Growing Destinations

The State of Local Broadcasting

• Experience Rochester • Episode 82

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This episode explores the evolving landscape of local broadcasting with Stephanie Hedrick, Vice President and General Manager of KTTC-TV and Vice-Chair of the Minnesota Broadcasters Association, and Shannon Knoepke, Market President at Townsquare Media and a Board Member of the Association. 

Stephanie leads one of the region's most trusted TV newsrooms, and Shannon oversees a dynamic cluster of radio stations in southern Minnesota. Together, they offer a behind-the-scenes look at the evolving world of local media, the challenges and innovations shaping their industries, and how broadcasters continue to play a vital role in community identity, economic development, and trusted storytelling. 

Bill Von Bank:

The Growing Destinations podcast is brought to you by Experience Rochester. Learn more about Minnesota's third largest city, which is home to Mayo Clinic and features wonderful recreational and entertainment opportunities, by visiting experiencerochestermncom.

Stephanie Hedrick:

I cringe when I hear the phrase. The media and I think it's this broad term used a lot and what I want people to remember is when they're KTTC or or the other local media outlets or they're listening to Town Square Media. Those are people that live in the community they are covering.

Shannon Knoepke:

Radio and TV. We're not dying. There's so many people that think we're dying, that think we're dying. I think if we all close our eyes and thought that today radio and TV just was to begin and start today, these young kids would say to themselves what, For free, I can listen in my car, on my phone, on my Alexa device for free.

Bill Von Bank:

Welcome to the Growing Destinations podcast, where we take a deep dive into destination development and focus on a wide range of topics, from tourism and entertainment to economic development and entrepreneurism and much more. I'm your host, bill Von Bank. In this episode, we explore the evolving landscape of local broadcasting. I'm joined by two leaders in Minnesota media, both from Rochester Stephanie Hedrick, vice President and General Manager of KTTC-TV and Vice Chair of the Minnesota Broadcasters Association, and Shannon Knoepke, market President at Town Square Media and a board member of the association. Stephanie leads one of the region's most trusted TV newsrooms and Shannon oversees a dynamic cluster of radio stations in southern Minnesota. Together, they offer a behind-the-scenes look at the evolving world of local media, the challenges and innovations shaping their industries, and how broadcasters continue to play a vital role in community identity, economic development and trusted storytelling. Stephanie Hedrick and Shannon Knoepke welcome to the Growing Destinations podcast.

Stephanie Hedrick:

Thank you, thank you.

Bill Von Bank:

Before we get deep into the world of broadcasting, I want to learn how you both got to your position. So, stephanie with KTTC.

Stephanie Hedrick:

Absolutely Local television, local news is what I wanted to do since I was in eighth grade watching the TV news with my Meemaw and Pawpaw in East Texas. I got my first job in local news at KWTX in Waco, texas, and started as a producer, then a reporter, and moved into management and moved to Nebraska where I became a news director there, and then over to Davenport, iowa, and now Rochester, minnesota. I am fortunate to say all of that was with gray television, now gray media. So it's been fun to see how local news has evolved over the years.

Bill Von Bank:

And we'll talk more in just a bit. Shannon, how about you?

Shannon Knoepke:

Growing up in Fountain, Minnesota, listening to KROC FM, I never thought I'd be in the radio business but, interestingly enough, mid-90s I was hired in sales for Cumulus Media at the time, which is later Laser 101.7, Fox Country and the Fan now. And then I just got into management rather quickly and moved to Minneapolis with my husband where I sold for WCCO Radio. And then my husband took us to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where I was director of sales for Clear Channel Radio in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids and in 2009, came back to run the Town Square Media Stations here in Rochester. Then I was recruited by CBS Corporation to go to Minneapolis to WCCO Radio and then went to a little stint with Media Bridge Advertising Agency but learned that my job as a market president was available in 2024. So I came back 16 months ago and I'm loving every minute of it.

