A biz newspaper competing with the daily

Brad Kane, the editor of the Worcester Business Journal, writes about competing with the daily newspaper, the Telegram and Gazette.

Kane writes, “When I started as WBJ editor in 2015, one of my priorities was to beat the Worcester Telegram & Gazette on as many business stories as possible. The T&G still had multiple business reporters at that point, so as WBJ’s wins piled up, I grew more and more gleeful.

“Eventually, though, my joy would turn to sadness. Round after round of layoffs and resignations left fewer reporters in the T&G newsroom, and often WBJ was the only publication reporting on significant business news. When the City of Worcester announced plans to build a $160-million public baseball stadium, which is the City’s most ambitious economic development project in the last 15 years, the T&G eschewed the traditional media role of offering insights and holding power to account in favor of more friendly coverage, like stories on the installation of the stadium’s grass. The T&G was a shell of its former self.

“Yet, the T&G remains the Central Massachusetts paper of record. Since Michael McDermott started as executive editor in 2022, the T&G has started to get its groove back, reporting on topics important to the community, hustling on breaking news, and re-asserting its role in holding power to account. I’m not necessarily happy the T&G is beating WBJ to the occasional business story, but it’s nice being in a competitive media market again.”

Read more here.