Boston University – Media Nation

Jennifer Peter tells us about The Marshall Project, a nonprofit that covers criminal justice

On the latest “What Works” podcast, Ellen Clegg and I talk with Jennifer Peter, who was named editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project in September. The Marshall Project is a national nonprofit that covers issues related to criminal justice. She’s only the third editor in 10 years, replacing Susan Chira, a former New York Times editor. Peter started her career as a reporter, working for 12 years at newspapers in Idaho, Connecticut and Virginia before joining The Associated Press in Boston.

From the AP, she moved to the Globe, where she rose quickly through the ranks. She was regional editor, politics editor and city editor. As metro editor, she oversaw the Globe’s Boston Marathon bombing coverage, which won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News. In 2018 she was promoted to managing editor, the number-two position in the newsroom. In our conversation, Peter tells us about The Marshall Project’s mission, including its foray into local news in Cleveland, St. Louis and Jackson, Mississippi.

A production note: I’m at Northeastern, but Ellen is beaming in from a studio at Brookline Interactive Group, which handles multimedia for the town of Brookline. BIG, as it is known locally, is also host to a class of Brandeis students who travel to Brookline to report and write stories for Brookline.News, the nonprofit newsroom Ellen is part of. BIG provides audio and video of Brookline civic meetings and also works with Brookline public school students on multimedia projects.

I’ve got a Quick Take about yet another newspaper that’s gone out of business, although this one has an unusual twist. The devastating wildfires that ripped through the Los Angeles area last January have claimed the Palisadian-Post, a twice-monthly newspaper that had been publishing since 1928. The problem is that many of the residents were forced to leave, and though rebuilding is under way, the community hasn’t come close to recovering.

One of my Northeastern students, Abbie O’Connor, is from the Pacific Palisades — her home is still standing. She wrote several times in my opinion journalism class during the semester about how the Palisades were affected by the fire. Among other things, an enormous number of Palisades residents moved to Manhattan Beach, re-creating the sense of community they had in their former homes.

*Home in Altadena, still unbuilt earlier this month. Photo © 2025 by Abbie O’Connor.*

Abbie’s final project was an enterprise story on racial and economic disparities in the rebuilding resources that are being made available to the mostly white, affluent residents of the Pacific Palisades and the lower-income, historically Black community of Altadena.

Ellen’s Quick Take is about Brian McGrory returning as editor of The Boston Globe in January. McGrory left in early 2023 to become chair of Boston University’s journalism department. He’ll replace Nancy Barnes, who announced earlier this month that she’d be stepping aside. Although McGrory’s departure from BU is not being described as a leave of absence, he says he expects to return to his academic post no later than 2027.

You can listen to our conversation here, or you can subscribe through your favorite podcast app.

BBJ: Newly named Globe editor Brian McGrory tells students he’ll return to BU no later than 2027

Newly appointed Boston Globe editor Brian McGrory says he plans to return to Boston University no later than 2027, according to a report (sub. req.) in the Boston Business Journal.

Crystal Yormick of the BU Statehouse Program quotes an email that McGrory sent to current and former students: “The CEO of the Globe reached out recently asking if I’d come back to help them through a sensitive time, and after a great deal of thought and internal debate, I’ve decided to do it.”

McGrory stepped down as Globe editor in 2023 to become chair of BU’s journalism department. On Monday, the Globe announced that he would return to his previous job, replacing Nancy Barnes, who said last Friday that she would be leaving that position, though she will remain an editor-at-large.

During his time at BU, McGrory has also filled in temporarily in several top jobs at The Baltimore Banner, a large digital nonprofit. He continues to serve on the Banner’s board of directors.

McGrory’s email suggests that his return to the Globe was in the works before last Friday, but it’s not clear how much before. William McKeen, who’ll serve as interim chair, said he was told “late last week” that McGrory had asked for a leave of absence.

“We all wish Brian the best, but we want him back,” McKeen was quoted as saying.