Bill Von Bank:

Great. Well, we have a lot to talk about both on the TV and radio side. Maybe there's some similarities that we'll talk to as well, stephanie. Television continues to evolve rapidly with the growth of over-the-top platforms and cord cutting. How is KTTC adapting to meet viewers where they are, especially the younger audiences who may not consume traditional broadcast TV?

Stephanie Hedrick:

I think every year there's something new that comes up, whether it's a new social media platform or a new way that people consume the news.

Stephanie Hedrick:

And you know we have traditional media and how we label that is that the newscast, and we still find so many people that come to us, to our trusted anchors and reporters, to either start their day or get some understanding of what happened during the day. But, as you said, meeting people where they're at, making sure that we are on top of things and we are pushing things, whether it be on their phone, in the palm of their hands and also storytelling, it is always about that. It is always about good video and good storytelling. And so it's exciting because now we're finding these platforms, these streaming platforms are giving us the opportunity to not put time constraints on our storytelling. We're able to do more type of news in chunks that people want, or we can do long form. We've done some really great deep stories on some of the big local headlines that have happened and put them on those platforms and make them longer, where they didn't fit necessarily in the traditional newscast.

Bill Von Bank:

Shannon. Streaming, spotify and podcasts have changed how people consume audio. How is Town Square Media differentiating itself in the crowded audio space?

Shannon Knoepke:

You know. So, first off, we're not Spotify, nor do we want to be Spotify. We're offering something completely different that they can't. We have local voices, we have local people. We have local people, we tell local stories and I believe that's just that local relevance that we have. Our personalities are part of people's routines. People wake up in the morning and they listen to Troy, duncan and Carly. They wake up in the morning Quick Country, they listen to Kurt, st John and Sam in the morning on Quick Country. So we also do stream, but we provide content for the local communities. So our advantage is that we live here, we understand our communities, and I think that that's our difference between Spotify and some of the other entities.

Bill Von Bank:

Can you talk about how your team manages both the on-air and the online storytelling?

Shannon Knoepke:

Think about in the morning. If you hear something on the radio just an example with Troy and Carly they're going to talk about it. It could be something that is happening nationally, but they're then going to write a story about that, some of that relevance that is going on in our local marketplace and then they're going to push that out through social content as well. Our team does a wonderful job of providing content to our region, like no one else. It's somewhat of that secret sauce that we do have. They're storytellers, they provide content and it's amazing what we can contribute.

Stephanie Hedrick:

She touches on a really good thing. We've had conversations about this before that I think some people think that you have a person that's standing in front of the TV or the mic for radio and then you have other people in the background that are taking care of the online. A lot of our staff do it all. It is important, if you imagine just multiple hands coming out of one person, that they're making sure that they see the story through, from posting it on the website or the app, social media platforms, all the way through carrying it over the airwaves. So that is very important to note because these people are invested in their communities and invested in all those platforms.

Bill Von Bank:

Stephanie, I'm amazed, as a recovering journalist myself and having worked way back, when you would usually have maybe three people with you to cover a story. Now you have the multimedia journalists who are one-stop shop when they come and cover a story. It's just the evolution of that has been phenomenal.

Stephanie Hedrick:

Absolutely. We tend to say Swiss army knives a lot where you need to conceptualize the story, from the video and audio to the delivery, the producing, how it goes on those different platforms. We still do for many for safety reasons. We still have photographers. We do look at how teams are paired together. But, yes, multimedia journalist has taken on new meaning.

Bill Von Bank:

Let's talk weather. Weather coverage remains a core strength for local TV. How has severe weather and real-time coverage shaped the trust between KTTC and your viewers?

Stephanie Hedrick:

shape the trust between KTTC and your viewers. We know that, whether happening, whether we are alerting them first to it or happening in real time. That is the number one reason people come to their local news outlets and then we hear about oh, they said this much rain, it's a bust. We have to deal with that. But our number one mission is to alert people to what we see coming, how it impacts their lives, using our meteorologists, looking at the factors that go into it and explaining why and first alerting them. That is a key phrase. We say first alert to what is going on and I think people forget how big our region is. We cover from northern Iowa, austin, albert Lee, of course, rochester, north of Rochester, all the way to Minnesota, wisconsin. So it may be clear here, but it's not in Iowa, and so making sure that we explain to people in real time what's going on and if it is a bust, why was it a bust?

