MassLive expands, adding Political Editor John Micek to team (Letter from the President)

Date:

Dear Reader:

Widespread healthcare access. Economic growth from innovation. Affordable housing. Reliable public transportation. Better public schools. These are just a few of the key issues facing all of us in Massachusetts. That’s why MassLive is investing in expanding our coverage of these topics and more as we become a statewide resource for news, sports, and community information.

If you’re already a fan, I’m guessing that’s because you read our award-winning pro sports coverage or timely news focused on towns in Western and Central Mass. While we remain as committed as ever to our roots and the communities that we serve in Western and Central Mass, we can do more. Earlier in the year, we beefed up our pro sports coverage and started to add firepower to the breaking news team in and around Boston. Our next step is to delve into the political and cultural issues that matter most to all of us across the commonwealth.

To jump-start this process, we’ve recruited John Micek as our first political editor based in Boston. John comes from The Pennsylvania Capital-Star where he oversaw a growing newsroom focused on state politics and policy as editor-in-chief. John is no stranger to New England. He was born and raised in the Berkshire foothills of Western Connecticut and has family throughout this region. He is the consummate political analyst with strong reporting and savvy insights. He also represents an important piece in our expansion puzzle as we attempt to raise our brand profile across the state. John is a frequent contributor on television and radio and produces a syndicated column about U.S. politics that’s picked up by more than 800 papers across the country.

MassLive is in the early days of a fundamental transformation. We’re tops when it comes to lightning-fast coverage of important news as it happens. But we also want to make sense of the news as we expand our efforts — and, sometimes, we can have a quirky sense of humor. One of my favorite features is “I ate it, so you don’t have to…” This is a chance to watch our reporter Nick O’Malley drink and eat a whole variety of, um, er, uh – let’s call them unexpected new food offerings. He recently taste-tested the McDonald’s purple Grimace shake. Spoiler alert: It was “pretty good,” but now gone from stores.

We also want to deepen our relationships inside of communities across the commonwealth with revitalized new features, such as our MassLive Reporter Road Trip, where reporters come to different towns across the state to bring to life the people who are building our communities one block at a time. We recently covered the economic retail boom in Hudson. That was great for me, personally, as I started the day with our clutch of reporters for an amazing breakfast at the Wild Hare in Hudson.

Ultimately, our goal is to earn your trust every day as an indispensable news and sports outlet. We also want to hear your voice. So please tell me what you like and what you don’t as we embark on this expansion. Or maybe you want to suggest a town for a reporter road trip?

Welcome to John and thank you to the entire MassLive team for the dedicated journalism that they produce every day and the service they provide to communities across the state of Massachusetts. And most of all thank you to our readers, viewers, and our sponsors. Your support will fuel our success.

MassLive President Joshua Macht speaks with Gov. Maura Healey at MassLive’s Worcester office on Monday, March 6, 2023.

Joshua Macht is president of MassLive Media.

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