Linda Henry says McGrory will not be the ‘interim’ editor but will take an extended leave from BU

I’ve now received a copy of a statement that Boston Globe Media CEO Linda Henry has sent to the staff. She splits the difference on the “interim” issue: Brian McGrory will be fully back as the Globe’s editor, but he’ll also be on an “extended leave of absence” from Boston University. (Here’s my earlier post.) Her full statement follows.

We are thrilled that Brian McGrory will be rejoining our organization as editor of the Globe, starting January 5th, 2026.

Brian, as many of you know, brings a strong record of leadership and innovation from his prior time at the Globe, and will return with an enhanced set of experiences from his current work in academia and from the increasingly vital sector of nonprofit news. His career reflects a deep commitment to this institution and the city and region that we cover.

Brian spent 34 years with the Globe in his prior run. He started in 1989 as a reporter in the then-South Weekly section, rising to general assignment, a roving national reporter role, White House correspondent, signature metro columnist, editor of our metro department, and then Editor from 2012 to early 2023. During his tenure as Editor, he successfully navigated dramatic industry change while overseeing coverage of massive regional and national stories. He worked with the entire organization to position the Globe as the paper of interest rather than a conventional paper of record, always pressing the newsroom to be relentlessly interesting. During this stretch, the Globe essentially reinvented its coverage, with new beats, a new outlook, and a far stronger emphasis on its digital report, while winning multiple Pulitzer Prizes and rapidly growing its base of digital subscribers.

Brian’s post-Globe life has been very active. As the chair of the Journalism Department at Boston University and a professor of the practice, he has launched the Local News Initiative, an ambitious effort designed to foster collaboration among local nonprofit and independent news organizations across New England. A key component of this work is the BU Newsroom, which Brian launched last year. That newsroom, with a newly hired editor in chief, has produced more than 400 student-written stories published with local nonprofit and independent news organizations, each story professionally edited before it leaves BU. Brian plans to keep his hand in this initiative going forward.

We’re especially enthused about Brian’s extensive experience from multiple leadership roles at The Baltimore Banner, which has quickly become one of the country’s largest nonprofit news organizations since its launch just a few years ago. Brian has served as a board member, strategic adviser, interim CEO, and as interim editor this past summer. The Banner won its first Pulitzer Prize in May and has rapidly grown its subscriber base.

It’s worth noting that Brian is returning to the Globe as the Editor, not in an interim role, and we are grateful to the leadership of Boston University for granting him an extended leave of absence.

We know well of Brian’s passion for the Globe and his love of Boston, and how the two fit together. We are excited to welcome Brian back, and I look forward to the work that our world-class newsroom will continue to do to help our community thrive.

Thanks everyone,

Linda Henry

The Emancipator is leaving Boston and following co-founder Ibram X. Kendi to Howard University

Ibram X. Kendi. Photo (cc) 2019 by Tony Turner Photography.

The Emancipator, a digital magazine covering racial justice that was launched with great fanfare four years ago, is leaving Boston.

The project was originally a joint venture of The Boston Globe’s opinion section and the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University. The Globe ended its involvement two years later. The Emancipator will now be based at Howard University, the leading historically Black university.

The move was actually announced back in February, but it will formally take place on Monday, the last day of the academic year. Co-founder Ibram X. Kendi, the well-known antiracism scholar, is leaving BU to take a position at Howard, and The Emancipator is following him to Washington.

Amber Payne, The Emancipator’s publisher, announced on Thursday that she’ll be stepping down, writing:

After June 30, The Emancipator will transition from Boston University to Howard University as part of our co-founder Ibram X. Kendi’s Institute for Advanced Study, which will be dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of racism in the global African Diaspora. The Emancipator will be part of the institute’s larger mission to enhance the general public’s understanding of racism and evidence-based antiracist solutions through academic and publicly accessible research, public lectures, events, workshops, and outreach programs.

