Since 2016, Minnesotans have been able to flip on their televisions for a bit of evening news and see a familiar face: Jana Shortal, of KARE 11’s Breaking the News. Shortal and her program are anything but traditional—and that’s the point.
She cares deeply about seeking the truth and sharing it with the people of Minnesota. The program provides deeper context and analysis of the biggest headlines alongside Shortal’s political commentary, and it highlights the humanity behind the news. Through her work, Shortal has embedded herself into Minnesota, not just as an Emmy-winning journalist, but also as a community connector who builds relationships with viewers across the state.
This past June, a viewer named Fred McMillan reached out to Shortal with a request. He’d nearly died after heart surgery and wanted to meet her, in what he humorously described as his own “Make-A-Wish” request. Shortal was more than willing to meet Fred at his rehabilitation center, and as they talked, Shortal was drawn in by McMillan’s humor, kindness, and warmth.
She was devastated, days later, when Fred’s husband posted on social media that Fred had passed away. Shortal decided to tell Fred’s story on television, letting other viewers know how much this human interaction meant to her. The clip went viral and thousands of people commented on how Fred had touched them. Just one minute of Shortal’s show spread ripples of kindness.
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“I just gained enough courage to be myself”
This special connection to the viewers is what fuels Shortal’s work. Shortal says that, over time, it’s become increasingly important to her to highlight kindness and humanity in her reporting. This stylistic approach is reflective of her coming into her own. “Let’s face it: I was never going to be chosen to be a traditional news anchor. As I evolved over time and looked more and more like who I am, that path was going to get narrower and narrower. So, at some point, I just gained enough courage to be myself.”
Being her authentic self on live television didn’t happen overnight. Shortal began reporting in traditionally feminine clothes, with styled hair and makeup. “I was basically in the truth-telling business, but yet not telling the truth about myself,” she reflects. “Even when I had come out, I was still kind of coming to work in drag, basically. Like, here’s my work clothes, and then my friends were like, ‘Why do you look like that?’”
“I was basically in the truth-telling business, but yet not telling the truth about myself.”
Jana Shortal
When Shortal became the anchor of Breaking the News in 2016, she ditched the standard outfit and showed up as herself: tailored blazers, natural curly hair cut short, and no makeup. Her job became easier and more rewarding as she developed a deeper sense of confidence. “Now, it’s so much easier to . . . truly listen with two ears and one mouth, to absorb what a person’s saying, to take criticism, to take different points of view, because [I’m] standing ten toes down.”
Though her queerness is an important part of her identity, she notes that how she shows up in her gender has become the more significant flashpoint for viewers due to a lack of broader media representation. “I think if I were a femme-presenting queer woman, this would be less of an issue,” Shortal says. “Because if you go to my social media pages, it doesn’t take long to see what people attack me for.”
But even though her gender presentation has put her on the receiving end of online vitriol, Shortal doesn’t get worked up about the negative comments.
“I’m proud of who I am,” Shortal says. “I’m not going to hide it. We’ve had to do that for too long, either by choice for our safety, [or] by choice because we feared losing a job. But I’m also a damn good journalist, and that’s why my ass is in that chair.”
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Reporting naked
As Minnesota has dealt with insurmountable tragedies over the past few years, Shortal has been a trusted news source walking alongside the community in its grief and pain. Shortly after the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School, Shortal delivered a devastating reflection on how helpless it feels to be a parent in a country without meaningful gun reform. She has continually called out the administration when President Trump unfairly targets the Minnesota Somali population. And she responded, like so many Minnesotans did, in the bitterness of winter, to the devastating events of Operation Metro Surge.
“It was just like reporting naked. I’m by myself. I had my phone. I had my credentials. Like you just had to go so fast because you didn’t know what was going to happen,” Shortal recalls of the days Renee Good and Alex Pretti were shot and killed by federal agents. While reporting from the scene shortly after Pretti was killed, Shortal was physically confronted by a masked Border Patrol agent, despite being behind the press line and being clearly marked as press. She was shoved down and sprayed directly in the eye with a chemical agent. Attempts to flush it out froze the chemical and broken glass in her eye.
The injury was a particular shock after spending so much time scanning the faces of bundled up neighbors and masked agents, assessing safety and looking for familiar people. “I made so much eye contact during Operation Metro Surge. That’s what I remember the most,” she says, “and I didn’t know if my eye was going to work anymore.”
Her eye has since recovered, but she holds on to the trauma that she witnessed. The pain and loss from the time she spent at Columbia Heights School District covering stories of the children caught up in the surge. The continued fear of Shortal’s neighbor, who was violently pulled out of her car and taken to Whipple.
And, at the same time, she was buoyed by the resolute hope of Minnesotans coming together. “We became that song: ‘These Are the People in Your Neighborhood,’” Shortal reflects. “I think about that all the time.” Experiencing the surge as a journalist and a citizen renewed Shortal’s sense of purpose—she does her work for the Minnesota community: “It’s this place that I’m not from, but that is my home.”
“It’s this place that I’m not from, but that is my home.”
Jana Shortal
This care and connection are why journalists like Jana matter—not just to the queer community, but to Minnesota as a whole. Jana Shortal is one of us.
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The decision nobody will explain
So it was a shock when, in late September, KARE 11 announced that Shortal’s beloved program would be removed from broadcast television and transition to free streaming platforms only. In a press release, KARE 11 stated the move reflects their broader strategy of offering more live local content on connected devices and streaming apps. Doug Wieder, president and general manager, said, “We saw a 104% increase in streaming minutes watched in 2025, and we’re on track to beat that this year.”
