The CommonWealth campaign for Civic Journalism is an 18-month fundraising campaign to continue CommonWealth’s legacy as one of the country’s leading independent news and information outlets. The Campaign was launched early this year after a donor made a $1 million gift in celebration of MassINC’s 15th anniversary and long-standing contribution to non-partisan reporting on politics and policy in Massachusetts. MassINC must match the initial $500,000 gift in order to receive the full $1 million.
Early last year, CommonWealth launched an online magazine website that allows journalists to post original content on a regular basis. Commonwealthmagazine.org is a highly interactive news site that hosts searchable data such as research, transcripts, and archived articles while providing the digital platform for engagement with the community.
Over the last 14 months, the site has made strides in breaking news with in-depth reporting that has proceeded or substantiated news stories in other news outlets. It has also succeeded in setting the stage for a host of issue debates taking place at the Massachusetts State House.
For example, CommonWealth helped expose the state’s Probation Department as a patronage haven in February 2010 with "All in the Family," a story by Bruce Mohl and Jack Sullivan that focused on jobs in the department going to applicants who were well-connected. "All in the Family" was one of many articles CommonWealth Magazine has written covering the political free-for-all for control of the agency between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The coverage, along with stories by the Boston Globe Spotlight Team, were cited by Governor Patrick as cause for an independent inquiry into the department.
On another two occasions, Mohl “scooped” the Globe in articles related to automobile insurance reform: one, by reporting before the paper did, that the Governor was planning on eliminating the opportunity for Massachusetts residents to appeal their automobile insurance surcharges to an impartial state official (a decision that has since been rescinded by the administration); and another in an assessment Mohl wrote on the one-year anniversary of automobile insurance reform. A similar story appeared later that week in the Globe’s business section.
On the print side, the magazine continues to feature a quarterly wealth of in-depth analysis and commentary of public policy in Massachusetts. In 2010, the magazine released a special issue devoted entirely to green energy. Recent cover stories have included a profile of freshman Republican representative Dan Winslow, an analysis of net metering in Kingston, and an investigation into gender equality in university athletics.
These examples speak to the value of news reporting that is in-depth, substantive and community minded; where reporters and researchers can follow important stories over time and can dedicate the resources and labor to uncover the issues and make the analyses that inform and enable citizens.
The value of your contribution to this effort cannot be overstated. CommonWealth is supported by individual and corporate gifts, philanthropy and subscriptions. While we pursue revenue generating initiatives like online advertising, we continue to rely on those who value in-depth reporting on public policy and civic life at a time when this brand of journalism is in danger of disappearing. We hope you’ll join our efforts.
The Campaign will run through the fall of 2012 and will include a series of special events and promotions for donors focused on the role of independent media and transparency in public policy. To get involved, sign up for our email list, donate securely online, or contact us for more information.