Episode 118: Joe Kriesberg and Laura Colarusso

Speaker A: Well, Dan, one of the great things about being part of a nonprofit is that we are not trying to monetize clicks. It is not our mission to get as many clicks as possible. And those clicks are not the business model. That's not how we're paying for our journalism. The people who are funding our journalism, the vast majority of the dollars that come to us are from people and institutions who want to see impact.

Speaker B: Welcome to what Works, a podcast about the future of local news coming to you from Northeastern University School of Journalism and the center for Transformative Media. I'm Dan Kennedy. Alan Clegg is off the air this week, although she's with us behind the scenes and and is editing this podcast. She'll be back soon. Our guests this week are, uh, Joe Kriesberg, the publisher of Commonwealth Beacon, and Laura Colorusso, the editor. Commonwealth Beacon is a digital nonprofit that's part of the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, better known as Mass, Inc. And Joe is the CEO. Commonwealth Beacon covers politics and public policy at the state level and has increasingly been branching out into local coverage as well. And it happens to be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Joe has been with Mass Inc. Since 2023 and has overseen the expansion of Commonwealth Beacon staff and Mission. Before that he was President and CEO of the Massachusetts association of Community Development Corporations where he was a leading advocate for affordable housing. He brings decades of nonprofit management experience and an extensive background of working with news organizations. He's raised millions of dollars for mission driven organizations. Laura Colorusso is an award winning editor and reporter who combines digital media expertise with a commitment to old school reporting. Before coming to Commonwealth Beacon, she was the editor of Nieman Reports, a UH magazine and website published by Harvard's Nieman foundation that covers issues related to journalism. She's also worked as the Digital Managing Editor at GBH News and is the digital Opinion Editor at the Boston Globe. She's also a frequent contributor to the Washington Monthly. Now I have a few disclosures I need to get through. I'm a member of Commonwealth Beacon's Editorial Advisory board as well as an occasional contributor to its Opinion section. I've also known and worked with Laura for years both at AH GBH News and at Nieman Reports. Also an important announcement. Our annual what Works webinar will take place on Thursday, May 21st. It's a free all day event aimed at enhancing skills and in audience development, ethical and effective uses of AI and how to plan a successful event. You can register at our website, what Works News. Just look for the What Works webinar 2026 tab at the top of the homepage. Later on in the podcast, I'll have a quick take on the 2026 World Press Freedom Index published recently by the international organization Reporters Without Borders. It shows that the United States has fallen to 64th, coming in just behind Botswana and just ahead of Panama. Rsf, as Reporters Without Borders is known by its French acronym, cites several factors, including Donald Trump's ongoing assault on the news media. But what's that got to do with local news? Well, I'll explain, but now let's hear from Joe Kriesberg and Laura Colorusso. Joe, I'd like to start with you since you presided over the expansion of Commonwealth Beacon. The publication began life in 1996 as Commonwealth magazine, a glossy quarterly that took a serious look at quality of life issues. Now Commonwealth went digital only in 2018 and in 2023 rebranded as Commonwealth Beacon, with an expanded staff and mission. Could you just tell our listeners what the thinking was behind that transition?

Speaker A: Well, sure, Dan, and first of all, thanks for having us. It's great to be here. As you noted, I joined Commonwealth Beacon in 2023. So much of the planning happened before I got here, but I've been a fan of Commonwealth magazine for its entire existence, have read it from the very beginning, and I do remember as a reader getting an email in 2018 asking what I thought about canceling the print edition of the magazine. And I'm pretty sure I voted against canceling it, but understood that financial pressures, the cost of printing, and changing reader habits really necessitated that change. And so I think was substantially driven by financial pressures, but also a desire to meet readers where they were at. And I think after the shift, and again, I wasn't here. But my sense of it is that going from a quarterly print magazine to focusing entirely on a daily newsletter really represents a significant shift in the type of journalism you're going to produce and the impact it's going to have. And I think that was a difficult transition. I think there were some ambivalence about it and some desire to try to continue to do both kinds of journalism. And thankfully the leadership at the time recognized the need to really think about that. And so they began a planning process in 2020 to say, what does it mean to be digital only? And ah, digital first. How is the news industry evolving? And of course we were beginning to learn about all these other state news organizations like the Texas Tribune and the Connecticut Mirror, and saying to ourselves, geez, we have something to Learn from them. So that began a three year process of research, talking to people around the country, learning from you and others about what was happening in community and local news, some fundraising and outreach to local supporters. And by the time I got here, there was a pretty well developed plan to grow Commonwealth magazine into a new brand, Commonwealth Beacon, to really commit to digital journalism and to try to grow it into a bigger, more impactful and more sustainable newsroom. That's what I was charged with doing. And we launched the new brand in November 2023.

