About the Story: KTCA reporter Ken Stone says the idea for the story came from a workshop he attended on religion and the media. One speaker talked about the lack of coverage of Muslims as a local story, a community story. He said Muslims most often appear in the news when they are asked for comment on a national story involving Arab countries or conflict. The speaker noted that the Muslim population of Minnesota was growing to parity with the size of its Jewish population. Moreover, the greatest growth was happening in small communities. "The mere idea of a mosque in Mankato or Rochester, that was news to me," says Stone. So he asked to do the story of a small town mosque and its faithful. But this story is less about fear of difference than it is about faith, and the desire to share that faith in community. And for many in Minnesota, the land of many lakes and many Lutherans, this story was an introduction to neighbors they'd never known.

Behind the Story: To tell the story of the growing Muslim population, Stone located a mosque in Rochester, Minnesota. But he needed to gain the trust of its Muslim community in order to do the story. Once persuaded the story was about local religion and not international conflict or controversy, the faithful welcomed his visit. The story was a good fit for KTCA's nightly newscast. The PBS station airs a half-hour news program at 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday. "NewsNight Minnesota" is an alternative to traditional local newscasts. It begins with five minutes of news headlines, then follows with an interview of that day's newsmaker, a cover story, a studio discussion of an issue, or a live arts performance. The Muslims story was an ideal cover story. These long-form issue pieces often highlight under-covered communities such as rural Minnesotans or minority groups. The station prides itself on telling stories that other newscasts miss-or choose not to cover. KCTA receives foundation grants that support this kind of coverage, but such funding does not provide a fat budget. "NewsNight Minnesota" is staffed by four reporters (one of whom also shoots video) and one photojournalist. They have to work efficiently and share resources. This story took less than a day to shoot, and Stone was able to get some but not all of what he would have wanted in this story. He wanted a deeper, more personal profile of one of the Muslim faithful, but his shooting schedule did not provide the time. Like his counterparts at commercial stations, Stone faces budget realities, but presses for quality coverage.

Beyond the Story:

• Enterprise is encouraged. KTCA holds daily story meetings and a weekly long-range planning session. Reporters are expected to pitch story ideas at the weekly session. "We have a remarkable 'bottom up' approach to story ideas here," says Stone. Reporters keep lists of stories they'd like to do. "The green light is almost always there," says Stone. The ability to develop his own stories is important to Stone. He knows, however, that there are tradeoffs to working in public TV. "More freedom, less impact. Less money, more professional rewards," he says. Stone has been with KTCA since the launch of "NewsNight" nearly six years ago. He loves the work. "You are a storyteller and you get to tell it the way you want-a story that might not have been told," he says.
  
  
• The station seeks diversity. Executive Producer Brendan Henehan believes his whole staff shares the same goal: to go beyond the usual names in the newsroom's phone file. They always look for new sources, and for voices that haven't been heard on TV. Henehan says that means taking chances. A newscast built around live discussion and interviews might repeatedly invite the same guests because they happen to be good communicators. "You have to take chances," says Henehan, adding, "We all carry the assumption that diversity is important." This story reflects that assumption, by highlighting not just an under-covered minority group, but also the diversity that exists within the Muslim community.