Payne was originally hired as co-editor along with Deborah Douglas, who now teaches journalism at Northwestern’s Medill School and is director of Medill’s newly created Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub.

Michelle Johnson’s journey; plus, the deer explosion in Mass., and fighting back against Musk

I’m driving in the slow zone this holiday week, but I do want to share a couple of stories and some information on how you can make Elon Musk unhappy as we count down the days until 2025.

First up: Marc Ramirez has written a fascinating story in USA Today about Michelle Johnson’s journey to learn more about her Black ancestors in the South. A lot of us in Boston media know Johnson as a retired journalism professor at Boston University and, before that, as a top editor at Boston.com during its early days in the mid-1990s.

Johnson and her spouse, Myrna Greenfield, traveled to the Carolinas earlier this year to research family members who had been slaves and who had continued to live in the South after the Civil War. At one point, she visited a home in North Carolina, where they were invited in by the white couple who lived there and shown the still-standing slave quarters out back. Johnson recalled:

They had taken the slave cabin and pieced it together with this old kitchen and use it as a guesthouse now. There was a ladder leaning up against it and they told us the enslaved persons working there would have used it to up to the second level. … I wondered if any of my relatives would have been there. Would they have worked in that kitchen? To be in that space where some of them might have been was really moving.

Having learned about her mother’s side of the family, Johnson told Ramirez that she is now hoping to delve into her father’s side.

Oh, deer

This past Saturday we were driving along the Mystic Lakes in Medford shortly before 10 p.m. when two deer suddenly bounded in front of us. My wife, Barbara, who was driving, swerved and missed the first but then hit the second. It crumpled by the side of the road; we drove off, then returned a few minutes later to see that it had evidently gotten up and bounded into the surrounding woods. We hope it wasn’t badly hurt.

It turns out that the deer population in Massachusetts is exploding. Scooty Nickerson reports for The Boston Globe that Massachusetts is home to about 160,000 deer, double the population in the 1990s.

As a result, more and more deer are running afoul of motor vehicles. Westport leads the state with 337 reported collisions between 2018 and 2022; Middleborough, where I grew up, was second, with 272.

Overpopulation is spreading disease and contribution to erosion, as the animals eat plants along shorelines. Sadly, one solution is more hunting, which is unpopular in Massachusetts, especially in the urban and suburban communities inside Route 495.

Avoiding collisions is a challenge. Deer can dart out in front of cars during daylight hours and in settled areas, as you can see from the police photo that accompanies the Globe story. But you might be able to improve your odds by driving slowly and staying alert if you find yourself driving through a wooded area after dark.

Make Elon cry

Elon Musk hates Wikipedia, because of course he does. The serial entrepreneur, destroyer of Twitter and now Donald Trump’s wingman went off on one of his periodic benders a few days ago, denouncing it as “Wokepedia,” questioning its finances and offering to donate $1 billion if it would change its name to “Dickipedia.” Gosh, what a brilliant sense of humor.

Wikipedia may be the last uncorrupted place on the internet, driven solely by its mission to make the world’s knowledge available to everyone. It’s not perfect, but the folks who run it do a much better job of keeping out trolls and vandals than was the case in the early days more than 20 years ago. Better understood as a research tool than a reference source, it is the ideal starting place for all kinds of projects — especially through the linked footnotes and external websites that are listed at the bottom of every article.

I’ve given in the past and decided to dig a little deeper following Musk’s outburst. I hope you will, too.

Talking about local news at BU

I’ll be taking part in a webinar on “Saving Local News” on Wednesday, Feb. 14, from 3 to 4 p.m., sponsored by the Boston University Alumni Association. (That’s not why I got invited, but I actually did earn my master’s in American history from BU way back in 1983.)

The other panelists: Sarabeth Berman, CEO of the American Journalism Project; Karen Rundlet, CEO of the Institute for Nonprofit News; and Daniela Melo, a BU faculty member and co-founder of The New Bedford Light. Moderating will be former Boston Globe editor Brian McGrory, chair of BU’s Journalism Department. You can register here.

