Forum Communications Company is an American multimedia and technology company headquartered in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

. With multiple online and print news brands throughout

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, Forum Communications offers local news in a variety of digital and broadcast mediums in addition to various niche media brands covering specialty interests. The company also owns four

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth's s ...

s in North Dakota, all affiliated with ABC, and an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

television station and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

affiliate in South Dakota. Additional offerings are commercial printing services and business services.

Leadership

William "Bill" Marcil, Sr. is the current chairman of the board for Forum Communications Company, who is married to the great-granddaughter of the founder, Norman B. Black. Daily operations are overseen by William "Bill" Marcil, Jr. as the president and chief executive officer of Forum Communications Company as well as the publisher of ''

The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead ''The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead'' or more recently ''The Forum'' is an American, English language newspaper. It is the major newspaper for Fargo, North Dakota and the surrounding region, including Moorhead, Minnesota. It is the flagship and name ...

''.

History

Forum Communications Company began publishing its flagship newspaper ''

'' in 1878 and is currently owned and operated by the Marcil-Black family. Today, Forum offers multiple newspaper and multimedia journalism brands across four states in the

upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a northern subregion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon, the region is usually defined to include the states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wi ...

along with several commercial printing facilities, TV broadcasting and business services. On January 3, 2021, Forum announced it had sold RiverTown Multimedia to O’Rourke Media Group. The sale included the '' Red Wing Republican Eagle'' and (Hudson) ''Star-Observer.'' RiverTown previously published six other papers, but closed or merged them. On November 23, 2022, it was reported that Forum would purchase

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

YTA TV YTA TV (an initialism for its former full name, Youtoo America; commonly referred to as just YTA) is an American television network which originally launched in February 1985 as a cable channel. Unusual for a network of its type, it has had mult ...

affiliate KWSD and sister station KCWS-LD from Jim Simpson, for $1.4 million; the sale was completed on February 21, 2023. Forum intends to create a third television news operation in the Sioux Falls market. * On February 24, 2023, KWSD changed its call sign to KSFL-TV; several weeks later, it switched its affiliation to

Ion Television Ion Television (referred to on-air as simply Ion) is an American broadcast television network and FAST television channel owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August ...

and upgraded to high-definition operations for the first time since its 2012 departure from

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

. On January 1, 2024, KSFL-TV dropped Ion and became an

independent station An independent station is a broadcast station, usually a television station, not affiliated with a larger broadcast television network, network. As such, it only broadcasts broadcast syndication, syndicated programs it has purchased; brokered pr ...

. On August 14, 2024, it was announced that

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (stylized as mynetworkTV; unofficially abbreviated MNT or MNTV) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its Fox Television Stations ...

affiliates KNBN and KWBH-LD, both of

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek (South Dakota), Rapid Creek, where the settlement deve ...

, would be sold by Jim Simpson (Rapid Broadcasting Company) to Forum, bringing those stations and KSFL-TV back under common ownership.

Commercial

* Click Content Studios offers marketing services through branded content for traditional and new media platforms. * Forum Communications operates four printing plants in three states: Brainerd and Detroit Lakes, Minnesota; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and a commercial plant at 4601 16th Ave. N. in Fargo, North Dakota. Commercial printing capabilities include: printing, mailing, fulfillment and various marketing services. * JobsHQ is an online recruitment and digital advertising company focusing on employers and recruitment in

and

Print and digital news

The following print and digital newspapers in

, and

are part of the Forum Communications news network: *''Alexandria Echo Press'' based in

Alexandria, Minnesota Alexandria is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,335 as of the 2020 census. I-94 passes through Alexandria, along with Minnesota State Highways 27 and 29. It is south of Lake ...

, serves Douglas County, Minnesota, Todd County, Minnesota, central Minnesota and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Echo Press was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 1990. * ''The Bemidji Pioneer'' based in

Bemidji, Minnesota Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, Minnesota, Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. According to 2022 census estimates, the ci ...

, serves Beltrami County, Minnesota and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Bemidji Pioneer was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 1997. *'' Brainerd Dispatch'' based in

Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd ( ) is a city and the county seat of Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluen ...

, serves

Crow Wing County, Minnesota Crow Wing County is a County (United States), county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 66,123. Its county seat is Brainerd, Minnesota, Brainerd. The cou ...

, central Minnesota and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Brainerd Dispatch was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 2010. *''Detroit Lakes Tribune'' (known as DL-Online for online news) based in

Detroit Lakes, Minnesota Detroit Lakes is a city and the county seat of Becker County, Minnesota, Becker County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,869 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its unofficial population during summer months is much hi ...

