Late in the afternoon of January 11, about 60 residents made it through the snow for the first-ever Fig City News Open House, at the home of Lisa and Jack Prior.
The event’s featured speaker was award-winning editor and reporter Laura Colarusso, editor of the Commonwealth Beacon — which State Representative Greg Schwartz told the crowd is “considered required reading at the State House.” She was previously editor of Nieman Reports, published by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard to promote journalistic standards.
Colarusso said that she views journalism as a public service and noted that conventional career paths for journalists have all but disappeared. She said that objective local news services are needed to inform the public because “the Globe will not cover local stories like Fig City‘s reporting of Newton’s use of Free Cash.”
Regarding her work, she said that the Commonwealth Beacon is looking to expand coverage across the state, particularly of GateWay cities, and to expand its State House reporting “so communities that don’t have a local news source have a better idea of what their elected representatives are doing for them.”
Fig City News editor Bruce Henderson introduced FCN board members and reporters and thanked in particular co-founder Amy Sangiolo. Sangiolo developed her idea for FCN’s news service three years ago from her weekly newsletter about Newton’s local government, which she had been producing for over a decade prior to FCN. Sangiolo left FCN early last year for her (now successful) run for State Representative. Henderson then spoke about FCN’s internship program and responded to questions about Fig City‘s operations and plans.
Throughout the event, Fig City News board members and reporters were able to meet readers, make connections, and gather helpful feedback.
Ed. Note: We updated this article to include Laura Colarusso’s comments about her work.