Media Nation

Muzzle follow-up: The SJC stops Quincy’s mayor from erecting two Catholic statues on public property

Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch. Photo via YouTube.

In May 2025, I gave a New England Muzzle Award to Thomas Koch, the mayor of Quincy, Massachusetts, for attempting to install two religious statues at the city’s new public safety facility. Now the state’s Supreme Judicial Court has unanimously upheld a preliminary injunction blocking the statues.

Please support this free source of news and commentary by joining my Patreon for just $6 a month. Supporters receive a weekly newsletter with exclusive content.

The ACLU of Massachusetts, representing a number of local residents who sued the city, reports that the injunction will remain in effect while the case proceeds in Norfolk Superior Court. As the SJC said in its ruling, the injunction is appropriate because “the plaintiffs have demonstrated a
likelihood of success on the merits.” Jessie Rossman, legal director of the state ACLU, said in a statement:

Here in Massachusetts, our state constitution is clear: the government must remain neutral in matters of religion and must not elevate one faith above others. With today’s landmark ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court affirms those principles, which are the essential foundation of a pluralistic society where people of all faiths and no faith can flourish. As Quincy residents and taxpayers, our clients believe that installing these plainly religious statues would undermine those ideals. We are proud to represent these courageous plaintiffs, and we look forward to continuing to litigate the merits of this case in Superior Court.

As Rossman notes, the two 10-foot statues of St. Michael and St. Florian weren’t just religious icons, or even just Christian icons; they were specifically associated with the Catholic Church. Moreover, this isn’t some community group trying to put, say, a crèche on the town common during Christmas. It would have had the official imprimatur of the city.

Joining the state ACLU in representing the plaintiffs are Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Adam Gaffin has a detailed breakdown of the ruling at Universal Hub.

Peter Blandino, reporting for The Patriot Ledger, quotes Koch as saying:

Quincy’s firefighters and police put their lives on the line for this city every day, and these statues were chosen to honor their bravery, service, and sacrifice. This decision is disappointing, but it is preliminary, and we will continue to fight for the ability to commemorate our first responders as the law permits.

In other words, rather than bowing to the inevitable, Koch will continue to spend taxpayer funds on a pointless effort to knock down the First Amendment wall separating church and state.

Thinking through The Boston Globe’s (somewhat) surprising endorsement of Moulton over Markey

*U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton. Photo (cc) 2019 by Marc Nozell.*

Endorsements matter in lower-profile races because voters might genuinely be looking for guidance.

For instance, The Boston Globe’s endorsement of Lori Trahan and Jake Auchincloss might have been key factors in their first congressional victories, given that there was no incumbent and there were multiple candidates running. On the other hand, The New York Times’ double endorsement of Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries stands out as an exercise in futility.

Please support this free source of news and commentary by joining my Patreon for just $6 a month. Supporters receive a weekly newsletter with exclusive content.

In two weeks we’ll know which category the Globe’s endorsement of U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (sub. req., but this is free) in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate fits into. The incumbent, Ed Markey, remains popular despite his advanced age: he leads Moulton by a 28-point margin, according to the latest WCVB-TV/UMass Amherst poll, and the Globe/Suffolk University poll (sub. req.) has Markey up by 14. Moreover, endorsements matter less in high-profile contests — president, governor, senator — than they do when voters are less familiar with the candidates.

Continue reading “Thinking through The Boston Globe’s (somewhat) surprising endorsement of Moulton over Markey”

Muzzle follow-up: Plymouth County sheriff ordered to turn over ICE detainee medical records

U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Stephen Lynch and James McGovern on a recent visit to the Plymouth County Detention Facility. “We came to Plymouth to conduct oversight of a major detention facility in our state, check on our constituents, and demand accountability of ICE,” Pressley wrote on Facebook.

A Massachusetts Superior Court judge has ordered Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald to turn over anonymized medical records regarding nearly 500 detainees he is holding on behalf of ICE. Judge James Budreau’s ruling, which he made in response to a lawsuit brought by the ACLU, was reported last week by Fred Thys of the Plymouth Independent. (Update: I’m told that Kevin G. Andrade of The New Bedford Light had it first.)

