Media and Journalism
The Download: Patrick’s new politics
Kevin Cullen, in a column in today’s Boston Globe, shines a light on how Gov. Deval Patrick is insisting on political loyalty as he assembles his leadership team for a […]
The Download: Mitt’s op-ed machine
While Sarah Palin goes the reality show route to boost her popularity and reduce her negatives, Mitt Romney takes a more conventional path to building presidential gravitas: holding forth on […]
The Download: Obama hits back
When it comes to taxes, presidents can’t get a break and Barack Obama is no exception. Obama is on the defensive after the announcement of a tax deal that includes […]
The Download: Kick the can
The midterm elections last month presented the country with the prospect of a deadlocked Congress, one that had been birthed by obstructionism, and one whose leadership measured success in terms […]
The Download: Pondering patronage
Former Senate president Billy Bulger practiced the trade with such abandon that MBTA was said to stand for “Mr. Bulger’s Transportation Authority,” an only partially tongue-in-cheek reference that seemed to […]
The Download: Teacher lessons
Another Monday, another impressive spread on the Boston Globe op-ed page devoted to the thoughts of retired Boston high school teacher Junia Yearwood. More accurately, we should say another spread […]
The Herald’s head man
A 27-year veteran of the Boston Herald, editor-in-chief Joe Sciacca has spent most of his career covering Massachusetts politics. So on election night when US Rep. Barney Frank complained about […]
Why journalists need personal branding
I was in San Francisco recently addressing a roomful of journalists at their annual convention. Ten years ago, I would have been one of them. But these days—my youthful aspirations […]
The endorsement chase
Here is a run-down of endorsements from newspapers around the state in the races for governor, treasurer, and state auditor, the open 10th Congressional District seat, and on the three […]
The endorsement chase
Here is a run-down of endorsements from newspapers around the state in the races for governor, treasurer, and state auditor, the open 10th Congressional District seat, and on the three […]
The Globe’s man-bites-dog endorsement for auditor
By Michael Jonas Last week, my colleague Bruce Mohl wrote about the ins and outs of the candidate endorsement process at Boston’s two daily papers. The Boston Herald, which leans […]
The art of endorsements
Political endorsements by newspapers don’t carry as much weight today as they once did, but campaigns still scramble for them. They represent a stamp of approval seen by thousands of […]
Backwater of the universe
Banned in Boston: The Watch and Ward Society’s Crusade against Books, Burlesque, and the Social Evil By Neil MillerBoston, Beacon Press, 209 pagesIt’s easy to be smug when you live […]
Globe to charge for newspaper content
The Boston Globe made waves today by announcing its plans to lock its newspaper content behind a paid subscription firewall. But setting up a paywall is one thing. Making it […]
Herald: Dog bites man
By Michael Jonas We have officially entered the silly season in campaign coverage, at least over on Wingo Way. <!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; […]
The death of the press conference
Press conferences used to be the ultimate showdown—newsmaker vs. reporter, mano-a-mano, cage-match style. But in recent years, they’ve become a paltry wisp of their former selves. Nowadays, you’re more likely […]
Shrinking coverage
In the last five years, Massachusetts newspapers have dramatically altered the way they cover—or don’t cover—the state’s congressional delegation in Washington.Every Bay State newspaper except the Boston Globe has pulled […]
Filling the cracks
The news business is changing so quickly that sometimes you have to stop and take stock. Shawn Zeller did just that in his Washington Notebook report for this issue, and […]
The Shirley Sherrod he knew
By Michael Jonas It is a mild understatement to say there is plenty that initial media reports and the Obama administration had wrong about Shirley Sherrod. But the lessons involve more than just the unconscionable […]
Media to FTC: Drop dead
It comes as no surprise that the national media is painted as having a liberal slant: a Google search for the terms “liberal media” nets 990,000 results, and critics have […]
If I ruled the Globe
I don’t need to rule the whole planet—just the Globe. The Boston Globe, that is. As a former journalist, it’s a favorite parlor game among my media-savvy friends: What would […]
Herald refuses to cover probation story
By Bruce Mohl The Boston Herald’s refusal to cover the fast-moving probation story is becoming comical. It’s one thing to not write about the Boston Globe’s two-part series on probation […]
