Forum Communications Company

Forum Communications Company
TypePrivate
IndustryTelevision, Advertising, Broadcasting, Newspaper, Internet services
Founded1913
Headquarters101 5th Street North,
Fargo, North Dakota 58102
,
United States
Key peopleBill Marcil, Sr., Chairman
Bill Marcil, Jr., President, CEO and Publisher
Number of employees
800+
Websiteforumcomm.com

Forum Communications Company is an American multimedia and technology company headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota. Forum owns multiple print, online, and broadcast brands throughout Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, in addition to various niche media brands covering specialty interests. It has been locally owned by five generations of the Black-Marcil family.

Forum has multiple newspaper and multimedia journalism brands across four states in the upper Midwest along with several commercial printing facilities, TV broadcasting and business services. The company also owns four television stations in North Dakota, all affiliated with ABC and an NBC affiliate and independent station in South Dakota. Additional offerings are commercial printing services and business services.

Leadership

J.P. Dotson officially founded the company in May 1913, a year after acquiring the Fargo Forum. He sold the company in April 1917 to Norman B. Black, who managed it until his death in January 1931 at age 65. His son Norman D. Black succeeded him as publisher, and his widow Jenny C. Black served as company president until her death in August 1951 at age 81.

In August 1955, Norman D. Black died of a sudden heart attack at age 57. He was then succeeded by his son, Noman D. Black, Jr. After he died in September 1969 at age 56, his son in law, William C. Marcil, succeeded him. In September 2010, Marcil retired and was succeeded as president and CEO by his son, Bill Marcil, Jr.

History

In November 1912, the Fargo Forum was sold at public auction to J.P. Dotson, editor of the Crookston Times, for $52,500. In May 1913, The Forum Publishing Co. was incorporated with Dotson as president. In April 1917, Dotson sold the business to Norman B. Black, former general manager of the Grand Forks Herald, for over $100,000. Black's family and his descendants have owned and operated the company ever since.

In November 1954, Forum acquired the Moorhead Daily News, and in June 1957 merged it into the Forum. In 1972, the company purchased KSOO-TV of Sioux Falls and KCOO-TV of Aberdeen. At that time a subsidiary called Forum Communications, Inc. was created to manage its radio and television stations; the FCC approved the sale a year later. In October 1979, the West Central Tribune was acquired. In December 1984, William "Bill" Marcil, Sr. acquired majority company ownership. In May 1985, the Detroit Lakes Tribune, Park Rapids Enterprise and Becker County Record were acquired. In November 1985, Forum sold KSFY-TV, KABY-TV and KPRY-TV, all in South Dakota, to the News-Press & Gazette Company for $10 million.

In December 1989, the Wadena Pioneer Journal was acquired. In January 1990, the Alexandria Echo Press was acquired. In November 1992, Marcil Sr. renamed the parent company to Forum Communications Co. Forum acquired The Dickinson Press, Mitchell Daily Republic and Worthington Daily Globe from Thomson Newspapers in July 1995; The Bemidji Pioneer in January 1997, The Jamestown Sun from Hollinger Inc. in October 2000, the Grand Forks Herald, Duluth News Tribune, Superior Telegram, Lake County News-Chronicle, Cloquet Pine Journal and Duluth Budgeteer News from McClatchy in June 2006, and Rochester Post-Bulletin in May 2019.

In January 2021, Forum sold subsidiary RiverTown Multimedia to O’Rourke Media Group in January 2021. The sale included the Red Wing Republican Eagle and Hudson Star-Observer. RiverTown previously published six other papers, but closed or merged them.

In November 2022, Forum purchased KWSD and sister station KCWS-LD from Jim Simpson, for $1.4 million; the sale was completed on February 21, 2023. In August 2024, Forum acquired KNBN and KWBH-LD, both of Rapid City, South Dakota, from Jim Simpson (Rapid Broadcasting Company), bringing those stations and KSFL-TV back under common ownership. In January 2026, Forum acquired seven newspapers from Wick Communications. The deal included The Daily Journal in Minnesota; Wahpeton Daily News, Hankinson News Monitor and Williston Herald in North Dakota; Capital Journal and Madison Daily Leader in South Dakota; and Sidney Herald in Montana. That April, the McKenzie County Farmer was acquired.

On July 23, 2026, it was announced that Nexstar Media Group's CBS affiliates in seven markets would switch to digital subchannels owned by Hearst Television and Forum Communications (for the North Dakota stations) effective August 1.