Shannon Knoepke:

I'll add to that. So in January last year when I came back, one of the big things that I wanted to really focus on was that local weather. So Town Square Media Rochester we do focus on a weather partner with WeatherEye. But Stephanie and I were on a car ride to the Minnesota Broadcasters Association meeting in January and we had the conversation about a partnership. So one of those things that we are doing now is we have a new partnership with KTTC. A lot of people know, but maybe they don't, but KROC-TV started in 1953, which is now KTTC-TV. So the Gentling families had KROC-AM, kroc-fm and then the sister station, the TV station KTTC. So this weather partner has been great for us. We had that, you know, seven day long type of goodness we're going to have a tornado here in Rochester a few weeks ago and we streamed KTTC-TV on our radio stations. So this partnership will help us as we continue to move forward as well.

Bill Von Bank:

Local media has always played a vital role in shaping and supporting community identity. How do your stations approach partnerships with community organizations, schools, events, etc.

Shannon Knoepke:

I would say that we create moments. We love these local partnerships. We support local concerts. We have high school sports broadcasts that we have. We do local community cleanups that connect people in real life. These events, we believe, just build loyalty. We're here for them. It gives our brands a heartbeat beyond the airwaves.

Stephanie Hedrick:

We love to build community and we're open to many, many different partnerships with locals and, like Shannon mentioned, about that partnership we've talked about that's why I got excited when we started talking about this is because we are committed to those local events together. The community partnership, as we define that at KTDC, is how are we connecting people to the resources they need? How are we also telling the stories of celebration, of growth and progress in our area? So we realize we are a platform for those organizations to give those stories and it's become even more exciting as we Townscore Media and KTDC have worked together to spread those messages together.

Bill Von Bank:

And I will say both of your stations, along with the broader media outlets here, have really stepped up to support, celebrate Rochester New Year's Eve, a community celebration, especially coming out of COVID, when the community really needed to get together again after being isolated, and I know this was a big project that the mayor wanted to see us champion, and so thank you both for your support.

Shannon Knoepke:

You're welcome.

Bill Von Bank:

How do you view the role of local broadcasters in supporting tourism, economic development and regional storytelling, especially in places like Rochester, with a growing destination identity?

Shannon Knoepke:

I think, as Rochester continues to grow as a worldwide destination, broadcasters play a key role. The stories that we do write think about when patients and their loved ones are coming to Mayo Clinic. They never thought that they would. Even where is Rochester Minnesota? So they're Googling Rochester Minnesota and a lot of our content from Town Square KTTC is popping up in their Google searches, and so they're reading about what is happening in our community, and so I think it just highlights a lot of the different cultural assets that we do have and it makes those visitors and residents feel a little bit more connected to our community. At the end of the day, we're a marketing engine and we're pushing out that content just like everyone else. We're Main Street of this local community and so we're like a mirror for the community.

Stephanie Hedrick:

KTTC. There are two components here. One, we're excited that we have a regional lifestyle tourism show, Midwest Access, and it is one where we want to make sure people understand all the different events and places they can go in their own backyard Also. We're building on that and some of those segments are shared to other places, to other TV stations, sister stations we have in the region, so that people know what they can do in Southeast Minnesota, in Rochester, and come and visit that and then, through that, the longer story of trying to put perspective on economic development in this area, what that means for you and your family if you live right here in Rochester.

Bill Von Bank:

I have to say, say during Experience, rochester's Restaurant Week. Since we started it, midwest Access has been great because we've been able to showcase every day of Restaurant Week, monday through Friday, a local chef and what they're preparing for Restaurant Week. It's been great to do that on Midwest Access.

Stephanie Hedrick:

It's been fun, and to again going from that long form to not just say here's something fun to do or go see, but here's the story about the person who started that restaurant, or here's the passion behind it. There's a reason it's called Midwest Access. You are getting access into these people that make this community so rich.