Speaker B: And you inherited a, uh, well regarded editor, Bruce Moll, and then had to hire his replacement after he retired. Now other than simply finding a good solid editor, what were you looking for in terms of a change of emphasis and direction that led you to Laura?

Speaker A: Well, you're right, Bruce was an outstanding journalist, is an outstanding journalist and was really a, ah, big presence in state politics and news coverage for many years, first at the Globe and then for 15 years with Commonwealth. When I was interviewing for the job, he told me that he was going to be retiring soon. So it wasn't a surprise. And we knew that as we were launching the new brand and building the new digital platform that we were going to have the challenge and the opportunity of new leadership and, and we used that transition and that hiring process to really fine tune what we wanted to do from an editorial standpoint and try to step back a little bit from the daily news cycle to do more enterprise reporting, to do more longer form, um, to really make sure that our readers were getting the context and nuance they needed and not try to compete or replicate what others in the marketplace were doing. We're obviously not going all the way back to a quarterly print magazine style of journalism, but something beyond the sort of daily news cycle and finding what is that right balance of cadence and frequency and staying in people's inboxes and responding to the fact that people now expect news all the time, but giving our reporters the opportunity to do deeper reporting. And so in talking with potential editors, that was something we discussed a lot. And there are many things about Laura's resume that spoke to us, but the fact that she had been involved in both print magazine work and, and daily journalism. Anne had started at gbh doing a lot of digital. Being a digital editor, we thought she had the right mix of skills to try to figure this out and to be adaptive because even in my short three year history in the journalism business it's changed three or four times. So we know we needed somebody who could be adaptive and Respond to the evolving trends.

Speaker B: Great. And Laura, Commonwealth Beacon built its reputation on strong coverage of Beacon Hill and state policy. And I'm wondering how you would describe the mission today. Just from what I've seen as a reader, you've maintained the State House focus, but you've also expanded into some local coverage as well as broader issues such as health care and climate change.

Speaker C: If I were to give you the one sentence version of this, it's to take those two things that you just said. We are still very much committed to covering Beacon Hill, but what we are doing now, perhaps in a more direct way, is to try to connect what's happening on Beacon Hill. And I use the term Beacon Hill kind of loosely and really thinking about the power structures in the state and how the decisions that that power structure makes, how that affects people across the Commonwealth and essentially, you know, connecting voters with what their representatives and really voters and residents with what their representatives are doing with their tax dollars and in their name. I mean, the real core of that mission, as we think about it, is the, as Joe said, the contextual and, um, very nuanced and consistent look at the State House every day. But, um, as you know, the number of reporters covering the State House has declined precipitously. So we feel a real responsibility to tell our audience something about that every day. That's new. Right. So what's happening? What are the top stories that are coming out of the Statehouse that people need to know to be informed citizens? And then in terms of connecting residents to everyday politics and policy, part of the reason why, I think you see somewhat of a little bit of a shift towards doing some more local type coverage is because we're trying to take those stories and ground them in communities. Stuff might happen on Beacon Hill, but that doesn't mean, or that does mean that something, that one thing is going to affect someone in Bellingham or people up in Leominster after their maternity unit closed. We're trying really hard to find the communities that are most affected and then the people within those communities that have a real stake in the change or the issue as it stands. Actually, the Leominster story that I just referenced, where Halle Claflin, our Gateway Cities reporter, went up there to see what life was like two years after their maternity unit closed, I think is a really good example of how we're trying to thread the needle in, um, I guess both directions, if I can really murder that metaphor. She went up there and talked to patients, to EMTs, to the local politicians about what life was like. Now for people who are going through the childbirth journey. And a lot of people are now having babies in ambulances and emergency rooms. And the weight of that on the community is palpable. And so my hope is that as we're telling people what's happening on Beacon Hill, Beacon Hill is learning from us also how those, uh, decisions are affecting people across the state.