Last month I singled out McDonald for a New England Muzzle Award for claiming that his agency’s contract with ICE did not allow him to release medical records even with the names redacted, thus helping the rogue federal agency to cover up what was going on inside the county jail.

Budreau ruled that the ICE agreement did not preclude McDonald from having to comply with the state’s public records law. “The state maintains its right to reasonably police and ensure the health and safety of its population,” Budreau ruled. “And such a right is not usurped by the federal regulation at issue here.”

That’s hardly a theoretical concern. In a follow-up story, Tonia Alvarez of The Boston Globe (sub. req.) reported that “more than 50 people across the nation have died while in ICE custody,” citing Physicians for Human Rights.

McDonald, in an emailed statement to the Independent, said he would comply with the judge’s order.

To be fair to McDonald, Judge Budreau acknowledged earlier that the ACLU’s suit was not a slam-dunk, as it involved a clash between a state law and federal authority. Fortunately, Budreau recognized that the state has a right to know what’s going on behind the walls of its detention facilities.

What I learned about suspended Spokane editor Rob Curley when I reported on him years ago

You may have seen the disturbing news that Rob Curley, executive editor of The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, has been placed on administrative leave.

Please support this free source of news and commentary by joining my Patreon for just $6 a month. Supporters receive a weekly newsletter with exclusive content.

Amaris Castillo reports for Poynter Online that publisher William “Stacey” Cowles cited “several personnel complaints,” and that the newsroom union has voted no confidence in Curley’s leadership. It appears that a dispute over coverage of the recent Spokane fires led to what has been described as “a verbal confrontation.” Here’s the statement from The Spokesman-Review.

I have a bit of insight into Curley, having reported on him for my 2018 book, “The Return of the Moguls,” when he was editor of the Orange County Register. Curley was cordial and engaging, but he would not give me an on-the-record interview during my visit in March 2015.

Continue reading “What I learned about suspended Spokane editor Rob Curley when I reported on him years ago”

What we have lost: An emotion-filled visit to the Obama Presidential Center

At the Obama Presidential Center there are several small dioramas marking events from Barack Obama’s presidency. One is of a Girl Scout campout that Michelle Obama hosted on the South Lawn in 2015. We see white tents, neatly arrayed, with the girls in a circle around a tiny campfire. It’s heartbreaking. How can we look at such a scene and not think about how Donald Trump has trashed the White House, and the presidency? It’s impossible to think about it without getting choked up — which is how we spent most of our visit to the Obama Center during our trip to Chicago last week.

Continue reading “What we have lost: An emotion-filled visit to the Obama Presidential Center”

Globe editor Brian McGrory announces a wide-ranging reorganization and a ‘less dense’ website

Boston Globe editor Brian McGrory is making some big changes in the newsroom, according to a memo to the staff that a trusted source forwarded to me a little while ago.

Though insiders will be particularly interested in the names, what strikes me is that McGrory says he’s looking for big improvements to the website, observing that it’s “our most widely read platform.” For those who think the Globe is still too print-centric, well, he agrees: “This is not to suggest that print isn’t important. It is, but there are exactly no prospects for increasing our print readership.”

The website, he writes, needs to be “less dense and more thoughtfully packaged, with a clearly defined hierarchy” — something I’m sure every reader would agree with.

Continue reading “Globe editor Brian McGrory announces a wide-ranging reorganization and a ‘less dense’ website”

A hoped-for deal between NJ Spotlight News and Montclair State comes to fruition

*The Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University.*

There’s good news to report about the future of NJ Spotlight News, a 16-year-old website that covers politics and public policy in New Jersey. We learned in June that NJ PBS, the public television network that partners with Spotlight, would be moving to Montclair State University because of federal and state budget cuts totaling some $2.25 million a year. Previously NJ PBS had been a subsidiary of WNET, the New York public media giant. (You can find a lot more details here.)

At the time, it seemed likely that Spotlight would wind up at Montclair State as well, but the details had not been worked out. Finally, last Friday, Montclair State announced that an agreement had been reached with WNET, which had owned Spotlight since 2019.