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Joan Donovan claims she was pushed out of Harvard to make Meta happy

Disinformation expert Joan Donovan, who was pushed out of the Harvard Kennedy School earlier this year, is now claiming that the dean, Douglas Elmendorf, wanted her out so as not to offend Meta, whose charitable arm had pledged to give $500 million to Harvard. The university denies the charges leveled by Donovan, who is now at Boston University. Joseph Menn of The Washington Post has the story, and here is a free link.

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Student journalists are essential to knowing what’s taking place on campus

I just want to give a quick shoutout to our great student journalists at Northeastern. The Boston Globe published a story Monday about problems with NU Bound, a program under which our students begin their education at campuses outside of Boston — especially Oakland, California, and London. Students talk about running into a housing squeeze as well as a sense that they’ve fallen behind academically and socially, according to Globe reporter Vivi Smilgius.

The Huntington News, our independent student newspaper, posted an article that covered similar ground on Oct. 2. Written by Jackson Laramee, the story is especially strong on the different academic culture in London, where students are given little in the way of graded assignments and professors, according one student, are disorganized and short on preparation.

And let’s not overlook The Daily Free Press at Boston University, where student journalists published a comprehensive report on problems at Ibram X. Kendi’s Antiracist Research Center that had other media scrambling to catch up.

Student journalists are doing a great job, and their work is essential to understanding what is taking place on college campuses.

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Problems with antiracism center cast the Emancipator-Globe split in a new light

Ibram X. Kendi. Photo (cc) 2019 by Montclair Film.

In light of the problems (free link) that have become public at Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research, Scott Van Voorhis (sub. req.) asks a pertinent question: What really happened with the split between The Boston Globe and The Emancipator, which was a signature project of the center and its founder, Ibram X. Kendi? The Emancipator continues to publish solely under the auspices of the center, but it didn’t quite make sense earlier this year when the Globe announced that the partnership was ending after two years. Van Voorhis, who produces the newsletter Contrarian Boston, writes:

In announcing the move, the Globe characterized it as the end of a two-year partnership. Hmm. Back in March 2021, when the Globe announced it was teaming up with Kendi and the BU Center for Antiracist Research to launch the digital publication, there was no mention of a two-year deal, or of any time limit to the agreement, for that matter.

Van Voorhis urges the Globe to say more about what was behind the split, but I don’t know if it’s really all that complicated. Based on recent reporting, it’s pretty clear that Kendi was difficult to work with and that the center’s spending was not fully accounted for. That said, The Emancipator continues to do good work and — full disclosure — our Northeastern journalism students have partnered with the site, as in this series on restorative justice.

Also: Overdue kudos to BU’s independent student newspaper, The Daily Free Press, whose Sept. 21 deep dive represents the definitive account (for now) of what went wrong at the center. Reporters Molly Farrar and Lydia Evans began working on the story last December, according to their account. Student journalism rocks.

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The Boston Globe ends its involvement with The Emancipator

For some time now, Boston Globe insiders have known that the Globe opinion section was going to cease co-publishing The Emancipator, a digital publication on racial justice. Now the Globe is making it official: Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research will continue to publish The Emancipator without the Globe’s involvement.

The following message to Globe staff members, from chief executive Linda Henry and editorial page editor Jim Dao, went out a little while ago. It was provided to me by a trusted source.

Hi team,

In March 2021, we embarked on an ambitious new media collaboration with Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research to build and launch The Emancipator, a non-profit, solutions-focused multimedia newsroom that would help drive the national conversation on racial justice and equity with deep journalism grounded in current research

The partnership between Globe Opinion and BU was designed to draw from the strengths of our two institutions, each of us committing two years of time, expertise, and resources to help lay the groundwork from which The Emancipator would grow. This helped the initiative to launch quickly, providing essential startup resources so that the editorial team could focus on incubating ideas and pursuing ambitious projects during critical moments in the national discourse on race.

