GBH News – Media Nation

Big changes at GBH: ‘Morning Edition’ co-hosts move to new roles, and ‘Basic Black’ will return

Paris Alston and Jeremy Siegel, the co-hosts of “Morning Edition” on GBH Radio (89.7 FM), are transitioning to new roles, with Alston taking over a revived “Basic Black” and Siegel becoming transportation reporter for GBH News and a correspondent for “The World.” Both Alston and Siegel will be taking on other projects as well. Reporter Mark Herz will serve as interim anchor.

The return of “Basic Black” in early 2025 means that GBH is moving back into local public-affairs video programming after canceling that show as well as “Greater Boston” and “Talking Politics” earlier this year.

The changes also represent the biggest moves so far from Dan Lothian, who became editor-in-chief of GBH News and “The World” after GBH News general manager Pam Johnston left earlier this year. Johnston is now president and CEO of Rhode Island’s merged public television and radio operations.

The full announcement from GBH is below:

GBH News today announced a slate of new and expanded programs that reinforce its commitment to covering stories that matter across Massachusetts, from hyperlocal conversations informed by community stakeholders to regional reporting across the Commonwealth.

Paris Alston will transition from co-hosting “Morning Edition” to hosting a reimagined “Basic Black,” GBH’s longstanding television program that centers topical issues that matter to communities of color. The program will premiere under a new name in early 2025.

Alston also will expand her focus statewide on a program that she hosts called “A Walk Down the Block,” an original, multiplatform series that won the Regional Edward R. Murrow Award this year in the Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion category. The series has covered topics ranging from how big events for Boston’s Black communities resonated in Roxbury’s Nubian Square; LGBTQ+ Pride past and present in the Sound End; reimagining the Charles River Esplanade for better accessibility; and Boston’s busing crisis history through a citywide tour. Through collaborations with community organizations and leaders, Alston aims to get to the heart of underreported issues and use “A Walk Down the Block” as a connector for citizens to the changemakers in their neighborhoods. New episodes of “A Walk Down the Block” will air across GBH News platforms, including GBH 89.7, gbhnews.org, the GBH News YouTube channel, and social media.

“Morning Edition” co-host Jeremy Siegel is taking on several new roles, including hosting a new one-hour radio program and podcast that will take listeners all across Massachusetts to hear stories about what makes the Bay State unique. He will seek out perspectives that reflect both the challenges that face residents in rural and urban centers, and shine a spotlight on the dynamic growth, creativity, and entrepreneurship that often flies under the radar in a fast-paced news cycle. The show, which begins production in 2025, will air across all “Connecting the Commonwealth” partner stations: New England Public Media (NEPM) in Springfield; GBH, and CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR.

He also will be the transportation correspondent for both GBH News and “The World,” public radio’s longest-running daily global news program produced by GBH and PRX. Siegel will report on transit issues in Greater Boston, and travel abroad with The World to explore what drives the biggest, most efficient, and unique transportation systems globally, from railways, to shipping, cars, bicycles, and beyond. Listeners will hear Siegel’s local transportation reporting regularly on GBH News’ “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.” His first international reporting for “The World” will start with a trip to Tokyo later this year.

“Paris and Jeremy are both accomplished storytellers, and we hope listeners will join us as we explore new topics and geographies together,” said Dan Lothian, Editor in Chief of GBH News and The World.

On Oct. 28, GBH News reporter Mark Herz will step in as interim host for GBH News’ Morning Edition. The show will air weekdays at a new time, 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET, on GBH 89.7 and stream at gbhnews.org.

These program additions continue a year of dynamic growth for GBH News, including the launch of its Equity and Justice unit; the Connecting the Commonwealth partnership with NEPM and CAI; and a US Senate debate co-hosted with NEPM. GBH News also welcomed Lothian as Editor in Chief earlier in the year. In 2024, GBH News earned three New England Emmy Awards, three Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, five National Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence Awards, and a George Foster Peabody Award. This fall, GBH News has seen radio audience growth throughout the day.

The October Surprise, 44 years on; plus, extremism at home, and more on sponsored content

American hostage Ann Swift shortly after her release in January 1981. Public domain photo by the Department of Defense.

