January 14, 2019
As the hardreading staff noted earlier today, Digital First Media – the hedge-fund-fueled conglomerate that strips newspapers like cars left overnight on the Cross Bronx Expressway – has stepped up its news sharing among the chain’s Massachusetts dailies.
Yesterday it was Lowell Sun reporter Rick Sobey’s heart-rending front-page story of Anna Aslanian’s taking her own life to escape bullying. That piece wound up on Page One of the Boston Herald as well.
Today the papers criss-crossed: Herald reporter Alexi Cohan’s Special Report on bullying and the nine-year anniversary of South Hadley High student Phoebe Prince’s suicide migrated from the splicey local tabloid to the Sun’s front page.
Cohan’s reporting also appeared in Fitchburg’s Sentinel & Enterprise, another DFM kissin’ cousin.
Given Digital First Media’s neutron bombing of its newsrooms and recent consolidation of its “Northeast Cluster” under a Regional Editor in Chief, it’s fair to assume that we’ll be seeing a lot more of this carbon copycatting in the future.
Not sure, however, that we’ll keep our subscription to the Eastern Massachusetts Herald-Sun-Sentinel.
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Uncategorized | Tagged: Alexi Cohan, Anna Aslanian, Boston Herald, Cluster Buck, Digital First Media, Digital Worst Media, Eastern Massachusetts Herald-Sun-Sentinel, Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise, Joe Sciacca, Lowell High School, Lowell Sun, Oneida Daily Dispatch, Rick Sobet, splicey local tabloid, the Daily Freeman in Kingston, The Record of Troy, The Saratogian of Saratoga Spring | 
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Posted by Campaign Outsider
January 14, 2019
This was bound to happen.
Last month Digital Worst – sorry, First – Media, the hedge-fund-fueled conglomerate that strips newspapers like cars left overnight on the Cross Bronx Expressway, made this announcement.
Herald editor named head of Digital First Media’s Northeast region
Boston Herald Editor in Chief Joe Sciacca has been named to oversee the editorial operations of seven daily newspapers in Digital First Media’s Northeast Cluster, the media company announced today.
As Regional Editor in Chief, Sciacca will oversee DFM’s papers in Massachusetts and New York. Those papers include the Boston Herald; The Lowell Sun; Sentinel & Enterprise of Fitchburg; the Daily Freeman in Kingston, The Record of Troy, The Saratogian of Saratoga Springs and Oneida Daily Dispatch.
Logical conclusion?
Mixmaster!
Cue the Lowell Sun’s front page yesterday, which featured the heart-rending story of Anna Aslanian’s taking her own life to escape bullying.
Then cut to the splicey local tabloid’s Page One piggyback on that same story.
Clearly, this is the wave of the future for “Digital First Media’s Northeast Cluster.”
Sort of a cluster buck, no?
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Anna Aslanian, Boston Herald, Cluster Buck, Digital First Media, Digital Worst Media, Joe Sciacca, Lowell High School, Lowell Sun, Oneida Daily Dispatch, Sentinel & Enterprise of Fitchburg, splicey local tabloid, the Daily Freeman in Kingston, The Record of Troy, The Saratogian of Saratoga Spring | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
August 15, 2018
Tomorrow is the big day for the Boston Globe’s nationwide initiative to counter Donald Trump’s “dirty war against the free press.” Roughly 200 newspapers have signed on to publish editorials tomorrow explaining and defending the importance of a free and independent press in America, as the Globe details in this web piece today.
200 newspapers join Globe effort on freedom of the press editorials
Around 200 news publications across the United States have committed to a Boston Globe-coordinated effort to run editorials Thursday promoting the freedom of the press, in light of President Trump’s frequent attacks on the media.
Some of the most respected and widely circulated newspapers in the country have committed to taking a stand in their editorial pages, including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News, The Denver Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Chicago Sun-Times. The list ranges from large metropolitan dailies to small weekly papers with circulations as low as 4,000.
But when you scroll through the list itself, there’s one paper that’s conspicuous by its absence.
That’s right . . . the Herald.
So we sent this note to Boston Herald editor Joe Sciacca.
Hi, Joe,
Hope all’s well.
[We’re] just posting to Two Daily Town about the Globe’s nationwide push for editorials fighting back against Donald Trump’s “dirty war against the press” and couldn’t help but notice that the Herald is not one of the newspapers participating.