While many non-profit newsrooms don’t make it, The Emancipator has thrived as its journalism and mission has resonated with local and national audiences. They have published hundreds of original pieces and welcomed thousands of readers online and at events, including a community celebration for Juneteenth in Boston and with prominent members of Congress, both virtual and live in Washington, D.C. They have cultivated a strong and dedicated newsletter following. Their thoughtful explainer videos have been shared widely across social media.

Having successfully completed our two-year partnership with BU in getting this newsroom launched, The Emancipator will transition to be fully integrated at Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research starting this week. The move to BU will streamline its operations and fundraising efforts and will unite the editorial team under one organization. During the transition, we will continue to publish The Emancipator on Globe.com.

The Emancipator’s Globe-based employees will be carrying forward with their roles as part of Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research.

Amber Payne, co-editor in chief, will transition into the role of Publisher and GM, shifting to focus on strategic operations and development. She will lead the search for The Emancipator’s next editor in chief. It has been inspiring to witness her leadership and creative vision and we wish her continued success in her new role.

Kimberly Atkins Stohr, who anchored the editorial team for The Emancipator and helped launch its newsletter, Unbound, will be dedicating 100% of her time to Globe Opinion. We congratulate her for the incredible work she produced with The Emancipator, particularly her powerful racial wealth gap series, and we look forward to seeing her column more frequently in the Globe.

We are proud of the role that The Boston Globe has played in launching and growing this innovative newsroom, and will continue to support their solutions-focused journalism and research. We expect to continue highlighting their work through op-eds and to serve as a media partner for future events.

So many of our colleagues across the company helped to launch this initiative, and we want to acknowledge and congratulate them on the success of The Emancipator.

Our Globe Opinion team provided support across the board, from editorial guidance, digital production, design, and operations. A special thanks to Marjorie Pritchard, Kimberly Atkins Stohr, Abbi Matheson, Heather Hopp-Bruce, Abi Canina, and former editorial page editor, Bina Venkataraman, who conceptualized and helped launch The Emancipator’s early framework and design.

Our IT, engineering, product and development teams helped build The Emancipator’s website and integrated their editorial teams on our publishing system, providing front and backend technical support. A special thanks to Abraham Doris-Down, Todd Dukart, Briana Boyington, Lynda Finley and their teams.

Our legal, finance, and HR teams have supported the initiative from its earliest days, ensuring administrative and operational support to structure the team, onboard new employees, and manage resources and expenses. To Dan Krockmalnic, Katie Lazares, Dhiraj Nayar, Chris Zeien, Vinne Ferlisi, Alan Li – thank you.

Our marketing and creative teams have promoted The Emancipator brand across brands and our newsletters with unique print and digital ad campaigns. Thank you to Peggy Byrd, Erin Maghran and their team for supporting this initiative within the BGM family of products.

Our communications and PR teams developed strategies for announcing and launching editorial initiatives, securing interviews with national press. Together with our newsletter, social and audience engagement teams, we helped grow a tremendous following for The Emancipator’s work across multimedia channels. Thank you to Heidi Flood, Devin Smith, LaDonna LaGuerre and their teams for their support.

Our ad sales and events team helped secure one of The Emancipator’s first major event sponsors and has been working to provide the team with guidance to continue growing its sponsor networks. Huge thank you to Kayvan Salmanpour, Erin Kimball, Kazi Ahmed, Erika Hale and their teams.

The Globe’s newsroom has been incredibly supportive in providing access to its resources from photo to video to publishing support and more. Our journalists have championed The Emancipator’s work within their own initiatives, including A Beautiful Resistance and Black News Hour. Thank you to Jeneé Osterheldt for providing counsel and ideation and to Jason Tuohey, our homepage team, and so many across the newsroom for your ongoing support.

We are grateful to our partners at Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research for incubating this project with us. Congratulations to everyone involved in this impactful new initiative, and we look forward to seeing The Emancipator continue to grow.