The October Surprise. These days the phrase is often used to describe fears that a political campaign will drop some sort of bombshell in the final weeks before Election Day.

Then-FBI Director James Comey’s reopening of the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails in 2016 would certainly qualify, though there was no evidence that the Trump campaign was behind it — nor, for that matter, any evidence of wrongdoing by Clinton.

So, too, would the Hunter Biden laptop story of 2020, though the Trumpers who were behind it were hampered by the inconvenient fact that they’d targeted the wrong Biden.

But I don’t think anyone used the phrase October Surprise until 1980, when it was used to describe something that Ronald Reagan and his associates feared would happen but ultimately did not: the release of more than 50 American hostages who had been held by Iran for many months. If President Jimmy Carter brought them home just before the election, it could have given him the boost he needed to win a second term. Continue reading “The October Surprise, 44 years on; plus, extremism at home, and more on sponsored content”

GBH News unveils a four-person equity and justice reporting network

GBH News, the local news division of public media powerhouse GBH, has unveiled a new, four-person equity and justice reporting network. Here’s the press release.

GBH News has launched its new Equity and Justice reporting unit, a team of journalists dedicated to reporting on equity and opportunity gaps in Greater Boston and beyond. GBH News Executive Editor Lee Hill will oversee the unit, which will be led by newly appointed Equity and Justice unit senior editor Paul Singer. Also joining the Equity and Justice unit are newly hired reporter Trajan Warren, senior digital producer Meghan Smith and community producer Magdiela Matta.

Based at the GBH newsroom in Brighton, the Equity and Justice unit has begun developing multiplatform regional and national stories that aim to explore and expose injustice at all levels of society. Key to the effort is a continued and expanded commitment to community events, engaging directly with audiences and elevating community voices.

“GBH News has built a remarkable body of award-winning local journalism over the years that lays a strong foundation for this investment in deep listening and collaboration with the communities that most need to be heard,” said GBH News Editor-in-Chief Dan Lothian. “We know that the trust our Equity and Justice unit builds with sources and audiences is key to producing the reporting on the critical issues of inequity that an informed citizenry relies on.”

The GBH News Equity and Justice unit will extend its reach throughout Massachusetts through a new content collaboration with MassLive, the top digital news source for Western Massachusetts. The collaboration between GBH News and MassLive will result in distinctive local stories being shared across radio, digital, and social media platforms from both news organizations. A MassLive reporter will work with the GBH News Equity and Justice unit to produce stories that will also publish on MassLive, and will join GBH News programs to provide context.

Content produced by the Equity and Justice unit will be distributed across all GBH News properties, including GBH flagship radio shows, YouTube, social and digital platforms, and via GBH News’ Connecting the Commonwealth partners, New England Public Media (NEPM) in Western Massachusetts; CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station; and the New England News Collaborative (NENC).

“Many of GBH News’ most impactful stories have touched on systemic injustices and the ways in which marginalized communities are blocked from progress. We’re thrilled to assemble this accomplished group of journalists fully dedicated to bolstering our capacity to listen and engage with underserved audiences,” said Hill. “Together, our Equity and Justice unit, with the added power of our reporting and distribution collaboration with MassLive, will also be a resource to inform all of GBH News’ reporting, ensuring that overlooked angles are considered from pitch to publication.”

The GBH News Equity and Justice unit began reporting in August 2024 with stories about the selling of vacant lots, land previously owned by Black and brown families, by the city of Boston; rising awareness about kids and adults who are neurodivergent or have autism following a viral moment at the Democratic National Convention; concerns about health inequities surrounding Tobin Bridge repairs in Chelsea; and more.

CommonWealth Beacon names Laura Colarusso as its new editor

There’s some exciting news to report out of CommonWealth Beacon today. Laura Colarusso, currently the editor of Nieman Reports, will be the new editor of CWB, succeeding Bruce Mohl, who’s retiring.

I got to know Laura when she was digital managing editor of GBH News, for whom I wrote a weekly column for a number of years. I also had a chance to write for her at Nieman Reports. She will be terrific, as she combines leadership skills with vision and a strong ethical compass.