, serves

Becker County, Minnesota Becker County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,183, and was estimated to be 35,444 in 2024, Its county seat is Detroit Lakes. Part of the White Earth Indian Reservation extends into t ...

and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Detroit Lakes Tribune was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 1985. *'' The Dickinson Press'' based in

Dickinson, North Dakota Dickinson is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 25,679 at the 2020 census, making it the seventh most populous city in North Dakota. Dickinson, founded in 1881, is also home to Dickins ...

, serves

Stark County, North Dakota Stark County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,646, and was estimated to be 33,767 in 2024, making it the 7th-most populous county in North Dakota. The county seat and the largest city ...

and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Dickinson Press was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 1995. *''

Duluth News Tribune The ''Duluth News Tribune'' (known locally as ''The Tribune'' or ''DNT'') is a newspaper based in Duluth, Minnesota. While circulation is heaviest in the Twin Ports metropolitan area, delivery extends into northeastern Minnesota, northwestern Wis ...

'' based in

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

, serves St. Louis County, Minnesota, greater northeast Minnesota,

Lake County, Minnesota Lake County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,905. Its county seat is Two Harbors. History Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the area had long been inhabited by Native American groups. ...

, The Boundary Waters and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Duluth News Tribune was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 2006. *''

'' (known as InForum.com for online news) based in

, serves

Moorhead, Minnesota Moorhead ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Minnesota, Clay County, Minnesota, United States, on the banks of the Red River of the North. Located in the Red River Valley, an extremely fertile and active agricultural region, Moo ...

and

West Fargo, North Dakota West Fargo is a city in Cass County, North Dakota, United States. It is, as of the 2020 census, the fifth most populous city in the state of North Dakota with a population of 38,626, and it is one of the state's fastest growing cities. The cit ...

including

Cass County, North Dakota Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 184,525, making it the most populous county in North Dakota, and was estimated to be 200,945 in 2024. It contains over 25.23% of the state' ...

Clay County, Minnesota Clay County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,318, and was estimated to be 66,848 in 2024, Its county seat is Moorhead. Clay County is part of the Fargo, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistic ...

, greater eastern North Dakota and Western Minnesota and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. It is the original flagship news brand of the Forum Communications Company. *'' The Globe'' based in

Worthington, Minnesota Worthington is a city in and the county seat of Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,947 at the time of the 2020 census. History The city's site was first settled in the 1870s as Okabena Station on a line of the Ch ...

, serves

Nobles County, Minnesota Nobles County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 22,290. Its county seat is Worthington, Minnesota, Worthington. Nobles County comprises the W ...

and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Globe was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 1995. *''

Grand Forks Herald The ''Grand Forks Herald'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, established in 1879, published in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It is the primary daily paper for northeast North Dakota and northwest Minnesota. Its average daily circula ...

'' based in

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...

, serves

Grand Forks County, North Dakota Grand Forks County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 73,170, and was estimated to be 73,771 in 2024, making it the third-most populous county in North Dakota. The county seat and the larg ...

Polk County, Minnesota Polk County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 31,192 at the 2020 census. Its county seat is Crookston, and the largest community is East Grand Forks. Polk County is part of the Grand Fo ...

, greater eastern North Dakota and Western Minnesota and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Grand Forks Herald was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 2006. * ''The Jamestown Sun'' based in

Jamestown, North Dakota Jamestown is a city in and the county seat of Stutsman County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 15,849 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, ninth most populous city in North ...

, serves

Stutsman County, North Dakota Stutsman County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,593, and was estimated to be 21,546 in 2024, making it the 8th-most populous county in North Dakota. Its county seat is Jamestown. S ...

and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Jamestown Sun was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 2000. *'' The Mitchell Republic'' based in

Mitchell, South Dakota Mitchell is a city in and the county seat of Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,660 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census making it the List of cities in South Dakota, sixth most populous city in South Dako ...

, serves

Davison County, South Dakota Davison County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,956, making it the 10th most populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Mitchell. The county was created in 1873 and organize ...

, Hanson County South Dakota and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Mitchell Republic was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 1995. *'' Park Rapids Enterprise'' based in Park Rapids, Minnesota, serves Hubbard County, Minnesota and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Park Rapids Enterprise was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 1985. *'' Perham Focus'' based in Perham, Minnesota, serves

Otter Tail County, Minnesota Otter Tail County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,081, and was estimated to be 60,884 in 2024. The county seat and the largest city is Fergus Falls. Otter Tail County comprises the Fer ...