Speaker A: If I could just double click on that last point that Laura made. We know that Beacon Hill leaders, legislators, high ranking government officials and everybody who surrounds them are reading Commonwealth Beacon and they've been reading it for 30 years. I, uh, was just talking to a former secretary and the administration of Governor Charlie Baker, and she said that she read it every day when she was in office because she had to know what was being published in Commonwealth Beacon to be effective at her job. And so it's a real opportunity and responsibility. We have to educate our policymakers about the impact of the decisions they make and the decisions they don't make. And we have in Massachusetts, the least transparent legislature in the country according to, uh, Society for Professional Journalists. And we have the least competitive elections. Uh, we have a one party state, as many people know. Um, so it's really important on journalists and in particular our publication to make sure there's accountability and transparency in our government.

Speaker B: The lack of transparency is pretty shocking and I've written about it any number of times myself, as has the Globe and everybody, but nothing ever seemed to change, it seems. Uh, Laura, a follow up for you. We have an increasingly vibrant local news ecosystem in the state, especially in eastern Massachusetts where there are quite a few high quality startups. Now you've been seeking to partner with some of them. I'd like you to tell us what those efforts look like and how you're able to help with local coverage in communities where there is no partner, where there is a lack of a reliable source of news.

Speaker C: Yeah, that's a great question. And I think. Well, I know part of this grows out of my time at Niemann where we did a lot of work on news deserts. I edited a number of stories and then wrote about them as well. So this is an issue for me that is, it's very near and dear to my heart because I do believe, going back to the transparency issue, part of the break in, the trust in institutions is the lack of local news. Right. The local news outlet is the key building block to, to trust in the overall media because when you can see people in your community covering your community, you tend to trust it more. So in terms of how we're trying to work with other news organizations. And also, just as an aside, before I get to that, I do wanna note your question is really expertly phrased because you noted that it's mostly in eastern Massachusetts where there's more, I think, wealth to support local news. And if you look at, we have two public radio stations, we have a number of small hyperlocals popping up and then the Globe and which chose to expand north to south as opposed to moving out west more. Um, so the way that I think about this is knowing that we've lost somewhere on the order of 60% of reporters in Massachusetts in the last decade or so. Number of local publications have closed or shuttered and we have a lot of ghost papers now. So we're trying to think really broadly about how we use our four reporters now to cover stories across the state. And we have one reporter dedicated to that Hallie who went to Leominster. She's all over the state. I think she traveled in her first six months here, more than 814 miles around trying to visit people. She goes out and she reports on places that don't have necessarily a news organization there. And then our goal is through networks and through actually, uh, I'd almost call it like guerrilla level networking. Get these stories in front of people. The next level up, we're trying to build out a network of smaller publishers who are in our orbit and so that they know that they can take our stories for free. So everything that Commonwealth Beacon publishes, with the exception of some of the wire copy, everything we publish is open and free for smaller hyperlocals to republish for their audiences. And sometimes it lines up really well where we'll have a story from. Let's see. Well, we had a story from Bellingham the other day about a man who was having real trouble getting his unemployment benefits. That story is free for any publication in that area to republish. And then there's some of our more high level state stuff that maybe it's not really a hyperlocal story, but it's important for people to know anyways. So in some, some organizations have been taking those stories. But my hope is that if we can grow and if we can do more stories from around the state, we'll have a website that is, you know, speaks to more people and has information for people in places that don't have their own media outlets to speak of.