KARE 11’s embrace of the streaming sector reflects broader industry changes. At the same time, there are many questions left unanswered by KARE 11’s decision to change the show’s format. Why, despite Shortal’s excellence in her field and commitment to Minnesota, was Breaking the News chosen as the program to be reassigned? Why couldn’t the show have existed on broadcast TV and streaming?
Many viewers have been demanding answers from KARE 11 and parent company TEGNA for why Shortal’s beloved program was the one to go. For some, the decision to remove an openly queer person from broadcast TV a month before midterm elections felt intentional and targeted.
My questions to KARE 11 and TEGNA about additional factors behind the decision were directed back to the press release, which simply cites the opportunities to meet streaming demands and to provide Shortal’s team with a longer show each day. Shortal also directed questions about the decision to her managers and referred people to her public statement on social media. We will most likely never know all the reasons why this decision was made. But whatever KARE 11’s intent was, their decision to remove Shortal’s voice from an accessible platform has an impact that can’t be overlooked.
The reduction in platforms seems to me to be a stark reminder of the climate in which Shortal grew up. She remembers growing up when there were no out queer people on television, no one who bucked gender norms. She recalls the backlash Ellen received when she came out on TV and notes there were no signals that being out was acceptable or safe. But for years now, on Breaking the News, Shortal has been the person in the spotlight, being her full authentic self and being seen by others.
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One last minute, and a pen pal
Her last story on broadcast TV was a testament to Shortal’s visibility, connection to community, and finding hope. Shortal used her final minute on air to talk about her pen pal. Several years ago, Shortal and her wife made an Instagram post on National Coming Out Day. Shortal included her email address for anyone who needed to talk or wanted a pen pal, just as a friend.
A young person in greater Minnesota replied with a deeply personal letter describing their situation and asking for guidance. Since Shortal knew what it was like to grow up in a less-than-welcoming world, Shortal wanted to “reverse course” and change that pattern for this viewer. They wrote back and forth for several years, and Shortal arranged for them to meet at the KARE 11 studio. As time went on, communication tapered off.
And then, when Shortal announced the show would be leaving linear TV, she received another email from her old pen pal. It was a heartfelt thank you, expressing what it meant to have someone that looked like them on television, and to have connected personally during a tough time.
For Shortal, those firsthand experiences with people were the hard part of losing broadcast television. “Really, how do you articulate that to an employer? Like, I want you to keep me here against perhaps your business interests because it’s important. But it doesn’t mean I can’t find another way, because we found each other on social media. So onward we go.”
“But it doesn’t mean I can’t find another way, because we found each other on social media. So onward we go.”
Jana Shortal
I have to wonder about all the other kids who had seen Shortal on the family television after dinner. Maybe some were dreaming about becoming news anchors themselves and saw it didn’t matter what they wore, but what they said. Perhaps another teen in greater Minnesota could see themselves in Shortal’s presentation or in her story, just like that pen pal did. Shortal’s absence on broadcast television leaves a void and makes an impact regardless of the intent behind the change.
When asked about the significance of queer representation in the newsroom, Shortal is quick to emphasize that the trans and nonbinary communities are the ones predominantly under attack and need more representation. She adds, “I know there’s a very targeted attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion for whatever reason is being given, but having a newsroom and having any workplace that’s representative of the society around you makes it a better place because you understand all communities, and you’re not siloed.”
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“Unbothered and unleashed”
A different person might have thrown in the towel when faced with significant change. Not Shortal. Though she says she initially went through a period of feeling scared and frustrated, she’s committed to sticking with viewers and keeping her focus on the people of Minnesota.
“I knew that, no matter my frustration, it was: Who do I work for? And yes, I work for an organization,” she says. “But also I have changed my perspectives really in the last seven years because of the people that I speak to in the world and that approach me in the world and that reach out to me on Instagram. . . . I work for them, and so how am I going to get to them? And so, I pivot, and for as long as I can, I will work for them.”
The journalists and production team for Breaking the News have joined Shortal in the new streaming effort because of their commitment to viewers as well. One of the true benefits they hope to provide in the new format is even deeper dives into stories that matter most, thanks to the show’s extended length. Shortal adds that the team is continuing to develop new possibilities for the show in this new era: “It’s a little bit unbothered and a little bit unleashed. And if that’s the last thing I do in this iteration of my life, I’m okay with that. Because at the end of the day, I know who I’m doing it for, and I know my ‘why.’ And I know that there’s never been a more important time for accountability, and that is for everybody: for the city council, for this mayor, for that school district, for this administration.”
“I know who I’m doing it for, and I know my ‘why.’”
Jana Shortal
Shortal doesn’t consider herself the underdog in this situation, but she’s aware that there are challenges to moving to a new platform. One of the bigger concerns is viewership: Will old audiences stick with the show, and will enough new viewers discover it? “I think that we say we like the hard work,” she says. “We say that we love the story where, like, good prevails. And so I think that we have to just be honest about what does that [hard work] look like in real time with everybody. . . . Can I do it on streaming? I will do all I fucking can.”
Where to watch
Breaking The News can now be live streamed each weekday at 5:30 p.m. on KARE 11+ and streaming platforms. Each episode will also be available on demand.
From the shoot · 18 photographs by a.m. photography
