Along with a downsizing notice, Boston Globe Editor Brian McGrory and President Vinay Mehra announced last week that Globe West (and South and North) will be eliminated, according to Media Nation’s Dan Kennedy. The regional editions will be combined into one section called Globe Local.
From McGrory’s memo to employees:
“One change worth noting is to our regional editions — Globe North, Globe South, and Globe West. Our editors do great work putting out high quality sections week after week, but revenue-wise, they are on the verge of going under water. We are planning to create one edition that will run across all zones, called Globe Local, and zone the advertising, so that businesses still have a lower cost, more targeted option.”
I cut my journalism teeth covering Newton for Globe West, back when the section published twice a week. While this move isn’t surprising, it is sad news for journalism and for Newton residents who want to know what’s going on in their community. Newton news coverage has taken yet another step downward.
This is really discouraging.
And the Tab is getting less and less “Newton” with every issue. Journalism as we know it is clearly in a death spiral.
I missed this announcement. Thanks for posting. This is really unfortunate news.
For better or for worse, Village 14 has replaced newspapers as the most substantive source of Newton news. Perhaps more importantly, V-14 has also inherited the role of “watchdog” that local newspapers played for 250 years in holding public officials accountable. There is nothing that local politicians enjoy more than public praise–and nothing they fear more than bad “press.” I think that Village 14 does a pretty good job at striking a balance between those two.
Thanks Mike. Village 14 was intended to be a forum for discussion about all things Newton but not a news source. We fill may fill the news gap on occasion but it’s no substitute for the professional journalism that every community needs.
Consider, for example, the City Council just completed deliberation of a brand new mayor’s first budget and not a single story covering the process (and that includes the school committee budget process as well) was published. Not one.
That’s just one example and it’s a significant problem.
This is really problematic and discouraging. I am hopeful that local media is just waiting for its revolution. We’ve seen so many industries rise up over night to take the place of obsolete or stagnant industries, led by outside the box tech startups. Whether it’s hotels, ride share, restaurant point of sale systems, online shopping, the gig economy, ready to cook food delivery, the list goes on and on of fields that are being created and/or revolutionized.
I think we need to be honest about the problem. Local newspapers are gone. They’re not coming back, at least not with the same business model. I hope we find a way to replace it with something new, but something that works to keep people informed. Our local democracies depend on it.
Local newspaper coverage is essential to our democracy because it keeps us informed. And, as Thomas Jefferson said, “a well-informed electorate is a prerequisite to democracy.” While we let democracy slip away in this country, the power shifts to un-curated (dare I say, uncensored) social technology outlets like Facebook, Twitter and Google, where anybody can say anything whether factual or not. In addition to Village14, I would suggest that Newton residents start using the Nextdoor app or WeChat app to share neighborhood news and even opinions.
@Newtoner
Have faith… Not a death spiral but an evolution. Something will hopefully replace our former paper of record in Newton, but it will take time.
Very sad and depressing. Bryan, I hope you are right, but every new innovation you note involves a personal consumer item, not .
Village 14 is a dynamic and much needed forum as the print sources of news continue to disappear. But it can never begin to fully replace what the old TAB and before that the Newton Graphic provided in terms of reaching and involving large segments of this City’s population in the governance of this City. I’m a regular contributor to V 14, but nobody I know on Dickerman Road has ever commented on what I say because they either don’t know the blog exists or they don’t care enough to give it a try. I’ve always been a prolific letter to the editor writer and when the Graphic and Tab were in their prime, I’d get all kinds of comments pro and con from neighbors and friends. These papers added a level of broad cohesion and interaction that’s going to be hard to duplicate by any on line source. It’s one reason I was always such a fan of Andy Levin in his heroic rearguard action to keep the TAB afloat. I disagreed with several of his editorial positions and candidate endorsements, but he had an uncanny ability to use these differences to build friendships and mutual respect. And he has a great way of identifying and promoting shared values the transcend these differences.
I wanted to say this about Andy because I was away when he left the TAB.
Plus in my opening to Bryan, I noted that “every new innovation you note involves a personal consumer item”–. What got cut off was the ending –“rather than something related to the political dynamics in Newton or it’s villages, the actions of city government, or other measures affecting the community as a whole”.
To put a bit of a finer point on this, I just read an article today about the loss of city news sources and the impact that has on the cities and towns (https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/05/study-when-local-newspaper-close-city-bond-finances-suffer/561422/):
“According to a new working paper, local news deserts lose out financially, too. Cities where newspapers closed up shop saw increases in government costs as a result of the lack of scrutiny over local deals, say researchers who tracked the decline of local news outlets between 1996 and 2015.
“Disruptions in local news coverage are soon followed by higher long-term borrowing costs for cities. Costs for bonds can rise as much as 11 basis points after the closure of a local newspaper—a finding that can’t be attributed to other underlying economic conditions, the authors say. Those civic watchdogs make a difference to the bottom line.”
Thank you so much for those kind words Bob.
My recollection is that, in a cruel and ironic twist, the Globe West (north, south, etc.) sections came about in the late 1980s so that the big metro paper could compete with the then-stellar local coverage of the Tab/Graphic and similar local papers.
Two other points: 1) even before the rise of the Internet and Tab/Graphic was emaciated, it always seemed as though folks were more moved by national and international events than local ones, in spite of the latter being obviously closer to home and arguably more important. V14 readers aside, of course; 2) it’s depressing that we are now a quarter century into the digital age, and no one has figured out how to make news profitable (beyond the Bezos-Henry types). That’s no knock on the fine folks who do a terrific job given the conditions. I hope the next model, whatever it is, is a worthy successor.
Greg’s post about the new pedestrian bridge being installed over the Charles led me to the Watertown News http://www.watertownmanews.com/. It appears to be an independent, solid news source supported by advertising and donations. It competes with the Watertown Tab. Begs the question: Why not us?
I did some freelance stories for Globe West in the ’90s, as well as the “Learning” section (another long-departed feature). As more than a few people have said, the announcement is hardly surprising but no less disappointing. Having started out as a reporter for a Central Mass.-based weekly, I found that community-based journalism was a great way to observe compelling political and social issues on a smaller but no less relevant scale. Not sure how we can adapt that model for this new, uncertain age.
If anyone is interested in trying to put together funding for a non-profit news source, I would be very interested in helping that effort. The key thing that’s needed as I see it is funding for staffing and reporting on issues of government and community concern. It could potentially be one or two part time people. If it was funded through donations, there’s the potential that it could be freely distributed, so that whether you’re Village14 or the TAB, you could re-print the reporting as long as it’s attributed.
Anyone think a model like that could work / interested in getting together to throw ideas around?
On a very personal note, the Globe West was the perfect vehicle for this local, feel good story!
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/west/2018/03/23/even-naughtiest-cats-listen-this-whisperer/0FmG1b9D5hGL4pBPwrI6qK/story.html