Speaker A: I think as we build these partnerships, um, you know, it can be a two way street. There may be something happening locally with a legislator in particular, that impacts how he or she is advancing policy at the state House. And, you know, sometimes you scratch your head. Why is this legislator doing it? Well, maybe there's something local pressure that we wouldn't necessarily be attuned to or be able to report on as effectively as a hyperlocal. So I think that there's, you know, could be some really exciting opportunities down the road as we build these relationships and as these local organizations build their capacity.

Speaker C: Yeah, we've had a couple of, I call them false starts, where we've tried to actually partner with local organizations to report on a story together, and they just haven't panned out. We're in the process of working on one right now with the Concord Bridge. I can't tell you too much about it just yet. I hope everybody will click on the link once it's finally published. But we have one reporter from Commonwealth Beacon on that story. One reporter from Commonwealth, from Concord Bridge. And they've just been working at it to try to. It's a bit of an investigative piece, and it really requires more than each organization on their own. Like, we're better than the sum of our parts here to try to move this story forward. So I'm hoping we'll be able to do more of that, too. That is tremendously time intensive. And so it's just a matter of being able to find the right opportunities to do that, because we can't do that on a daily basis. Otherwise, um, it'd be a lot.

Speaker B: I mean, that's a great collaboration. But at the same time, the Concord Bridge is one of the five or six best of these projects in the state, as well as one that serves a very affluent community. Uh, I think that the less affluent communities that may not have anything are certainly a bigger challenge.

Speaker C: You know, there are a lot of communities that just don't have anything. And who is responsible for that? Who can make a difference there? And Commonwealth Beacon. I mean, we're small, but I like to think we're mighty. We have a statewide outlook, and so trying to find places where we might not be able to cover every school board meeting, but we can drop in and say, we know that this watershed association is working on something important, and it has implications, actually for the broader state. That's kind of our sweet spot where we've been looking.

Speaker B: Now, late last year, we had as our guest on this program, Chris Fitzsimon, the publisher and CEO of state's newsroom, which has a presence in all 50 states, either with one of its own news Outlets or through partnerships. Now, in the case of Massachusetts Commonwealth Beacon is that partner. And this is a question for either one of you. Could you tell us how that works? How do readers of Commonwealth Beacon and State's newsroom benefit from this partnership?

Speaker A: Well, I'll take this, and Laurie, you can add. Uh, this is a relationship that we had when I arrived. I think it started in 2022. Um, and they provide us with a meaningful grant to support our journalism in exchange for being able to publish our stories on their website. And, you know, from our standpoint, it's a great relationship. It's part of our revenue mix. And as you know, nonprofit news organizations have to hustle for every dollar they get. And so this kind of underwriting support is really tremendous. And because they're news organizations themselves, they understand what editorial independence means. They don't try to dictate what we write about. We have entire, total freedom in that regard. And their readers get, uh, to see what's going on in Massachusetts. So it's pretty straightforward. Um, and it is part of how we're trying to build out the business side of the shop. So I'll take this question as an opportunity just to say a bit about that. We really are trying to drive four revenue streams, um, one of which is underwriting sponsorship of specific content. The Boston foundation, as you know, underwrites our opinion page as part of their supportive civic conversations. Um, we would love to have more underwriting opportunities like that, along with advertising and event sponsorship, which we all sort of bucket as earned revenue. Um, we also have a membership program for small donors. We have large individual donors, and then we're increasingly focused on foundation support. And the more diversified our revenue stream, the more, uh, independence it gives our team to be able to do the journalism we need to do.

Speaker C: This is a bit tangential from the business discussion, but I tend to think about anytime in such a cacophonous media environment where there's so much noise, so much mis and disinformation, I get a little excited or happy anytime there's good information out there in front of different audiences. So if I don't know how many more people will read our story thanks to being on the state's newsroom website. But whatever number that is, I think that's great. There's another chance for someone to get some good, solid, deeply reported, heavily edited information.

Speaker B: Now, as we all know, web traffic for many news publishers is plunged for a variety of reasons. The deterioration of social media and the rise of AI search, which means that media outlets no Longer get the click throughs that they used to count on. Now Commonwealth Beacon has other ways of reaching its audience. Your daily newsletter is probably your signature product. You also have a podcast called the Codcast and you do a fair number of in person events as well. Now Laura, you've been around digital journalism for a long time. What do you make of the changes that we've seen and how are you seeking to expand on those non web distribution efforts?