Could you perhaps just drop [us] a quick note about the Herald’s position on this initiative? [We’re] guessing [our] splendid readers would be very interested in that.
Thanks,
[The hardreading staff]
We will, as alway, keep you posted.
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Donald Trump, enemy of the people, freedom of the press, Joe Sciacca, Marjorie Pritchard | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
July 8, 2018
Stop the presses! The feisty local tabloid was totally legit yesterday!
Start with the Boston Globe, where correspondent Matt Stout (formerly of the Boston Herald) filed this report.
Judge overseeing Hefner lawsuit steps down
The Superior Court judge who approved a request to shield the name of the man suing former Senate president Stanley C. Rosenberg and his husband, Bryon Hefner, abruptly stepped down from the civil case Friday, shortly after the two filed paperwork opposing it.
Judge Debra A. Squires-Lee did not say why she recused herself from the case against Hefner and Rosenberg, which alleges that Hefner sexually assaulted a then-State House aide and that Rosenberg “knew or was aware” that Hefner posed a risk to others.
The aide, identified as John Doe in court filings, said Hefner sexually assaulted him at least three times in 2015 and 2016.
Make Joe Sciacca go nuts (bad division) tenth graf:
The Boston Herald first reported Rosenberg and Hefner’s filings.
Then again, Jennifer Schuessler’s New York Times piece yesterday about BSO flutist Elizabeth Rowe’s equal-pay lawsuit quite likely eased the pain.
Star Flutist Sues Boston Symphony Over Pay Equity
The top flutist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra has filed a gender pay discrimination suit against the ensemble, claiming that her compensation is only about 75 percent that of her closest comparable colleague, the orchestra’s principal oboist, who is a man.
The suit, which was filed on Monday by Elizabeth Rowe, the orchestra’s principal flutist and one of its most prominent musicians, appears to be the first under a new law in Massachusetts that requires equal pay for “comparable work.” The law was passed in 2016, but it did not go into effect until Sunday, after employers had two years to rectify disparities.
Make Joe Sciacca go nuts (good division) fifth graf:
[A]ccording to Ms. Rowe’s lawsuit, which seeks $200,000 in unpaid wages, pay disparities can be significant. Ms. Rowe, 44, is paid about $70,000 less each year than John Ferrillo, 62, the principal oboist, based on data in the lawsuit and tax records. That is despite the fact that they play next to each other and are both “leaders of the orchestra in similarly demanding artistic roles,” according to the lawsuit, which was first reported by The Boston Herald.
That, my friends, is music to the hungry local tabloid’s ears.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Bryon Hefner, BSO, Elizabeth Rowe, Jennifer Schuessler, Joe Sciacca, Massachusetts pay equity, Matt Stout, New York Times, One-Daily Town, Stan Rosenberg | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
April 23, 2015
From our Walt Whitman desk
For years, the hardreading staff has noted in awe the ability of the Boston Herald to celebrate itself and sing itself in the paper’s purported news pages.
But Wednesday’s edition of the selfie local tabloid might represent its greatest achievement yet: An interview with the Herald’s editor by the Herald’s favorite flack.
To half-wit:
This purported column by barely read Talkers magazine publisher Michael Harrison about barely heard Boston Herald Radio.
Forward-looking Herald charting a new course
Boston Herald Editor-in-Chief Joe Sciacca is a newspaperman with truth in his heart, ink in his blood and digital 
vibrations in his brain.
Along with a multigenerational team of information practitioners, Sciacca has transformed what was purely a print publication into a multimedia news organization that spawned its own online radio station.
Seriously? Truth in his heart? Multimedia news organization?
Think the up to 17 Boston Herald Radio listeners know that?
You do the math.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Alexa, Boston Herald, Boston Herald Radio, Joe Sciacca, Michael Harrison, selfie local tabloid, Talkers, Walt Whitman | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
August 8, 2014
From our Walt Whitman desk
It’s been one year since the feisty local tabloid launched Boston Herald Radio, and the paper is celebrating the anniversary in its accustomed style.
Start, as usual, with Page One.
“Best yet to come”? That’s good to hear.
Inside, the firsty local tabloid devotes a full-page, Joe Battenfeld-bylined piece to the anniversary bash.
Our favorite part:
Herald Radio’s launch was named to the prestigious Frontier Fifty list of outstanding talk media webcasts in the nation by industry bible Talkers Magazine.
Which got the headscratching staff to wondering: How many talk media webcasts are there in the nation?