Originally a public-policy quarterly called CommonWealth Magazine, CommonWealth Beacon has morphed into a digital-only publication with a significant daily presence.

Bruce, who came to CWB from The Boston Globe, leaves behind an admirable legacy, transforming the publication to a leading source political and public-policy news about Massachusetts. The nonprofit is published by the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, or MassINC, a nonpartisan think tank that concentrates on quality-of-life issues.

(Disclosure: I’m a member of CommonWealth Beacon’s editorial advisory board.)

What follows is MassINC CEO Joe Kriesberg’s announcement:

Dear reader,

Following a nationwide search, I am excited to share with you that we have hired Laura Colarusso to succeed Bruce Mohl as the next editor of CommonWealth Beacon.

Taking the helm in November, Laura has the experience, network, and leadership skills to build on Bruce’s sixteen-year legacy. Our team is excited to welcome Laura and to continue building CommonWealth Beacon as the dynamic, civic news outlet that readers like you rely upon.

Laura comes to CommonWealth Beacon from Nieman Reports, an online and quarterly print publication with a mission of promoting and elevating journalistic standards. She has reported on a wide variety of topics including climate change, education and health care, and covered the Pentagon in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

She has held leadership positions at GBH News in Boston, where she was the digital managing editor before joining Nieman Reports in 2021, where she served as editor. Laura won a regional 2020 Edward R. Murrow Award for the story “The Original Old Boys Club” while she was at GBH.

As Laura has shared:

CommonWealth Beacon has a long history of creating outstanding journalism that helps the people of Massachusetts understand their government and the changes taking place in the world around them. I couldn’t be more excited to join this organization at such a critical time for our democracy, and I’m looking forward to leading CommonWealth Beacon as we work to connect with broader and more diverse audiences, and deliver even more high quality news and information to our readers.

Nearly one year ago, we launched CommonWealth Beacon with an expanded newsroom, a more readable and accessible digital platform and an updated strategy for audience and community engagement.

We are thrilled to have Laura lead our team in this next phase of CommonWealth Beacon’s journey and to better serve you, our diverse audience of readers, and the people of Massachusetts.

Sincerely,

Joe Kriesberg
CEO of MassINC, Publisher of CommonWealth Beacon

GBH News will partner with other public media outlets to offer statewide coverage

GBH headquarters in Allston. Photo (cc) 2011 by WGBH.

At a time when public media operations are cutting back, GBH News is leveraging partnerships with other stations in order to bolster its statewide coverage. It strikes me as a smart way of doing more with less following cutbacks at both of Boston’s news-focused public radio stations, GBH and WBUR, and at public broadcasters across the country. (I should note that CAI is actually part of GBH.) Below is a press release from GBH.

GBH News Joins with CAI: The Cape & Islands NPR station and New England Public Media to Expand Coverage Statewide

GBH News, CAI and New England Public Media (NEPM) today announced a partnership to report and expand news coverage statewide, reaching listeners from Springfield to Provincetown and points between. Connecting the Commonwealth, the first initiative of its kind in Massachusetts, will build upon a longstanding relationship between the three public media outlets, as well as GBH News bureaus in Worcester, at the State House, and in Boston.

Coverage will focus on the stories that matter to audiences locally and statewide, including education to the environment, the economy and inequality. From breaking news to in-depth human interest stories, Connecting the Commonwealth will weave regional and local enterprise reporting through radio and digital storytelling daily across all three media outlets’ digital and broadcast platforms. Jennifer Moore, GBH’s first Statewide and Features Editor, will lead the collaboration.

“There’s an immense need for local journalism on issues that matter to Massachusetts residents. Through our relationships with NEPM and CAI, we’ll partner to create content of interest to all of the state’s 7 million residents, something few media outlets in Massachusetts can do,” said Dan Lothian, editor-in-chief of GBH News and The World. “Jennifer Moore will lead our collaborate efforts, creating new content and sharing reports from all of our newsrooms, allowing us cover more breaking news and enterprise features that shape the conversation.”