Speaker C: Well, Dan, how much time do we have? Because I have seen it all. I have seen so many pivots. I've been a part of so many news organizations and seen so many news organizations sort of chase the next platform, the next shiny thing. It sort of is what it is. It's the nature of the beast. But just the first thing I'd say is that through the one through line, through all of that that I think I've picked up from just, it's anecdotal. But the thing that I've noticed the most is that good journalism, if you adhere to your core ethics and mission, that's what's important because so long as you're taking that and putting it on different platforms, I think you will continue to find your audience. So if just sort of chasing video because that's what you think that Facebook wants, it gets a little hard if you don't have the journalism or the information to back it up. So the first thing I invest in is the good journalism and that's the square one. That is the building block that we start with as we think about how to meet that landscape though. Because as nice as that, as nice as what I just said is it doesn't completely meet reality all of the time. I would say we are trying to invest in our non algorithmic ways to meet people on the web. So newsletters, as you mentioned, that's probably the core product that we have to do that with. And you know, when I first got here, it was very clear to me. When I first got to Commonwealth Beacon, it was very clear to me that the core audience really loves the download, our daily newsletter. We uh, did an audience survey and the results came back in all caps, many exclamation points. Do not change the download. Very emphatic. People love it the way that it is and so we're going to protect that and we're going to make sure that our people who love that still have that. But I think for us it's incumbent to think about, okay, if that reaches that audience, what kind of newsletter do we need to reach Other audiences. And so we're in the process of hiring a digital producer. We actually just hired someone. She'll start at the end of May, and that person will be charged with, in consultation with all of us but her. A big piece of her. Her job will be to think about new newsletters and how we're going to market them to reach new audiences. Because I just think that the algorithms change. We don't have insight into why or how or when necessarily. So we have to really own that relationship. And, you know, events also are another key piece where we're going to keep investing. Because I do think that sort of what's old is new again. And even though we're all technically, well, m. Maybe not even technically, but, you know, we like to think we're more connected digitally because we can pick up our phones and text someone in California and get an immediate response. Being in person really does create relationships that people care about. And so we've seen a lot of success bringing people together in a room. We had an event last fall around our healthcare month, and it was, I think there were a hundred people in the room. The discussion was lively and people came up to me afterwards and just thanked me because they were so excited to see either colleagues they hadn't seen in a while hear from the secretary. It just being together, I think, creates excitement and buzz and makes people, I think, a little bit just more invested in the work that you're doing.

Speaker A: Well, Dan, one of the great things about being part of a nonprofit is that we are not trying to monetize clicks. It is not our mission to get as many clicks as possible. And those clicks are not the business model. That's not how we're paying for our journalism. The people who are funding our journalism, the vast majority of the dollars that come to us are from people and institutions who want to see impact. They want to see powerful, meaningful journalism. So to Laura's first point, as long as we're producing that, that's what will drive our business, uh, revenue. At the same time, we do want to make sure that people are seeing and reading our journalism in the way that works for them in their lifestyle. And we know that that is more than just reading a 2000 word article in one sitting. And so we need to be visible in other ways, including video, including on social media, even if it's just some brief exposure, so that when they do see it in a newsletter, it resonates for them. I'm losing my train of thought. So I'm taking advantage of the fact that we're not live. But anyhow. Go ahead, Laura.

Speaker C: No, I was just going to say I will go from house to house knocking on people's doors, say, hey, I'm from Commonwealth Beacon, you should read us. I think it's like that important that we just have those personal touch points. That's not serious. But I say it in jest, but I mean, it is sort of. I do go. If I see someone on the weekends at a soccer game and people start talking about something that we've covered, I'll talk about us. I've actually, I've gotten my doctor to sign up for the download. Like, I mean, just it's, that's part of the work.

