From the Editor

Let’s start with a few statistics: In 2024, CommonWealth Beacon published 1,055 stories, 55 podcasts, and 312 opinion pieces on subjects ranging from the widening educational achievement gap to the legality of secret cell phone recordings made by law enforcement. We covered shutdowns across the mass transit system and the challenges of building more housing in one of the most expensive markets in the country. And, we explained why legislators struggled to pass climate legislation and the issues that led to the bankruptcy of a major hospital chain. 

These are just a few examples, but they speak to the breadth and depth of the journalism our team produces on a daily basis. They also illustrate our unwavering commitment to uncovering and delivering trustworthy information that helps residents across Massachusetts better understand the world around them. 

As you read through this Annual Impact Report – our first ever – you will see more statistics and examples that I hope will give you a sense of the tremendous progress we have made since CommonWealth magazine was reborn as CommonWealth Beacon on November 1, 2023.  This transition has allowed us to expand our team, update our technology, launch a membership program, strengthen our journalism and grow our revenue. 

This report will also provide you with more detail about our top stories of the year and the outstanding reporters who wrote them. You can learn about our growing community engagement efforts and the events we hosted in 2024. We are excited to share the progress we are making in building a sustainable business model, a weighty task to be taking on at a time when so many news organizations are contracting. 

As we move into 2025, CommonWealth Beacon will continue to evolve and build on our successes. We plan to take the time to connect the dots on larger stories, to explain the trends behind the daily news and to prioritize reporting on how the decisions made on Beacon Hill affect residents from Brockton to the Berkshires. We want to create a community of readers that not only shares feedback with our newsroom but also finds ways to engage each other on the pressing issues of our day. We will also prioritize diversifying our geographic footprint so that we cover more cities and communities – especially those that have seen their local news sources disappear or contract in the last decade. 

As we continue this journey, our guiding principles won’t change: We promise to produce non-partisan, independent journalism that informs the public, elevates our civic discourse and holds the powerful to account.  

As always, thank you for reading. 

Laura Colarusso

Editor