Bill Von Bank:

And Shannon on KRLCAM. You have a lot of content with local leaders.

Shannon Knoepke:

We do. We have what's called Rochester Today and interestingly enough we just moved it to 5 pm, so people are driving home from work. They can listen to Annie Brownell with a lot of different Rochester local leaders talking about what is happening in Rochester today.

Bill Von Bank:

Gray Television operates in numerous markets, Stephanie, including Rochester, of course. How does being part of a larger network influence your ability to innovate at the local level while still maintaining autonomy?

Stephanie Hedrick:

We are at KTTC. I consider us very fortunate as a great media station. There is a quote that I wrote down recently from our co-CEO, Hilton Howell. He said if we lose our local identity, we are lost, and I was very encouraged to hear that come from him, because he recognized Gray Media, recognized the value of having trusted journalists, trusted broadcasters in these communities, invested in these communities, that it's about local news, and we're fortunate. There are many people within Gray Media across the country that are looking at new innovations, looking at new tools that can help us. At the end of the day, though, they come to us saying what do you need? What is it that will make sure that you are a strong local news leader in your community?

Bill Von Bank:

What unique challenges and opportunities do you both face? Leading stations in a mid-sized regional market like Rochester, maybe compared to larger metros or not. Maybe just what's changing in Rochester? That might be a challenge or considered an opportunity.

Shannon Knoepke:

In a market like Rochester, I think we face the challenge of having fewer resources than the major networks and markets. I experienced that when I worked in Minneapolis right. But the expectations for quality and quantity of that content and the innovation are just as high and sometimes I think it's even more high than in larger. We care Every single one of our employees here in Rochester. We have care and compassion for our communities and that's super important. Sometimes we're the voice in many cases of what's happening in our community and that creates trust and the impact in our size of market.

Stephanie Hedrick:

Similar to what Shannon said resources that we believe that every single person deserves the same commitment to quality. When you're in a smaller, mid-sized market, that can be a little harder. When you're in a smaller, mid-sized market, that can be a little harder. You have so many people that are committed and passionate about local journalism, local broadcast. You also have the appeals of going to quote bigger markets. We're lucky because we have a lot of people who have grown up and lived here, being the voice and then also living here. The news we give is also impacting us. So how are we making sure that we're giving a full report, a good, accurate report that we know affects our families just as much as the people listening and watching us?

Bill Von Bank:

You both are leaders within the Minnesota Broadcasters Association. Stephanie, you're vice chair this year and Shannon another tour duty on the board. I believe you've been on the board in the past. Yes correct, Stephanie. What role does the association play in supporting and advocating for local broadcasters?

Stephanie Hedrick:

Making sure we're having fun for one, would you agree? That's correct. It's so good to have an organization that you feel connected to broadcasters small, medium, large radio and TV so you have that support network to know that we all have similar challenges. One of the things that I quickly was excited about was how Minnesota Broadcasters Association advocates they. They know that broadcasters are journalist organizations and businesses and so at the state capitol, at our nation's capitol, the MBA has a strong presence with our lawmakers in making sure that any policy they look at that they are considering broadcasters, in making sure we can do our jobs.

Shannon Knoepke:

Yeah, I would just say add on to that point. I spent some time at the Capitol with Stephanie and a group of our leaders from the board and just making sure that the legislators understand that we are also small businesses. You know, we are also small businesses in those communities and what they pass and what they do with legislature matters to us.

Shannon Knoepke:

And it's around the state Correct and if we can do our jobs, that is very relevant. And Wendy Paulson, who is the president of the NBA. She is a fierce leader and we are so thankful. I would say that she's the best president in America with the Broadcasters Associations.

Stephanie Hedrick:

She recently served as a part of the state associations and I would say Wendy and the board are constantly looking at next steps. How do we recruit a new generation of broadcasters, how do we gauge interest and how do we make sure we stay connected and build those skills?

