Forum Communications Company
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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, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, in addition to various niche media brands covering specialty interests.
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 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.
History
Forum Communications Company began publishing its flagship newspaper The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead in 1878 and is currently owned and operated by the Marcil-Black family.
In 1913, The Forum Publishing Co. was incorporated with J.P. Dotson as president. 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 1984, William "Bill" Marcil, Sr. acquired majority ownership. In 1992, he renamed the parent company to Forum Communications Co.
In July 1995, Forum purchased three daily papers from Thomson Newspapers. The sale included The Dickinson Press, Mitchell Daily Republic and Worthington Daily Globe. In December 2010, Marcil, Sr. retired and was succeeded as publisher and CEO by his son, Bill Marcil, Jr.
In January 2021, Forum sold subsidiary 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.
In November 2022, Forum purchased YTA TV affiliate KWSD and sister station KCWS-LD from Jim Simpson, for $1.4 million; the sale was completed on February 21, 2023. Forum intended 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 and upgraded to high-definition operations for the first time since its 2012 departure from The CW. On January 1, 2024, KSFL-TV dropped Ion and became an independent station.
On August 14, 2024, it was announced that NBC/MyNetworkTV affiliates KNBN and KWBH-LD, both of Rapid City, South Dakota, would be sold by Jim Simpson (Rapid Broadcasting Company) to Forum, bringing those stations and KSFL-TV back under common ownership.
On January 14, 2026, the company announced it had 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.
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 Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Print and digital news
The following print and digital newspapers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, and North Dakota are part of the Forum Communications news network:
Other media
- Agweek is based in Fargo, North Dakota and merged with Agri News based in Rochester, Minnesota, and provides a weekly print magazine, a weekly TV show, a weekly podcast and daily agricultural news online.
- Bison Media Zone based in Fargo, North Dakota, covers North Dakota State University football team and other athletics with multiple livestream events, TV shows, podcasts and online news with hosts and sports journalists Dom Izzo, Jeff Kolpack and Eric Peterson.
- Dakota Spotlight is based in Fargo, North Dakota 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, Sanford Health, Essentia Health and more.
- Northland Outdoors covers outdoor sports stories and news focusing on the upper Midwest with Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin online news.
- On The Minds Of Moms is based in Fargo, North Dakota 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 Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin with a podcast and online news.