In 1996, MassINC created CommonWealth magazine to provide in-depth, independent reporting about issues critical to life in the Bay State. That mission is just as important today, but it’s no longer enough. As the journalism business changes around us, we’re expanding our role and hoping you’ll play a role in our newest initiative.

Technological change is wreaking havoc with the news business. News companies big and small are laying off workers, demanding givebacks from their employees, and struggling to hold on to their audience and advertisers. Everyone – including us – is searching for new ways of creating and supporting quality journalism.

With the help of the Boston and Knight Foundations, MassINC is trying to fill some of the growing news void by expanding the staff of CommonWealth magazine, focusing on investigative reporting, and supplementing our quarterly publication with a new magazine website, commonwealthmagazine.org.  But we also feel compelled to start a conversation about what’s happening to journalism in Massachusetts, beyond our own doors. What’s being lost as traditional media shrink in size? What’s being gained as alternative news formats emerge? What’s the next big technology changer? What business models work?

Other websites already focus on some of these issues, but few focus on what’s happening right here in Massachusetts. We hope this site can be a forum for everyone with a stake in local news to share observations, ideas, frustrations, and success stories. Whether you’re in the news business, interact with the new business, or are a consumer of news, we’d like to hear what you think.