“NEPM is excited to strengthen our partnership with GBH and CAI to deliver even more timely and comprehensive coverage of the news and issues facing residents of western Massachusetts,” said John Sutton, VP of content and audience strategy for NEPM. “This collaboration will help us to better report on topics of statewide importance and to build the type of community connections that lead to a healthier commonwealth.”

“Having a statewide editor overseeing the efforts of all three newsrooms will allow us to bring these important stories to our listeners in a timely manner,” said CAI Managing Director of Editorial and Host and Producer of The Point, Mindy Todd. “We look forward to working closely with GBH and NEPM to cover even more local and regional stories.”

Moore was previously features editor at GBH News. Earlier in her career, she served as the news director and content coordinator at the NPR & PBS stations in Springfield, Missouri. As a freelancer, she’s reported for The New York Times and NPR, including from the Middle East.

“Each Massachusetts community is unique. At the same time, they all need news and information about many of the same issues, whether that’s education, the environment, the economy or our elections. We believe Connecting the Commonwealth will be a trusted destination for news from across the state,” said Moore. “I look forward to hearing from our audiences about what matters most to them and reaffirming our commitment to impactful daily journalism.”

Connecting the Commonwealth reporting will appear across multiple platforms at each organization, including GBH 89.7FM, gbhnews.org, and the GBH News YouTube channel; 88.5 NEPM and nepm.org; CAI 90.1 FM, 91.1 FM, and 94.3 FM and online at capeandislands.org.

Former GBH News GM Pam Johnston to lead RI’s public TV and radio operations

Pam Johnston. Photo © 2021 by Dominic Gagliardo Chavez/GBH.

Following a tumultuous four years as general manager of GBH News, Pam Johnston has been named CEO of Rhode Island’s public television and radio operations, according to a report by Ian Donnis and Pamela Watts for The Public’s Radio.

Johnston left GBH in May, nearly four months after Mark Shanahan of The Boston Globe reported on discontent among some employees over her management style. Within days, GBH announced that the station’s three local television programs on public affairs, “Greater Boston,” “Basic Black” and “Talking Politics,” would be canceled, though they may be back as digital offerings at some point.

In Rhode Island, Johnston’s duties will be similar to those she had at GBH News, the local news arm comprising radio, digital and — until recently — television. She will head up both Rhode Island PBS and The Public’s Radio, outlets that have merged during the past year. In a statement, Johnston said:

I am honored to be stepping into this role at such a vital moment. At a time when trust in the media is eroding and societal gaps are widening, public media can play a critical role in fostering understanding, goodwill, and connection. I believe that here in Rhode Island we have the team, talent, and resources to redefine the very best of what public media can be.

In 2022 Johnston was a guest on “What Works: The Future of Local News,” a podcast that I host with Ellen Clegg.

My standard disclosure: I was a paid part-time contributor to GBH News for many years, mainly as a panelist on “Beat the Press with Emily Rooney,” a weekly TV show that was canceled under Johnston’s watch in 2021.

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The return of a Fourth of July tradition: The annual New England Muzzle Awards

A “disgruntled homophobic Middle School janitor.” The Massachusetts legislature, which has resolutely refused to strengthen our notoriously weak public records law. A Rhode Island city councilor who threw a critic out of a public meeting. A Malden charter school that refused to turn over public records on the patently absurd grounds that it’s not a public school.

These are just a few of the people and institutions that I’ve singled out over the past year as recipients of the New England Muzzle Awards, my annual Fourth of July round-up of transgressions against freedom of expression.

From 1998 to 2012, I wrote these up for the late, much lamented Boston Phoenix. Then, from 2013 to 2022, the Muzzles were hosted by GBH News. I decided to call it a wrap with the 25th-anniversary edition. But then I began to write up Muzzles as they came to my attention rather than saving them all for Independence Day. What follows are Muzzle Awards I’ve handed out since last June.

Kudos, as always, to my friends Harvey Silverglate, who conceived of this annual feature all these years ago, and Peter Kadzis, who edited all 25 editions. They were inspired by the Jefferson Muzzles, which no longer are awarded. Here in New England, though, their spirit lives on.

At a time when democracy itself is under threat, defending the First Amendment is more important than it’s ever been. The envelopes, please.