Commercial

The following print and digital newspapers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, and North Dakota are part of the Forum Communications news network:

Title Location Year Acquired Notes Sources
Alexandria Echo Press Alexandria, Minnesota 1990
The Bemidji Pioneer Bemidji, Minnesota 1997
Brainerd Dispatch Brainerd, Minnesota 2010
Capital Journal Pierre, South Dakota 2026
The Daily Journal Fergus Falls, Minnesota 2026
Detroit Lakes Tribune Detroit Lakes, Minnesota 1985
The Dickinson Press Dickinson, North Dakota 1995
Duluth News Tribune Duluth, Minnesota 2006
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead Fargo, North Dakota 1913
The Globe Worthington, Minnesota 1995
Grand Forks Herald Grand Forks, North Dakota 2006
Hankinson News Monitor Hankinson, North Dakota 2026
The Jamestown Sun Jamestown, North Dakota 2000
Madison Daily Leader Madison, South Dakota 2026
McKenzie County Farmer Watford City, North Dakota 2026
The Mitchell Republic Mitchell, South Dakota 1995
Park Rapids Enterprise Park Rapids, Minnesota 1985
Perham Focus Perham, Minnesota 2000
Pine Journal Cloquet, Minnesota 2006
Pine and Lakes Echo Journal Pequot Lakes, Minnesota 2014
Post-Bulletin Rochester, Minnesota 2019
Sidney Herald Sidney, Montana 2026
Sioux Falls Live Sioux Falls, South Dakota 2022 Launched by Forum, along with the acquisition of KWSD and KCWS-LD from JF Broadcasting LLC
St. Cloud Live St. Cloud, Minnesota 2022 Founded by Forum, with former reporters from the St. Cloud Times being hired as a part of the website launch
Superior Telegram Superior, Wisconsin 2006
Wadena Pioneer Journal Wadena, Minnesota 1989
Wahpeton Daily News Wahpeton, North Dakota 2026
West Central Tribune Willmar, Minnesota 1979
Williston Herald Williston, North Dakota 2026

Other media

Television stations

StateCityCall signChannelNetwork
PSIPRFDT-1DT-2DT-3DT-4DT-5DT-6
North DakotaFargoWDAY-TV621ABCTrue Crime NetworkIndependentIon TelevisionIon PlusGrit
Grand ForksWDAZ-TV88
BismarckKBMY1717CBSMyNetworkTVCourt TV
MinotKMCY1414
South DakotaSioux FallsKSFL-TV3636Ion TelevisionYTA TVJewelry Television–––
Rapid CityKNBN2122NBCCBSMyNetworkTVYTA TV––

