Tag: Jon Keller

Jon Keller and I talk about billionaire newspaper owners, news deserts and other media topics

Eight years after my book “The Return of the Moguls” was published, what is the state of newspaper ownership by civic-minded billionaires? Jon Keller of WBZ-TV (Channel 4) put that question to me on his “Keller at Large” program, which was broadcast Sunday morning.

My answer: not what I had hoped. John and Linda Henry have proved to be good stewards of The Boston Globe, and another billionaire sports owner, Glen Taylor, has similarly revived The Minnesota Star Tribune. But Jeff Bezos’ ownership of The Washington Post has taken a disastrous turn after 10 good years, and other masters of the universe have failed to step up.

Jon and I talked about some other media-related topics as well, including:

◘ The rise of independent local-news projects, especially in affluent suburbs. News deserts, unfortunately, persist in rural areas and urban communities of color.

◘ A New England Muzzle Award I recently gave Gov. Maura Healey for proposing to prevent public access to birth, death and marriage records for many decades — overturning a tradition of openness that dates back Puritan times.

◘ A crisis at the Internet Archive, as more than 300 local newspapers have blocked access in order to prevent AI companies from scraping their content without compensation.

Four and a half months after being laid off, Jon Keller is returning to WBZ-TV’s airwaves

Jon Keller. Photo via WBZ-TV.

Four and a half months after being laid off, the state’s most prominent political journalist is returning to the airwaves. Jon Keller, whose job was claimed in a nationwide purge at CBS News after its parent network was acquired by Paramount, will be back on the 5 p.m. news later today on WBZ-TV (Channel 4), where he had worked for many years. The news comes in the form of an Editor’s Note at the bottom of today’s column for MASSter List:

Some good news for those who appreciate Jon Keller’s commentaries: after a hiatus of several months, he will be returning to WBZ-TV as a Special contributor starting tonight (Monday, March 16) on the early-evening WBZ news. Keller will be providing analysis of important political developments on WBZ’s newscasts and moderating major political debates on the station. His Sunday morning “Keller At Large” interview program, a staple of the city’s public affairs TV scene since 1991, resumes this Sunday at 8:30 a.m. with guest Gov. Maura Healey. Keller will continue his weekly column and event hosting for MASSterList as well as occasional articles for Boston Magazine.

In a funny coincidence, Channel 4 ran an old “Keller at Large” Sunday morning on which I appeared as a guest. I heard from a number of people, and I was puzzled. I later learned that the station has been broadcasting reruns of “Keller at Large” since his layoff.

For the rest of this item, I’m going to recycle part of what I wrote last October:

Jon and I go way back. He was the political columnist at The Boston Phoenix when I arrived there in 1991. He also worked as the producer for the late David Brudnoy’s outstanding talk show on WBZ Radio (AM 1030) and as a reporter for WLVI-TV (Channel 56) before moving to WBZ-TV. He did a stint as an op-ed-page columnist for the Globe. Both of us were also panelists on the now-defunct “Beat the Press with Emily Rooney,” on GBH-TV (Channel 2). (Note: Emily has revived “Beat the Press” on Scott Van Voorhis’ political newsletter, Contrarian Boston.)

Jon is known for dogged reporting and incisive, often caustic political commentary. He’s also a skilled debate moderator and has presided over some of the state’s highest-profile encounters, including Senate debates between Republican Scott Brown and Democrat Martha Coakley in 2010 as well as Democratic primary foes Ed Markey and Joe Kennedy in 2020.

This isn’t the first time Keller has been caught up in corporate machinations. He lost his gig doing commentary for WBZ Radio some years ago when the station was sold to iHeartMedia; the TV operation remained part of CBS.

Back to the present: Jon’s return to the airwaves is good news for those of us who value his analysis, and a sign that someone at CBS recognizes that they made a mistake last fall.

Kade Krichko tells us about the global localism of Ori magazine; plus, Jon Keller is at large

Kade Krichko

On the latest “What Works” podcast, I talk with Kade Krichko, the founder of Ori magazine, a beautifully crafted premium print publication devoted to grassroots storytelling across the globe. (Ellen Clegg is recovering from knee replacement surgery but is producing behind the scenes. She’ll return to the air soon.)

Kade describes himself as a world wanderer with a knack for misadventure. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, ESPN, Vice and Outside, among other publications. He admits to loving a good story, and writes, “If the tale has a pulse, I’m listening.” Kade is a Northeastern University graduate and a part-time lecturer in the School of Journalism. He created and taught a course in Sports, Media and Digital Storytelling.

Jon Keller. Photo via WBZ-TV.

I also check in with longtime political journalist Jon Keller. Jon was recently laid off by WBZ-TV (Channel 4) after a 20-year career there. He was one of five staff members who lost their jobs as part of what appears to be a deep corporate purge by David Ellison, whose Skydance Media company bought Paramount earlier this fall. CBS is part of Paramount, and WBZ is part of CBS.

Jon is not going away, fortunately, and is still writing for MASSterList and Boston magazine. He has some sharp observations on the role of local TV news in covering state and city politics.

Later on in the podcast, I’ve got a Quick Take about the latest bad news from our tech overlords. The Columbia Journalism Review reports that the new AI-powered web browsers designed to replace Chrome and Safari are able to circumvent a news organization’s digital paywall. Not always — it depends on the technology that was used to build the paywall. But at a time when publishers are already losing traffic because of AI, this is a direct assault on the business model for journalism in the digital age.

