The Plymouth Independent, a high-profile nonprofit news project, has made its long-awaited debut. The site right now is leading with a story by former Boston Globe reporter Andrea Estes on the town’s affordable housing crisis.
Estes is just one of several Globe folks involved in the site: the editor, Mark Pothier, was a high-ranking editor at the Globe, and Globe veteran Walter Robinson is listed as an adviser to the board. Estes is one of two staff reporters; the other is Fred Thys, formerly of WBUR Radio and VTDigger.
Notably, the Independent has a social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, but not on X/Twitter. I’m sure we’re going to see more and more of that. It’s also one of two nonprofit news sites to launch in Eastern Massachusetts this month, along with The Belmont Voice.
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Ex-news guy Ted Tedford,
So glad to see a nonprofit start-up off and running and with some ex-Globe heavies at work. Right on!
Mark Pothier
Thanks, Dan.
Patrick Rafter
Just as their ain’t no such thing as a free lunch, quality journalism requires quality journalism.
Free speech doesn’t guarantee honest and thorough news.
Experienced reporters and editors are the qualifiers, verifiers, distillers, and heralds of what the public needs to know.
Adam Smith
Question, Dan. Do you have any concerns that news outfits like these will be only for the wealthier areas (Brookline, Belmont as examples) and leave the poorer communities without coverage they used to get back when newspapers were bigger and had more resources? I am not saying there is anything wrong with these startups, and they could play a vital role in these towns, but I do worry we’re seeing a news divide.
Dan Kennedy
Oh, sure. That’s a constant concern. I wrote about it just last week.
Adam Smith
I will read that today, thanks!
Catherine DeTerra
There is a nonprofit online newspaper operating in New Bedford as well:
https://newbedfordlight.org/
Dan Kennedy
And in many, many other places. Be sure to check out our spreadsheet of independent news projects in Massachusetts.