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Separated by the Mississippi River, the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., have much to share: the giant Mall of America; two symphony orchestras; two daily newspapers; the Twins baseball team, the NFL Vikings and the NBA Timberwolves; and of course, their renowned wrestler/radio host/governor, Jesse Ventura. The foundation of the cities' peaceful coexistence is a shared loyalty to their parent, Minnesota.
"While Mary Tyler Moore's `Minnesota Nice' thing may be somewhat overplayed, it's still the way we like to live our lives," says Gary Johnson, COO of MSP Communications' monthly Mpls. St.Paul Magazine. "We are 2.8 million people living out in the middle of the prairie, where temperatures can reach 20 below zero. There had better be some nice people, and an exemplary quality of life out here."
Twin Cities residents cough up high city and state taxes to maintain their attractive lifestyle, and they pay close attention to how their dollars are being spent. "It's a very news-conscious market," says Ed Piette, general manager of Hubbard Broadcasting's KSTP-TV. The ABC affiliate has had success as the only programmer of news in the highly competitive 6:30-7 p.m. prime-access period. "While there is certainly some advertising revenue we cannot compete for in this time slot, we've found that offering news as counterprogramming does offer solid demographics," Piette says.
Gannett-owned NBC affiliate KARETV dominates the 10 p.m. news race with its anchor team of Paul Magers and Diane Pierce, who have been with the station since the early 1980s. KARE's 10 p.m. newscast earned at 15.8 household rating in last May's sweeps, leading CBS' owned-and-operated WCCO, which registered a 14.7. In the key adults 25-54 demo, KARE's 13 rating topped WCCO's 8.
John Remes, general manager at KARE, says demographics are the currency that Twin Cities TV stations trade in. "We are in an upscale, white-collar market, with a lot of quality newscasts," he says. "To be the best, we must reach the viewers that advertisers want and need." KARE focuses on a strong visual product to attract and keep its key baby boomer, 25-54 demo, Remes adds.
In third place at 10 p.m. is KSTP which has suffered of late from the loss of popular newscaster Colleen Needles, who left the station.
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