, central Minnesota and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Perham Focus was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 2000. *''Pine Journal'' based in

, serves

Cloquet, Minnesota Cloquet ( ) is a city in Carlton County, Minnesota, United States, at the junction of Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highway 33. Part of the city lies within the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation and serves as one of the reservation's three ...

Carlton County, Minnesota Carlton County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state, State of Minnesota, formed in 1857. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 36,207. Its county seat is Carlton, Minnesota, Carlton. Part of the ...

and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Pine Journal was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 2006. *''Pine and Lakes Echo Journal'' based in

, serves

Pequot Lakes, Minnesota Pequot Lakes ( ) is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,395 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census . It is part of the Brainerd micropolitan area. History Pequot Lakes was platted in March 1900. I ...

, central Minnesota and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Pine and Lakes Echo Journal was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 2014. *'' Post-Bulletin'' based in

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

, serves Olmsted County, Minnesota, greater southeast Minnesota and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Post Bulletin was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 2019. *''St. Cloud Live'' based in St. Cloud, Minnesota, serves

Stearns County, Minnesota Stearns County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,292. Its county seat and largest city is St. Cloud. Included within the Minnesota Territory since 1849, the county was founded by Europe ...

, Benton County, Minnesota, and

Sherburne County, Minnesota Sherburne County is a County (United States), county in Central Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 97,183. The county seat is Elk River, Minnesota, Elk River. As of late 2024 the county obtained a city ...

with online news. It was launched by the Forum Communications Company in 2022, with former reporters from the St. Cloud Times being hired as a part of the website launch. *''Sioux Falls Live'' based in

, serves

Minnehaha County, South Dakota Minnehaha County is a County (United States), county on the eastern border of the U.S. state, state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 197,214, making it the state's List of counties in South D ...

with online news and television broadcasting. It was launched by the Forum Communications Company in 2022, along with the acquisition of KWSD and KCWS-LD from JF Broadcasting LLC. *''Superior Telegram'' based in

Superior, Wisconsin Superior (; ) is a city in Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 26,751 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the western end of Lake Superior in northwestern Wisconsin, the city l ...

, serves

Douglas County, Wisconsin Douglas County is a county in the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,295 Its county seat is Superior. Douglas County is included in the Duluth, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Superior Telegram was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 2006. *''Wadena Pioneer Journal'' based in

Wadena, Minnesota Wadena ( ) is a city in Otter Tail and Wadena counties in the state of Minnesota. It is about one hundred sixty miles northwest of the Minneapolis – Saint Paul metro area. The population was 4,325 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat ...

, serves

Wadena County, Minnesota Wadena County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 14,065. Its county seat is Wadena, Minnesota, Wadena. History The newly organized Minn ...

, central Minnesota and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The Wadena Pioneer Journal was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 1990. *'' West Central Tribune'' based in

Willmar, Minnesota Willmar ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 21,015 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Agricultural expansion and the establishment of Willmar as a division ...

, serves Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, central Minnesota and surrounding areas with a print newspaper, an e-paper and online news. The West Central Tribune was purchased by the Forum Communications Company in 1980.

Other media

* ''Agweek'' is based in

and merged with Agri News based in

, and provides a weekly print

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

, a weekly

TV show A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platfo ...

, a weekly

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

and daily

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

news online. * Bison Media Zone based in Fargo, North Dakota, covers

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was ...

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

and other athletics with multiple

livestream Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming media, streaming of video or Digital audio, audio in real-time communication, real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature ...

events,

TV shows A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platfo ...

s and online news with hosts and

sports journalists Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism has its roots in coverage of horse racing and boxing in the early 1800s, mainly targeted towards elites, and into t ...

Dom Izzo, Jeff Kolpack and Eric Peterson. * Dakota Spotlight is based in

as a true crime podcast working to uncover the truth about unsolved cases in the region. * NewsMD covers health news and insights from local individuals and independent health professionals as well as news from the

Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...

, Sanford Health, Essentia Health and more. * Northland Outdoors covers outdoor sports stories and news focusing on the

with

and

online news. * On The Minds Of Moms is based in

and provides a bi-monthly print magazine and online news for today's modern family. * The Rink Live covers hockey news and information with a focus on collegiate hockey throughout

and

with a

and online news.

Television stations

References

{{Authority control Mass media companies of the United States Newspaper companies of the United States Television broadcasting companies of the United States Companies based in Fargo–Moorhead Publishing companies established in 1878 Family-owned companies of the United States Privately held companies based in North Dakota