We couldn’t find the answer on the Googletron (we’re guessing it’s a lot), but we did locate BHR on the Frontier Fifty:
Let’s hope Boston Herald Radio’s second anniversary headline is, We’re Number 35! We’re Number 35!
Good luck, guys, and happy anniversary.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Ann Romney, Boston Herald, Boston Herald Radio, firsty local tabloid, Frontier Fifty, Gary Sinese, Joe Battenfeld, Joe Sciacca, Leonard Nimoy, Megan Fox, Pat Purcell, Rand Paul, Stephen Lynch, Talkers Magazine, Walt Whitman | Permalink
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December 5, 2013
From our Walt Whitman desk
So what pops up on page two of today’s Boston Herald but . . . Page One.
The inaugural edition:
December 5, 2013: Welcome to the Page One Blog
Welcome, everyone, to the Page One Blog, where we’re going to provide some information and details on each day’s Boston Herald cover.
As Page One Editor, it is my goal — working in conjunction with Editor in Chief Joe Sciacca and Managing Editor/Creative Gustavo Leon — to produce an impactful, interesting and engaging cover page. The emphasis on Page One is solely only-in-the-Herald content, be it stories broken by our reporters, exclusive interviews, the passionate opinions of our news, political and sports columnists, or simply a compelling staff photograph. Obviously, there’s excellent material to work with!
If they do say so themselves.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Herald, Gustavo Leon, Joe Sciacca, Page One blog, Paul Keaney, Walt Whitman | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
August 8, 2013
From our Walt Whitman desk
The Boston Herald’s incessant Garage Broadband Radiostream gets front-page treatment for the umpteenth time in a row today.
And what is this “National Honor”?
36th place in a list published by a radio industry website whose traffic numbers are too low to be tracked (see here).
Regardless, here’s the story:
Talk radio journal recognizes Herald
Boston Herald Radio’s launch has been named to the prestigious Frontier Fifty list of outstanding talk media webcasts in the nation by the respected industry bible Talkers Magazine.
Talkers singled out Herald President and Publisher Patrick J. Purcell and Editor-in-Chief Joe Sciacca in its recognition of the innovative Internet radio platform.
Talkers editor Michael Harrison added, “[t]he Boston Herald is playing a pivotal role in the evolution of the 21st century ‘media station,’ which is the obvious model of the communications platform of this unfolding new era.”
If you say so.
Then there’s this:
“We don’t call it the Frontier Fifty for nothing,” [Harrison] added. “These guys are like Lewis and Clark. History will reward them with honor even if the immediate road ahead is strewn with challenges and pain.”
Yes, well, the challenges and pain part sounds about right.
Anyway, here’s a nice shot of the National Honor:
One last thing.
“We don’t call it the Frontier Fifty for nothing”?
Does that mean they pay?
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Herald, Boston Herald Radio, Frontier Fifty, Garage Broadband Radiostream, Joe Sciacca, Michael Harrison, Patrick J. Purcell, Talkers Magazine, Walt Whitman | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
July 30, 2013
From our Walt Whitman desk
Say, that’s some big news about the feisty local tabloid launching Boston Herald Radio, yeah?
All the details were, well, detailed in the Herald Radio Countdown that ran in Monday’s edition:
Herald internet radio to get Boston connected
The Herald is poised to take a dramatic step toward a richer experience for its online audience as it launches a new Internet radio station.
The countdown has begun for 6 a.m. next Monday, Aug. 5, when Boston Herald Radio goes live.
Veteran talk show host Jeff Katz will launch a morning drive news talk show that will lead into 12 hours of live broadcasting each weekday.
There will be four shows in all, including “Live from the Newsroom with Jeff Katz,” “Morning Meeting with Jaclyn Cashman and Hillary Chabot,” “The Michael Graham Show” and “Sports Town with Jon
Meterparel and Jen Royle.”
In other words, the usual Herald suspects.
But let’s focus on the big picture:
Note especially the hostage-like statements from local politicians.
U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy 3.0:
Gov. Deval Patrick:
Truly, the hardreading staff can’t wait for the August 5 debut.
3 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Herald, Boston Herald Radio, Deval Patrick, Hillary Chabot, Jaclyn Cashman, Jeff Katz, Jeff Magram, Jen Royle, Joe Kennedy 3.0, Joe Sciacca, Jon Meterparel, Michael Graham, Walt Whitman | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
It's Good to Live in a Two-Daily Town 