Tag: Paul Singer

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.

Poynter shines a light on GBH News series about minority businesses and state spending

Gov. Charlie Baker. Photo (cc) 2020 by Josh Qualls / Governor’s Press office.

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Poynter has rounded up some of the highest impact local stories of 2020 — and among them is “The Color of Public Money,” a series produced by my friends at GBH. Paul Singer, investigations editor for the GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting, recounts his work revealing that the state had failed to live up to its promises in helping minority-owned businesses. Singer writes:

We first established that the value of state spending with minority-owned businesses has DECLINED over the past 20 years (adjusted for inflation). We then established that during Baker’s administration, the state began padding those numbers, taking credit for a bunch of stuff that is not actually “spending” by state agencies.

As a result of Singer’s work, Gov. Charlie Baker created a new state agency and has promised improvements.

Other stories in the Poynter roundup include secrecy over inmate deaths in Montana, a foundation in Miami that provides bloodhounds to law-enforcement agencies, a motorcycle gang that incited violence at a Black Lives Matter rally in Ohio, child hunger in West Virginia, and fake news about a bus in Columbus, Ohio, that was falsely claimed to have been used by rioters.

The Poynter roundup underscores the importance of local and regional journlism. National news organizations like The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal are doing well, but community news is shrinking. During these final two days of 2020, I hope you’ll consider a donation to NewsMatch, which will double what you give to support nonprofit news. I gave earlier this week.

This year, NewsMatch added a new feature — rather than trying to figure out which nonprofits you want to support, you can just give to NewsMatch and let them figure out where your dollars can be put to the best use.