Shannon Knoepke:

They also do a lot of trainings. I love it when we have our annual meeting we had it in Rochester this last year as well and the sales teams would come together from all across the state of Minnesota so they get to network and meet other people as well, and so it's just a really great organization that Minnesota has.

Bill Von Bank:

Stephanie, next year you take over the chairperson role for Minnesota Broadcasters Association. How might your life change with that new role?

Stephanie Hedrick:

I get excited. Well, for one when Shannon I'm going to give a shout out when she did join the board again, she mentioned second tour. We all got very excited about that. So having a board that comes from all different experience levels, as I mentioned, all different size of groups, I think we really worked on finding that common ground on what we all share together. So I'm looking forward to the next year going okay. The challenge is, as we talked about all those new platforms, how are we making sure that people know broadcast is here, it's free, it's not going anywhere. It is still the number one place people go to for safety information, for weather information, for live programming. Shannon mentioned live sporting events. That is where communities come together and that is why we'll always have a place there. So how is this association going to keep that messaging going and grow that?

Shannon Knoepke:

I'll just say one last thing. Radio and TV, we're not dying. There's so many people that think we're dying. I think if we all close our eyes and thought that today radio and TV just was to begin and start today, these young kids would say to themselves what, for free? I can listen in my car, on my phone, on my Alexa device for free. Think about that. We underestimate what radio and TV do in not only our local communities but across the United States.

Bill Von Bank:

I have interviewed the president and CEO of the Star Tribune, the editor of Twin Cities Business, the publisher of Greenspring Media, and I think all of those media were dying at one point too, and they're not. So I think the variety and the opportunity to consume mass media is still important.

Stephanie Hedrick:

Yeah, I mean, it's just on us to push. Like you said, meet people where they're at and embrace those new ways that people are consuming us. So one thing that NBA has been a part of is those discussions about what you'll hear about next-gen TV. If we're on the TV side, it's an exciting time because that is broadcast and it is a new, engaging way that people will be able to consume live television. So, in making sure we're embracing that, people need their local journalists and their local radio and TV broadcasters, so how we're making sure we're serving them in the best way possible.

Bill Von Bank:

What's something the general public might not realize about the day-to-day operations or strategy behind running local broadcast stations.

Shannon Knoepke:

Well, I think that people, you know, they may hear the music, they may hear the broadcast, but behind the scenes we're running strategic, fast-moving, multi-platform businesses, and when I say fast-moving, we are fast, you know. I'd like people to understand that we're a small business too. Yes, we sometimes make mistakes. As a leader, I'm managing people, but we're all internally managing tech. We're managing revenue, community relationships and brand reputation every single day. We don't go. We're on 24-7, 365 days, right. So it's part media, part mission, part hustle. And I have to say that this group and people that I'm working with right now, they have a hustle in them and they are gritty, gritty people and in the end, we love every single minute of it and we love this community that we serve, we care.

Stephanie Hedrick:

I cringe when I hear the phrase the media and I think it's this broad term used a lot, and what I want people to remember is when they're watching KTDC or the other local media outlets or they're listening to Town Square Media. Those are people that live in the community they are covering. I truly believe that the trust we know we hold is taken to heart. And yes, we're humans and yes, we take the critiques and we make mistakes and we quickly want to look at how we do better. Every day, we're 24-7 and we live in our community. When we go outside during the weather, we go and we see the clouds just like they are in their neighborhood. So our meteorologists are right there, knowing their families are just across the street experiencing the same weather.

Bill Von Bank:

Bringing it back to that, Well, we've run out of time. I want to thank Stephanie Hedrick from KTTC. I want to thank Shannon Knoepke from Town Square Media. Great conversation, great passion you both have. Thank you for your service with the Minnesota Broadcasters Association. Thank you for being our guests on the Growing Destinations podcast. Thank, you.

Bill Von Bank:

Thank you for tuning in to the Growing Destinations podcast and don't forget to subscribe. This podcast is brought to you by Experience Rochester. Find out more about Rochester, minnesota, and its growing arts and culture scene, its international culinary flavors and award-winning craft beer by visiting experiencerochestermncom.

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