked well enough that he was given power that he probably should have not had.
Did the advent of the internet and the "instant news" influence the type of coverage that newspapers reported on?
Deb, RCJ is owned by Lee Enterprises. The Pioneer-Press is owned by Digital First Media from Denver, right? Any idea whether they will be better corporate overlords for Montgomery than Gannett?
(Tara, yes, one does need a college degree to teach at Harvard. One needs a bachelor's degree just to be a foreign language drill instructor/teaching assistant.)
I will miss David's quirky sense of humor and his abundant knowledge of political history. I remember an episode of 100 Eyes when this bright young man schooled Ellis and Lalley on the Federalist Papers. It was hilarious. They both were dumbfounded, because Monty is rarely wrong, and he held his ground. Much too talented for the AL and I figured when they made everyone re-apply for their jobs, he was sending out resume's across the country.
He'll be missed on the SD side of the border, but, he's perfect for the Pioneer Press. The MN statehouse makes Pierre look like an oasis of transparency, fairness and above-board dealing. His ability to dig and understand complex issues is no doubt why they went after him.
I wonder though if Corey'll be as excited about Monty reporting on the corrupt, cronyist Chicago politics the DFL has spiraled downwards into the last few years? :)
CAH would make a great reporter. The political machine would not allow it as he has shown a knack for digging into the dirt too well.
CAH IS a great reporter. His working for a media corporation might actually make him less of one. If he ever decides to sell subscriptions or some kind of per-read-micro-fee, I'm signing up.
I too think that Cory would make an excellent media reporter, but I am not so sure that he would be happy with any restrictions placed on him.
Cory is an independent kind of person when it comes to his writing. Having an editor telling him what he can and cannot write about would cramp his style.
Cory, Jesse the Body Ventura taught at Harvard. By the way great letter you wrote to the MDR. It was printed right next to Sibby's letter. Sibby...RUN FOR SCHOOL BOARD!!!!
Jeni, especially when the editor was being leaned on by the republican establishment and said editor told Cory he couldn't write anything but fluff about the ruling party. Hahaha
mhs - "The MN statehouse makes Pierre look like an oasis of transparency, fairness and above-board dealing."
"The MN statehouse makes Pierre look like an oasis of transparency, fairness and above-board dealing."
mhs - would you care to explain what DFL corruption you're talking about?
mhs - "I wonder though if Corey'll be as excited about Monty reporting on the corrupt, cronyist Chicago politics the DFL has spiraled downwards into the last few years?"
Does anyone know what mhs is talking about?
My experience with the Pioneer Press dates back to the mid-1980s. The Pioneer Press did a great job exposing the corruption at the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission and the troubles at the Pigs Eye Plant (sewage treatment). Those troubles were exported to South Dakota, in the form of the "sewage ash scam." This was a Republican supported scam in South Dakota, but mostly a Democratic scam in Minnesota.
Jenny, read the below for just the latest DFL mess. This has been going on for decades. One-party rule seems to always lead to abuse, regardless of party.
http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/275897731.html
Don's right the PP is a real newspaper. The Star Tribune is pretty much the Argus Leader these days. Glenn Taylor, billionaire owner of the Timberwolves just purchased the Strib. Hopefully, he'll invest what it needs to bring back a great newspaper.
is mercer serious or just the straight man for daugaard today when he asks where could the state get another $120 mill.??
EB5!
montgomery reported a 2009 audit Regents commissioned inquiring into the ethics of Bollen's SDRC, Inc. relationship with SDIBI and told him to "disassociate!" Bollen did for about a month. he and sveen likely had'em by the bullocks.
think joop has $120 mill.??
mhs, you clearly do not agree with liberal politics, and that's fine for you. However, the Community Action scandal is not a Democratic scam. Yes, a Democrat is deeply involved, but that doesn't make it a political thing. In fact, it's the DFL pressing an investigation of that nonprofit organization.
You are also deeply in the minority regarding the Strib and the Pi-Press. Most regard the PP as a Republican/Roman Catholic rag.
As I said, you are welcome to your opinion, but that is exactly what it is. Numbers don't support you.
Tim and JeniW are right: I chafe under restrictions, even though I recognize their necessity in certain situations. My writing for a newspaper would be very different from my writing here. Heck, I even modify my style when I write for South Dakota Magazine or letters to the editor.
(Tara: Sibby and I on the same page? What is the world coming to?)
(Leslie: I hadn't made that connection on Mercer's $120M figure. Stay tuned for a separate post on that!)
Young Monty exits his role at Argus Sanford for better, bigger things, and I wish him well. Too bad his compatriot has yet to accompany him. He’s still stuck minimizing Democratic Party fortunes in his shallow columns while throwing palm leaves in the path of the GOP hierarchy and their Chosen Ones. This new headline, relegated to obscurity in the new roundup box on today’s Page 2 of Argus Sanford signals a sign of relief to members South Dakota media who whisper, “Gosh, we’re glad we got them through this one,” while wiping nervous sweat off their worried brows:
“Officials wrapping up EB-5 loose ends”
I suppose that’s all we hear about this issue.
Next, I followed the link Pat “I am 100 Eyes!” Lalley wants us to see at the bottom of the Argus Sanford webpage titled, “What you need to know about EB-5 in South Dakota.” It’s a title that tells me to color inside the lines of the “unparalleled” investigative reports filed by the Argus since the unfortunate Richard Benda’s body had been found, obviously murdered by a shotgun toting tree on Oct. 20 last year.
http://www.argusleader.com/story/davidmontgomery/2014/10/08/eb-5-primer/16890965/
As you see in the web address above, this is the Argus’ “eb-5-primer.” It breezes through the lists of people involved, “the very basics,” the terms and a shorthand history ending with the sentence:
“EB-5 has since become a political issue, with Democrats attacking both Daugaard and former Gov. Mike Rounds for their handling of the program.”
And that is as scribe J. Ellis has told us, while unbelievable details dripped out while the state GOP screamed it’s all a big nothing taken out of context. It’s all “a political issue.” There will be no outrage from the Editorial Board of Argus Sanford on a racketeering scam. There will no further digging. No attempt shall be made to put Mike Rounds into the picture. Just the last word from the GOP-manipulated Government Accounting & Audit Committee that it was the dead guy. He did it all. The tree killed him. Case closed. Move on. It’s too complicated. It’s all “a political issue.” Joop Bollen is as pure as the driven snow.
Now that they’ve successfully promoted the GOP narrative of the Mike Rounds coronation, the new game has begun. The coronation of John Thune’s Senate re-election.
Observe the entire front page to Argus Sanford’s E section. It’s now “what you need to know” about the 2016 election.
http://www.argusleader.com/story/life/2014/12/05/catching-thune-sisters/19935323/
It must be time to put the house on the market and get the hell out of here.