How our weak public records law is enabling a cover-up of school sports harassment (June 20, 2023)

The Mystic Valley Charter School, winner of a 2017 Muzzle, is back to its old tricks (Aug. 1, 2023)

A Muzzle Award goes to an R.I. city councilor who threw a critic out of the chambers (Aug. 7, 2023)

A NH publisher faces sentencing, while a small town in Mass. says no to drag (Dec. 13, 2023)

A Muzzle for the officers who removed a teenage journalist from a GOP event (Oct. 16, 2023)

In Marblehead and Waltham, teachers and officials seek to stifle public scrutiny (Nov. 8, 2023)

A Muzzle Award for the anonymous troll who reported ‘Gender Queer’ to the police (Dec. 21, 2023)

NH newspaper publisher fined $620 for running unlabeled political ads (Dec. 22, 2023)

AG Campbell boosts free speech for electeds, while an anti-trans shirt goes to court (Feb. 14, 2024)

A Muzzle to a CT police department that kept a murder probe under wraps (March 17, 2024)

Muzzle follow-up: North Brookfield will allow drag show at Pride event (March 20, 2024)

How our shameful public records law is affecting the Karen Read murder trial (April 29, 2024)

Great Barrington teacher sues town, school district and police over classroom search (May 17, 2024)

Plymouth official threatens reporter for recording a public, live-streamed meeting (June 20, 2024)

A Vermont state trooper, a middle finger — and, voilà, a New England Muzzle Award (July 1, 2024)

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Subscription woes, public media challenges and the Post’s staff bites back

Here’s a round-up of media links for your Monday morning.

• With print dollars giving way to digital dimes and platform pennies, newspapers have been looking to online subscriptions for revenue and growth. Nationally, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post have all done well, though the Post, as we know, has hit some bumps. Regional papers like The Boston Globe and the Star Tribune of Minneapolis have succeeded, too. But Poynter business analyst Rick Edmonds has been reading the new Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and finds that, among digital subscribers, “at least 60% pay less than full price.” Full-price conversion at renewal time isn’t easy, either. Keep that in mind the next time you see an email from a newspaper offering six months for $1.

• Public broadcasting this year has been slammed with layoffs both nationally and in Boston, with both WBUR and GBH News suffering significant cuts. At Editor & Publisher, nonprofit consultant Tom Davidson writes that public media outlets face three challenges: audience fragmentation, a glut in podcasts and a decline in underwriting, as advertising is known in the nonprofit world. Davidson writes: “The good old days are not coming back. Drive-time audiences are never going to return to their late-2010 peak…. Engaging different audiences requires a deep, humble understanding of their wants, needs and desires.”

• I was heartened to see a four-byline story in The Washington Post, published Sunday night, about the latest scandal involving the paper’s new executive team. The story documents a close working relationship (free link) between John Ford, “a once-aspiring actor who has since admitted to an extensive career using deception and illegal means to obtain confidential information for Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper,” and Robert Winnett, who publisher Will Lewis, up to his neck in ethical challenges of his own, has named to become the Post’s executive editor later this year. The article, based on draft chapters of a book Ford wrote, includes this delicious package:

Winnett moved quickly to connect Ford with a lawyer, discussed obtaining an untraceable phone for future communications and reassured Ford that the “remarkable omerta” of British journalism would ensure his clandestine efforts would never come to light, according to draft chapters Ford wrote in 2017 and 2018 that were shared with The Post.

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Dan Lothian is the steady hand that GBH News needs right now

Dan Lothian

Less than a week after GBH canceled its three local news and public affairs television programs while laying off 31 employees, the public media behemoth is taking a big step in the right direction. Dan Lothian, executive producer of “The World,” has been promoted to the newly created position of editor-in-chief of both “The World,” a radio program that covers international news, and of GBH News, its local operation encompassing radio, digital and, until last week, television.

Dan is a professional friend. We were fellow panelists at GBH-TV’s former media program, “Beat the Press with Emily Rooney,” and we’re colleagues at Northeastern University. A former international and national reporter for CNN, he is, above all, a steady hand and a calming presence, which no doubt is exactly what the rattled newsroom needs right now.