Speaker A: I think one of our core audiences we haven't really talked about. We talked about local news organizations republishing us, but another core audience is actually other journalists who work at the Boston Globe or at our public media stations or other legacy news organizations around the state. We know they're reading us all the time. We look at the subscriber list. There's a lot of BostonGlobe.com email addresses that are subscribers. And we see that in their reporting, frequently referencing us. And so now we're really driving the conversation. Readers may be getting information from us and not ever really know it. They may not click on the hyperlink in the Globe story to find out where it actually came from. Sometimes they mention us. And I think that's really important again in terms of demonstrating the impact, achieving our mission, and yes, attracting and retaining financial support.

Speaker B: Now, the three of us have talked about the this before, but I don't think we've talked about it on the air like other projects in your space, whether you're talking about NJ Spotlight, news of the Texas Tribune or whatever you think. In terms of concentric circles, the circle closest to the center consists of state House insiders, legislators, other state officials, lobbyists, advocacy groups. The next circle out consists of people who really need to know what's going on. School superintendents, other local officials, hospital executives. Those are the folks who probably read Commonwealth Beacon the most closely. What are you doing to reach the third concentric circle, which I would describe as ordinary people who are simply interested in state news and public affairs.

Speaker C: Right. So I think there's an editorial answer to that question and I think there's a more of a business audience development side to that answer. But on the editorial side, I think it's, it's about helping people see themselves reflected in the journalism. Right. Policy and politics can get a little dry Well, I guess politics, not so much. But if you really focus on the horse race, which we try not to do, but it can be a little dry. And so what I try to remind my reporters is that behind every policy decision is something that affects everyday people. And making the stories about that effect on those people I think can help sort of bridge that gap and bring a wider swath of audience to us people, the everyday people who don't necessarily need to deal with the statehouse for their jobs. But you know, like I said at the beginning, everything that happens there does affect their lives. There's a case to be made about, you know, making our stories more narrative, and I hope you've seen that change too. We tend to write about people a little bit more than we did in the past. On the audience development side, I think it's a matter of diversifying our offerings. Right. So like I said, the download is really loved by that core group of audience, but finding things that we can do that's still within our mission, but will speak to that broader audience. So we've been thinking really quite a bit about that actually. And we are going to be making, as Joe said, an investment in doing more video, doing more, um, with our audio in different media. So that way we can reach people on different platforms and sort of bring them in because our core audience comes to us already and we really need to go out and meet the broader audience, the broader, uh, people across Massachusetts where they are.

Speaker A: One new product we're excited about is called, uh, GigaFact, which is a national organization with whom we're going to be partnering to offer short fact briefs of 150 words or less, I guess, and that address some specific issue, debate claim that's out there in the civic conversation. And they've done a ton of research about how to structure these in a way that uh, attracts readers, it gets attention on social media, and it's a different way to begin to build a relationship with more people. And then obviously once you connect with somebody, you know, a big part of our job is to get people in the so called funnel, but also down the funnel, deepening their engagement by getting them to read more articles, come to events, engage with our podcasts. I think another thing we can, we've been doing is we've been trying to do some deeper editorial projects. Um, I think you mentioned on healthcare, on climate. We're gonna have a special podcast series later this year and those will speak to audiences that are focused on that issue, whether that's climate or healthcare or immigration. Or transportation or housing. But that's a way into that audience. And then from there you can build a deeper relationship. I think we have to market what we're doing better. I think too often we would write an article, we'd send it out in the newsletter and move on. And I think the approach now is going to be, we know which articles are coming. Let's develop a plan. Who might be interested in this, who are some, uh, leaders in the community. Just make sure they get it. Send them a little note. Some of this is digital, but some of this is sort of, to Laura's point earlier, some of this is just relational. It's one on one. It's good old fashioned networking. And, you know, I think there's a lot that we can do in that regard.

Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, there are 7 million people in the Commonwealth. Right. Give or take, and we're going to try to meet every single one of them.

Speaker B: Commonwealth Beacon is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Now, it's still a fairly small operation. Your website lists a staff of six editorial employees. What's your vision for the 40th anniversary?

Speaker C: Total World domination.

Speaker B: Okay.