Continue reading “A hoped-for deal between NJ Spotlight News and Montclair State comes to fruition”

The Boston Globe’s paid digital circulation jumps to 313,000 thanks to institutional deals

I started teaching full-time in 2005. Back then, large piles of The Boston Globe were distributed across Northeastern’s campus. Because students were able to pick up a free Globe on the way to class, I could ask them to bring the paper and be familiar with the main stories of the day.

Please support this free source of news and commentary by joining my Patreon for just $6 a month. Supporters receive a weekly newsletter with exclusive content.

Those stacks disappeared years ago. Northeastern worked out a deal for discounted digital subscriptions for students, and I and most of my colleagues in our journalism school required them. But free distribution didn’t return until earlier this year, when Northeastern renegotiated its arrangement with the Globe. Now Northeastern picks up the cost of a digital subscription, and it is free to students, faculty and staff. I actually canceled the paid subscription we’d had since the mid-’80s (digital-only in recent years) and made the switch.

Continue reading “The Boston Globe’s paid digital circulation jumps to 313,000 thanks to institutional deals”

An indie journalist in Worcester avoids having to identify his confidential sources — for now

*Worcester City Hall. Photo (cc) 2015 by Dan Kennedy.*

An independent news organization called This Week in Worcester may be compelled to identify its confidential sources as the result of a libel suit brought against the outlet by a city police officer. First Amendment watchdog Andrew Quemere posted about the case on Bluesky.

Please support this free source of news and commentary by joining my Patreon for just $6 a month. Supporters receive a weekly newsletter with exclusive content.

According to Brad Petrishen of the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, Superior Court Judge Gillian Feiner decided not to force This Week publisher Thomas Marino to identify his sources at this time, and she urged Marino and the plaintiff, Officer Thomas Duffy II, to work out a pre-trial settlement. Feiner did not rule out requiring Marino to identify his sources later on.

Continue reading “An indie journalist in Worcester avoids having to identify his confidential sources — for now”

No news for you: Why is it so hard to buy a paper to read on the plane?

We got back from Chicago on Saturday after a great vacation with Barbara’s sister, Mary, and her husband, Eric. I’ll have more to say, especially about our visit to the Obama Presidential Center. Today, though, I want to lament the demise of print newspapers and offer some suggestions on how both publishers and airports could make for a better flight.

We flew out on Tuesday. Before boarding at Logan, I visited several Hudson News stores looking for a Wall Street Journal. There were no papers at all — not even USA Today. We got on board, and I was able to connect to Southwest’s wifi service for $8. Given the price of a newspaper these days, that seemed like a reasonable tradeoff. It cut out briefly a couple of times, but I was able to make my way through most of the content on the iPhone app.

On Saturday, I got up early and hit a couple of 7-Elevens near our hotel. Nothing. Needless to say, at one time I’d have been able to grab a free paper at the hotel, but no such luck. Once again, Hudson News stores at Midway were bereft of papers, but I figured I could just pay for wifi. I could not — no service was available. I looked a photos on my phone, stared into space and dozed off briefly. Fortunately, it was a short flight.

Now, you could say I should have brought a book, and yes, I guess I should have. But I didn’t realize it would be impossible to get a paper. It seems to me that at least a few people in airports would like newspapers, especially given the spotty wifi on airplanes. Since Hudson News is occupying space by virtue of a contract with a governmental entity, you’d think it might be required that they carry, say, three national newspapers.

At one time in the not-too-distant past, an absence of print newspapers wouldn’t have been a problem, at least not if you had a Kindle. Amazon used to offer a wide range of papers, and you could buy a single copy for a few bucks. Since the entire edition was downloaded to your device, you didn’t need connectivity. It was a great benefit, and I don’t understand why Amazon ended it.

I do have a solution, though. Why can’t newspaper apps have an option to download that day’s paper? The Boston Globe does, so next time I’ll save it for the plane. But why not The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal? It seems like a natural benefit to offer to paid subscribers.

More: After I posted this, I learned from Bluesky user @nationalsliker.bsky.social that The Wall Street Journal offers a separate iPhone app for the print edition that lets you download that day’s paper, which I’m going to try on the train later this morning. (The Washington Post offers the downloadable print edition in its iPhone app if you click on the search tool.) And commenter John Caddel reports that the Journal sends him a daily email of the paper in PDF form.