July 30, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Blue and Red stalwarts should stop attacking minor party supporters for remaining independent—and start debating ideas The quadrennial whinefest has already begun. The RNC and DNC pageants are barely over, the presidential election is still over three months off, and yet major party stalwarts are already trying to […]
MEDICINE FOR A MENDICANT MEDIA: Government support can revive American journalism
July 25, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS [Note: This is the full version of this article. A shorter version ran in the print edition of DigBoston— also dated July 25, 2016.] Journalism is in a tough spot. There are tens of thousands of trained journalists in the United States, but a dearth of funding and the rolling […]
KILL SHOT 2: MASS PUBLIC HIGHER ED STILL ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK
UMass President’s Office at One Beacon Street in Boston Overlooking the Massachusetts State House July 12, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Will campus advocates spark a rebellion for proper funding or cling to failed politics as usual? Hot on the heels of the UMass Boston administration issuing pink slips to 400 Boston non-tenure track faculty […]
WELFARE KINGS: BAKER MOVES TO MAKE CORPORATE GIVEAWAYS EVEN SWEETER
June 28, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS If you think that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston lavishing $270 million in tax breaks and direct aid on General Electric in exchange for moving their world headquarters to the Hubis unconscionable, you should realize that the deal is only a more extreme example […]
GE BOSTON DEAL: THE MISSING MANUAL, PART 8
Photo by Jason Pramas. Copyright 2016 Jason Pramas. June 21, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Problems with GE Fort Point arrangement show need for democratic economic development planning A new wrinkle surfaced earlier this month in the plan to use a big chunk of the $270 million in public aid and tax breaks being shoveled at […]