Speaker A: I think that. Or, uh, at least Massachusetts, I suppose. I mean, I think that 10 years is a long time from now. And I suppose one part of our vision for the 40th anniversary is that we'll be in a position to have a 50th and a 60th, because we know there will be a need for public service journalism for a long time to come, probably forever. We've needed it for the entire 250 year history of this country, and we'll need it going forward. And so what does that mean? I think it means that we have to continue to produce outstanding journalism first, full stop. That is what drives everything else. And we have to get more and more people reading it and engaging with it to the audience conversation we just had. And we're committed to having a strong, diverse business model. We're going to grow sustainably and responsibly. I like to say we're going to raise the money first and then we're going to spend it to make sure that we're not getting out over our skis. And we're going to balance the growth on the editorial side and the business side of the shop, which is like a core lesson that your book talks about, um, and that you've talked about on your podcast repeatedly. You have to grow the business side as well as the editorial side in rough proportion. But I think the key for the 40th anniversary is a strong culture within the organization because at the end of the day, everything else hinges on having that strong organizational culture, uh, a culture of independence, that we're going to produce nonpartisan, fair journalism, that we're going to be collaborative within the organization and with partners across the industry and across the state, that we're going to build community by being transparent with our readers about what we're doing, by listening to our readers and building relationships with them, by bringing people together. That's been one of our strengths for 30 years. It will continue to be one of our strengths and by being inclusive of all parts of the state and, uh, all the communities within this great state. I think these culture issues and having that be really clear to the public, that's what will allow us to be sustainable. The tactics are going to change, the funding streams might change, the platforms might change. But if we stay rooted in doing great journalism, building community, being collaborative, being inclusive, that I'm, um, confident we'll be here in 10 years and 20 years, and we'll continue to serve the people of the Commonwealth.

Speaker C: I would just add one thing and, uh, it might actually live underneath your great journalism bullet point, but I would add ambitious to that list. I want us, hopefully sooner than 10 years from now, but I want Commonwealth Beacon to be a place that people know they can turn to for the information they need to live their lives. And I'm hoping we can do that for more places across the state, especially the ones you were talking about, Dan, that don't have news organizations to speak of. I take really seriously the responsibility that we have as journalists to help people be informed citizens and understand the broader world around them. I think it's, uh, something that Commonwealth Beacon has done really well, and I'm really grateful for the opportunity to help the, um, organization keep doing that and m. Move forward with it.

Speaker B: And finally, a question we ask all our guests. What do you read, watch and listen to to stay informed, especially about state and local news in Massachusetts?

Speaker C: You want to go first, Joe, because my list is long. You go first.

Speaker A: Sure. Well, Dan, of course I read the Boston Globe, uh, as I think, uh, most of us here in Massachusetts still do. It still offers great journalism, I think. And of course, I read the New York Times, Stay up, what's going on nationally. And I read masterlist, which is published by State House News Service here in Massachusetts. I read a few industry blogs like EMP Magazine. I read your blog, of course, and, uh, listen to your podcast. And then, as you know, I'm from the housing community development field originally. So I still read, um, a lot of journals in that space. So I'll give a shout out to my friends at Shelterforce, which I think is the best community development journal in the country.

Speaker C: I was joking with Joe earlier that sometimes I feel like it'd be easier to list what I don't read. But, I mean, we have subscriptions to all of the major papers across the state. And so on a daily basis, I'm looking at the Berkshire Eagle, looking at the Telegram and Gazette. Um, I've folded into that a lot of the hyperlocals. So I want to see what the Worcester Guardian is doing, what the Newton Beacon is doing. So I'm trying to touch all of those, um, as I can each day, just to kind of get a sense for what's going on across the state. Of course, I'm reading the Globe on the weekends. I try to read the actual paper. I hold it physically in my hands because I like most of my news, like most people, comes to me through algorithms, and I like to see how the paper's laid out. And it does lead me to stories that I probably otherwise wouldn't get in my newsfeed. So on the weekends, I read the paper. I also read a lot of national media, so the New York Times. I read the Atlantic, the New Yorker. Oh, my gosh, there's so many more. I don't even know. I listen to the daily, almost daily, as I'm sure they're excited to hear. Um, because I'm sure they're also listening. And then, um, I also. Really, really.