Lothian also brings with him the sort of goodwill needed so that he and other GBH executives will be able to take the time to figure out what’s next. GBH’s chief executive, Susan Goldberg, has said that the three former TV shows, “Greater Boston,” “Basic Black” and “Talking Politics,” will be brought back as digital programs at some point. When? What will that look like? What is the future of GBH Radio’s rivalry with WBUR, the city’s highest-rated news-focused public radio station? No, they’re not going to merge, but are there ways that they might collaborate? What is the future of the general manager’s position at GBH News, vacated last week when Pam Johnston announced she was leaving?

Anyway, I’m thrilled for Dan and for my former GBH News colleagues. What follows is the GBH press release.

Boston public media producer GBH has named Dan Lothian to the newly created role of Editor in Chief, GBH News and “The World.” An award-winning journalist with deep roots in both domestic and international news, Lothian is currently the executive producer of “The World,” public radio’s longest-running daily global news program, produced in Boston by GBH and PRX, a leading public radio and podcast distributor.

“Dan has impeccable credentials and is respected by colleagues throughout GBH and by journalists across the globe,” said Susan Goldberg, president and CEO of GBH. “With his background in both breaking news and long-form features, and with deep experience in radio, television, and across digital platforms, he is ideally suited to lead coverage for today’s audiences.”

As part of today’s announcement, Tinku Ray, currently managing editor for “The World,” will be promoted to Executive Editor of the program. She’ll continue to report to Lothian. Lee Hill, Executive Editor for GBH News, will also report to Lothian.

Lothian joined “The World” as Executive Producer in 2021. Under his leadership, the show expanded its reach, airing on a record 377 public radio stations across the United States and in Canada, reaching about 2 million people weekly. In 2022, “The World” received a $205,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to expand and sustain its coverage of the war in Ukraine. With support from the Lumina Foundation, Lothian and the team at “The World” created The World’s Global Classroom, which focused on amplifying stories from young college students. In addition to his role as executive producer, Lothian hosted “The State of Race,” a multi-platform series on race and racial inequality produced in partnership with GBH WORLD, NAACP Boston, and The Boston Globe.

“We have the opportunity to bring our audience stories by connecting the global to the local, while simultaneously delivering the critical information they need to be informed and engaged citizens,” said Lothian. “In addition, today’s environment requires a focus on innovation. To reach a wider audience, we have to find new ways and platforms to share these stories. I’m looking forward to working with all of my colleagues and partners to support the excellent journalism they produce every day.”

Lothian spent more than a decade as a correspondent for CNN, covering the White House, presidential campaigns, and breaking news. He also spent time working in CNN’s Jerusalem bureau. He began his career in radio at the age of 16 and went on to work at several local TV stations across the country. He then served as a National Correspondent at NBC News for seven years with stories on Nightly News, the Today Show, and MSNBC as well as working in both the Tel Aviv and Cairo bureaus.

Lothian will begin his new role on June 1.

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GBH News general manager Pam Johnston is leaving at the end of the month

GBH News general manager Pam Johnston is leaving the station at the end of the month. A friend was filling me in even as Aidan Ryan was reporting on her departure for The Boston Globe. GBH News comprises the public media behemoth’s local programming across television, radio and digital. On the radio, GBH (89.7 FM) lags well behind WBUR (90.9 FM). Both stations emphasize NPR programming and local news; ’BUR is in the midst of buyouts and layoffs, and GBH may not be far behind.

Johnston’s announcement comes nearly four months after the Globe’s Mark Shanahan reported that GBH was in turmoil. Based on my own conversations with current and former station employees, I know that Johnston had both supporters and detractors among the staff. “With new leadership at GBH, there are new opportunities and new strategies for our newsroom,” Johnston said in an email to the staff that was obtained by Ryan. “I’m excited about what comes next. I will continue watching, listening, and cheering you on every step of the way.”

Ellen Clegg and I interviewed Johnston on the “What Works” podcast in March 2022. My standard disclosure: I was a paid contributor to GBH News from 1998 to 2022, mostly as a panelist on “Beat the Press with Emily Rooney,” the award-winning media program that was canceled under Johnston’s watch in 2021.

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