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

A post-merger purge of 2,000 at Paramount claims WBZ-TV political analyst Jon Keller

Jon Keller, left, and I kicked around some media topics on WBZ-TV back in 2018, when we were both a little less gray.

Old friend Jon Keller was laid off Thursday by WBZ-TV (Channel 4) as part of wide-ranging cuts at Paramount-owned CBS, writes Boston Globe media reporter Aidan Ryan (sub. req). Keller, a political analyst at the station for 20 years, was one of five staff members who lost their jobs, although he was the only on-air journalist.

Earlier this year the station laid off medical reporter Dr. Mallika Marshall, and veteran reporter Beth Germano retired. The departures represent a significant blow to the station given that television news depends on recognizable, trusted journalists.

Continue reading “A post-merger purge of 2,000 at Paramount claims WBZ-TV political analyst Jon Keller”

Talking Biden, debates and fact-checking with Jon Keller

Events overtook my conversation with WBZ-TV political analyst Jon Keller. These two segments ran earlier today, before President Biden stepped aside from the 2024 campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. I hope you enjoy this anyway.

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Talking politics (and media) with Jon Keller

Always fun to be a guest of Jon Keller’s on WBZ-TV (Channel 4). Today we talked about coverage of presidential politics, the lack of transparency among some local government officials, and the ongoing rise of independent community journalism. Please have a look here and here.

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The latest from ‘Beat the Press’: CNN, Joe Rogan and the return of Rants & Raves

Joe Rogan. Photo (cc) 2014 by Do512.

This week, on the second “Beat the Press” podcast, we talk about the latest mishegas at CNN, as number-two executive — make that former number-two executive — Allison Gollust walks the plank.

Other topics include a discussion of how much responsibility Spotify should take for Joe Rogan’s vaccine disinformation and n-word-spewing mouth; privacy concerns over the death of comedian Bob Saget; and a conversation with civil-liberties lawyer Harvey Silverglate, the co-founder of FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

Plus: Rants & Raves are back!

Hosted, as always, by Emily Rooney, with Jon Keller, Lylah Alphonse and me. You can listen to “Beat the Press” on Apple and wherever fine podcasts are found.

GBH News’ just-announced political show conjures up ties with The Boston Phoenix

As an alumnus of “Beat the Press,” which was canceled over the summer, I’ve been curious about what GBH-TV (Channel 2) would do about filling the Friday 7 p.m. time slot.

The station ran a local politics show during the fall that was supposed to end on Election Day but was instead extended through the rest of the year. Now it looks like that show is being made permanent, with a new name — “Talking Politics.” The show will be focused on the suddenly hot Massachusetts gubernatorial race.

Although I don’t know whether it’s deliberate (I suspect it was), the name conjures up the connections between GBH News and the late, great Boston Phoenix. The host, Adam Reilly, used to be the Phoenix’s “Talking Politics” columnist. GBH News senior editor Peter Kadzis, who’ll be part of the new show, was the editor of the Phoenix for many years.

Other Phoenix alums associated with GBH News include former “Talking Politics” columnists Jon Keller and David Bernstein as well as civil-liberties columnist Harvey Silverglate. And, of course, yours truly. Might we consider renaming my GBH media column “Don’t Quote Me”?

The full press release follows.

BOSTON (December 2, 2021) – GBH News today announced the launch of Talking Politics, a new weekly show that will take a deep dive into local politics, with a special focus on the 2022 Massachusetts gubernatorial race. Hosted by GBH News politics reporter Adam Reilly, the panel-based series will feature conversations with local political newsmakers, influencers, analysts and activists. GBH News City Hall reporter Saraya Wintersmith, Statehouse Bureau reporter Mike Deehan and politics editor Peter Kadzis will also be key contributors. Talking Politics debuts on Friday, December 3 at 7:00 p.m. on GBH 2 and streaming on the GBH News YouTube Channel.

“Audiences throughout Massachusetts know that the issues being debated on Beacon Hill have the potential to directly impact their lives. And it’s not just the issues, but the individuals who are shaping these discussions,” said Pam Johnston, general manager of news at GBH. “With this week’s announcement from Governor Baker that he will not seek reelection, the race to lead Massachusetts is wide open. Talking Politics will bring audiences compelling conversations and deeply reported local journalism about political issues across the Commonwealth with the 2022 gubernatorial race at center stage.”

Talking Politics builds on the foundation created by Boston’s Race Into History, the pop-up television show integral to GBH News’ multi-platform initiative focused on the 2021 Boston Mayoral Race. In each week’s half-hour episode, Talking Politics will take a broader look at state and local politics and their impact on the issues that matter. The series will investigate a wide range of political developments across the Commonwealth including the unfolding gubernatorial race, the new leadership in place in key Massachusetts cities, and the administration of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

The debut episode will look at Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s decision to not seek reelection in 2022 after leading the Commonwealth for two terms. Host Adam Reilly and guests will also provide an update into the campaigns of the race’s declared candidates, Republican Geoff Diehl, and Democrats Danielle Allen, Ben Downing, and Sonia Chang-Díaz.

Audiences can stay up-to-date with local political coverage by subscribing to the GBH News politics newsletter. GBH News has been expanding its political coverage over the past year including a multi-platform journalism initiative focused on Boston’s mayoral race and regular appearances by elected officials on Boston Public Radio.