Speaker B: Of course they are.

Speaker C: The New Yorker Radio Hour. I listen to that every week. That's a small sampling. And I'm not reading everything consistently every day, but I'm trying to get a ton of information from many different places, so I'm not missing anything.

Speaker B: Well, thank you for coming on to what works. We've been talking with Joe Kriesberg, the publisher of Commonwealth Beacon and the CEO of its parent nonprofit, Mass Inc. As well as Laura Colorusso, the editor of Commonwealth Beacon. It's hard to believe that Commonwealth Beacon has been around for 30 years at this point. It's really quite an accomplishment. I remember when it made its debut as Commonwealth magazine, which, as Joe was saying, uh, was originally a thick, glossy quarterly. I was the media columnist for the Boston Phoenix when it made its debut. And, uh, I remember writing a column about Commonwealth that was somewhat skeptical as to its prospects. And here we are 30 years later, uh, some years later, I actually Wrote, uh, some fairly long, uh, media features for Commonwealth magazine every issue. And that was a pretty rewarding experience and I really enjoyed doing that. And now that, uh, Commonwealth Beacon is a digital only news source, I do write a commentary for them from time to time. And in fact, I'm working on one at the moment. Uh, you know, when Ellen and I have done our, uh, reporting on what's going on in the local and regional news space, we've been really interested to see all of the different state level news projects that are out there. There's of course the States newsroom, which I mentioned in one of my questions to Joe and Laura, which has a presence in all 50 states, whether through its own site or through partnerships. We wrote about NJ Spotlight News and the Texas Tribune in our book. Uh, we also wrote about the Colorado sun, which is a little bit different. It's not a state House focused, uh, project, but nevertheless they do quite a bit of, uh, state politics and political coverage. Nevertheless, they do a lot of state political and policy coverage. And, uh, even though we all ought to be concerned about the fact that there isn't as much statehouse reporting nationally as there was a generation or two ago, it's been heartening to see the projects that have grown up to take their place. So now we're on to, uh, my quick take on developments in local news. Last week, the international organization Reporters Without Borders released its annual World Press Freedom Index. Now, I show this to my ethics students every semester, and they're always surprised to learn that the United States doesn't do especially well. This year is grim. The U.S. is down to 64th out of 180 countries. Last year we were 57th. The organization cited some obvious reasons for our poor ranking. Donald Trump's assault on the news media, the defunding of public broadcasting, and attacks against journalists by protesters and law enforcement. But there was another factor cited as well, the local news crisis. Here's how Reporters Without Borders put local news is in serious decline, to the point where as many as 50 million Americans lived in news deserts in 2025. The organization known as RSF, which is its French acronym, cited the Medill School's local news initiative for those statistics. So why would a shortage of reliable local news be a factor in RSF's ratings? Well, as Ellen and I have said many times, we live at the community level and we rely on local journalism to tell us about what's going on with the city council, the school committee, law enforcement, neighborhood development issues, even youth sports, which really matter in terms of civic engagement. Without that, people gravitate to polarized national media, especially Fox News, and that in turn fosters distrust in alienation. To see what RSF means, consider Norway, which is number one in terms of press freedom. RSF says Norway's legal framework safeguarding press freedom is robust. The media market is vibrant, featuring a strong public service broadcaster and a diversified private sector, and publishing companies maintain extensive editorial independence. If we had such a media system in the United States at the national and the local levels, then our democracy would almost certainly be in much better shape than it is. And that's it for this week's show. Thanks for tuning in to this discussion of the state of media, past, present and future. You can leave a news tip, comment or suggestion on our website at WhatWorks uh, news. That's where you can also learn more about our book, what Works in Community News. And please rate us at Apple Podcasts. Our graphics are by Alison Booth. Our, uh, music is by Promiser, courtesy of Lucas Wilson. And you can find Promiser on Apple Music. You can also find us on Apple Podcasts and other platforms.