Photo (cc) 2014 by Jay Phagan.The surveillance state has come to Brookline, Massachusetts. Sam Mintz reports for Brookline.News that Chestnut Hill Realty will set up license-plate readers on Independence Drive near Hancock Village, located in South Brookline, on the Boston border. The readers are made by Flock Safety, which is signing an agreement with the Brookline Police Department to use the data. The data will also be made available to Boston Police.| Media Nation
Jay Rosen has been one of the major thinkers in journalism since the 1990s. Younger followers may think of him mainly as a media critic, and there’s no doubting his influence in that field. Through his blog, PressThink, and his social media presence (especially back in Twitter’s heyday), Rosen showed an uncanny ability to frame … Continue reading "Public journalism redux: Post-academia, Jay Rosen returns to where he started"| Media Nation
South of Boston folks: I’ll be speaking on “News and Democracy in a Time of Crisis” at the Stoughton Public Library in Stoughton, Massachusetts, on Monday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. This free and open event is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Sharon-Stoughton. Hope to see you there!| Media Nation
The surveillance state has come to Brookline, Massachusetts. Sam Mintz reports for Brookline.News that Chestnut Hill Realty will set up license-plate readers on Independence Drive near Hancock Village, located in South Brookline, on the Boston border. The readers are made by Flock Safety, which is signing an agreement with the Brookline Police Department to use … Continue reading "Surveillance cameras in Brookline, Mass., raise serious questions about civil liberties"| Media Nation
I’m not ready to give a New England Muzzle Award to state Rep. Steven Xiarhos, R-Barnstable, just yet. But a proposal he talked about last week in response to so-called street takeovers in five Massachusetts communities raises concerns about freedom of speech. In a story reported by John L. Micek and Heather Morrison for MassLive, … Continue reading "Mass. legislator proposes crackdown on street takeovers that would include spectators"| Media Nation
In the world of independent local news startups, 10 years is an eon. That’s how long John and Kristen Muldoon published The Local News, a nonprofit print weekly that covers Ipswich, on Boston’s North Shore, as well as several surrounding communities. Now they’re moving on. Fortunately, they’ve worked out a succession plan. Trevor Meek, who’s … Continue reading "John and Kristen Muldoon are retiring from their nonprofit newspaper in Ipswich, Mass."| Media Nation
My What Works partner Ellen Clegg has written a new post on how the Memphis media are dealing with Trump’s troop deployment. She’s got updates from The Commercial Appeal, the Daily Memphian, the Tennessee Lookout, MLK50 and the Institute for Public Service Reporting and the Memphis Flyer.| Media Nation
The Boston Globe’s paid print circulation continues to fall, and the paper has stopped reporting numbers for digital subscribers — although a spokeswoman says that paid digital “is thriving and surpassing expectations.” The print numbers come from the Globe’s annual “Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation,” which it is required to publish under postal regulations. … Continue reading "The Globe’s print circulation drops again, but it says paid digital ‘is thrivi...| Media Nation
Nonprofit local news is on the upswing, according to a new report from the Institute for Nonprofit News. An INN survey of nearly 400 digital-first nonprofit news organizations showed that the median outlet raised $532,000 in revenue in 2024, up from $477,000 the previous year. That’s an increase of 11.5%. Sign up for free email … Continue reading "Nonprofit local news is growing, but the revenue mix remains unbalanced, according to a new INN report"| Media Nation
I was thrilled to attend the Mass Book Awards ceremony at the Statehouse earlier today, when “What Works in Community News: Media Startups, News Deserts, and the Future of the Fourth Estate,” which Ellen Clegg and I wrote about possible ways out of the local journalism crisis, was recognized as one of the top dozen … Continue reading "Recognition for ‘What Works in Community News’ from the Mass Book Awards"| Media Nation
For at least 15 years, local-news visionaries have been thinking about ways to build a media organization owned and governed by its staff and members of the community. The idea is to create a news …| Media Nation
As best as I can determine, in the 11 months since The Washington Post’s opinion section descended into Jeff Bezos-imposed turmoil, no one had been fired — until now. Some people quit in prot…| Media Nation
The Daily Herald of Provo, Utah. Image via Today’s Front Pages.On the afternoon that right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was murdered, three teenagers, including the shooter, were reported to be in critical condition following a school shooting in Evergreen, Colorado. The shooter later died.| Media Nation
Jeff Jacoby has a sharp column up at The Boston Globe on the dangers of physician-assisted suicide, writing that “a decent society does not enlist physicians to end lives; it strives to relie…| Media Nation
The Bedford Citizen, which may be the oldest nonprofit local-news startup in Massachusetts, is back on track after losing its top two newsroom employees earlier this year. Bill Fonda is joining the…| Media Nation
Major philanthropies are stepping up to offset some of the cuts to public television and radio, Benjamin Mullin reports in The New York Times (gift link). But will it be enough? And what possible d…| Media Nation
This may be the most important story you’ll read all month. Konrad Putzier and Rachel Louise Ensign report in The Wall Street Journal (gift link) that we are losing our economic dynamism. Ame…| Media Nation
Boston Globe reporter Bob Hohler carved out a unique beat for himself over the years. As an investigative reporter focusing on sports, he’s covered such high-profile stories as the Red Sox…| Media Nation
There was a time when it seemed like every other week I was writing about some terrible thing we had learned about Facebook or one of Meta’s other platforms. There was Facebook’s compli…| Media Nation
Because Jeff Bezos has taken a wrecking ball to The Washington Post’s opinion section, critics have become sensitive to any hint that the billionaire owner is paying obeisance to Donald Trump…| Media Nation
The mayor of Burlington, Vermont, has rescinded a gag order that had prevented the city’s police department from issuing press releases without the approval of her office. The contentious ord…| Media Nation
Terrible news from The Associated Press. Media Nation correspondent J.A. passes along this note from Anthony McCartney, the AP’s global entertainment and lifestyle editor. AP to end its weekl…| Media Nation