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Zaleski, Jack (2018). Forum Communications Company: A Narrative History 1980 - 2018. Forum Publishing Company.
  2. 1 2 "Forum Publishing Co. Has Been Incorpated". The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. Fargo, North Dakota. May 19, 1913. p. 1. Retrieved August 24, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 "Fargo Forum Changes Hands". The Grand Forks Daily Herald. Fargo, North Dakota. November 13, 1912. p. 7. Retrieved August 24, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 "Fargo Forum Sold To Crookston Man". The Weekly Times-Record. Valley City, North Dakota. November 14, 1912. p. 3. Retrieved August 24, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 "Fargo Forum Sold To N.B. Black". Jamestown Weekly Alert. Jamestown, North Dakota. Associated Press. April 19, 1917. p. 10. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Norman B. Black, Fargo Publisher, Died This Morning". The Hope Pioneer. Hope, North Dakota. January 8, 1931. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Norman D. Black Succeeds Father As Forum Pub". Mandan Daily Pioneer. Mandan, North Dakota. January 22, 1931. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Mrs. N.B. Black Passes; Was President Of Forum". The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. Fargo, North Dakota. January 22, 1931. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "N.D. Black, Publisher Of Fargo Forum, Dies". The Fargo Forum and Daily Tribune. Fargo, North Dakota. August 4, 1944. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Norman D. Black Jr. Is New Forum Publisher". Mandan Daily Pioneer. Mandan, North Dakota. August 18, 1944. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Norman Black Jr., Forum Publisher, Dies". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. September 25, 1969. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Marcil Elected Forum Publisher". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. October 1, 1969. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Nowatzki, Mike (September 15, 2010). "Marcil Jr. to become publisher; Case expands role to CEO". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. pp. A1, A14. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. 1 2 Moline, Melva (1978). The Forum: The First Hundred Years. Forum Publishing Company.
  15. ↑ "Daily News Sold To Fargo Forum Co". Moorhead Daily News. Moorhead, Minnesota. November 30, 1954. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Daily News, Forum To Merge". Moorhead Daily News. Moorhead, Minnesota. June 28, 1957. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Forum Publishing Purchasing Two S.D. TV Stations". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. November 17, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "FCC OKs Sale of 2 Stations To Forum Communications". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. Associated Press. November 15, 1973. p. 2. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "The West Central Daily Tribune of Willmar is Sold". West Central Daily Tribune. Willmar, Minnesota. October 13, 1979. p. 2. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Forum dispute settled". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. December 18, 1984. pp. A1, A12. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Forum purchases Lakes Publishing". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. April 29, 1985. pp. A1, A8. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Forum Publishing finishes sale of S.D. broadcasting firm". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. November 19, 1985. p. B1. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "Forum Publishing Co. purchases Wadena newspapers, shopper". Wadena Pioneer Journal. Wadena, Minnesota. December 28, 1989. p. 1A. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ "Forum buys Alexandria newspapers, shopper". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. January 27, 1990. p. B2. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "Forum changes corporate name". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. November 14, 1992. p. B5. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ↑ "Forum Communications buys Dickinson Press, more". The Dickinson Press. Dickinson, North Dakota. July 6, 1995. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ Bonham, Kevin (January 9, 1997). "Newspaper sales: Readers won't know difference, editors say". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks, North Dakota. p. 7D. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "Forum Communications completes purchase of Sun, sister papers". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. October 4, 2000. p. A8. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ↑ Bakken, Ryan (June 8, 2006). "Sold". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks, North Dakota. pp. 1A, 6A. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ↑ Passi, Peter (June 8, 2006). "News Tribune sale: New owner, new outlook". Duluth News Tribune. Duluth, Minnesota. pp. 1A, 6A. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ Nelson, Shelley (June 8, 2006). "Family-owned firm to buy Telegram". The Daily Telegram. Superior, Wisconsin. pp. A1, A5. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ "Post Bulletin sold to Forum Communications". Post Bulletin. Rochester, Minnesota. May 16, 2019. p. A1. Retrieved August 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ↑ Hunter, Julia (January 3, 2021). "O'Rourke Media Group buys RiverTown newspapers". Wisconsin Newspaper Association. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  34. ↑ "Assignments". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  35. ↑ "Notification of Consummation". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  36. ↑ "Assignments". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. August 14, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  37. ↑ "Forum Communications purchases 7 newspapers, including one in MN". West Central Tribune. January 14, 2026. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  38. 1 2 3 "Forum Communications agrees to purchase McKenzie County newspaper". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. April 22, 2026. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
  39. ↑ Johnson, Ted (July 23, 2026). "CBS To Switch Affiliation From Nexstar To Hearst TV & Forum Communications Stations In A Half Dozen Markets". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  40. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 "Forum Communications Company". ForumComm.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  41. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "2022 Minnesota Newspaper Association Directory" (PDF). Minnesota Newspaper Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 18, 2022.
  42. ↑ "Alexandria Echo Press". EchoPress.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  43. ↑ "The Bemidji Pioneer". BemidjiPioneer.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  44. ↑ "Brainerd Dispatch". BrainerdDispatch.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  45. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Forum Communications purchases two SD newspapers". KDLT-TV. January 15, 2026. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
  46. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Forum Communications buys Pierre Capital Journal, six other newspapers in South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana". DRGNews. January 15, 2026. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
  47. ↑ "Detroit Lakes Tribune". DLOnline.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  48. ↑ "The Dickinson Press". DickinsonPress.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  49. ↑ "Duluth News Tribune". DuluthNewsTribune.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  50. ↑ "InForum". InForum.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  51. ↑ "The Globe". DGlobe.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  52. ↑ "Grand Forks Herald". GrandForksHerald.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  53. ↑ "The Jamestown Sun". JamestownSun.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  54. ↑ "The Mitchell Republic". MitchellRepublic.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  55. ↑ "Park Rapids Enterprise". ParkRapidsEnterprise.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  56. ↑ "Perham Focus". PerhamFocus.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  57. ↑ "Pine Journal". PineJournal.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  58. ↑ "Pine and Lakes Echo Journal". PineAndLakes.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  59. ↑ "Post Bulletin". PostBulletin.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  60. 1 2 "Forum Communications launching new St. Cloud news operation". Sioux Falls Live. January 24, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  61. ↑ "Forum Communications expanding to Sioux Falls with TV station acquisition". Sioux Falls Live. November 23, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  62. ↑ "Superior Telegram". SuperiorTelegram.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  63. ↑ "Wadena Pioneer Journal". WadenaPJ.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  64. ↑ "West Central Tribune". WCTrib.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.