Jason Pramas (b. 1966 in Boston, Massachusetts) [1] is an American photojournalist. Pramas is executive director of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism (BINJ), which he co-founded with Chris Faraone in 2015, [2] and has been editor-in-chief of its statewide, digital, news outlet HorizonMass since it launched in August 2023. [3] He was formerly executive editor and associate publisher [4] of the alternative newsweekly DigBoston until it folded in June 2023.
A socialist, and longtime labor and community activist, [5] one of Pramas' first ventures was the alternative news agency New Liberation News Service, restarted with original Liberation News Service co-founder "Ray Mungo's blessing" (which originally operated from 1967 to 1981). Pramas and "a group of younger radical journalists ... publish[ed] NLNS from their offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts." [6] New Liberation News Service operated from 1990 to 1993, according to the biography accompanying the special collection of his publications at Cambridge Public Library. [7] Pramas left to launch As We Are, "a 10,000 circulation for-profit national magazine for working young people" that ran from 1993 to 1996. [8] Pramas then formed Ronin Publishing with his brother Chris Pramas and a mutual friend in early 1996; Jason Pramas left the company before long to focus on journalism. [9]
As executive director of Campaign on Contingent Work, Pramas was the lead organizer of the Boston Social Forum in 2004. [10] [11] In 2008, Pramas founded Open Media Boston, [12] [13] an online metropolitan newsweekly serving the Boston area, serving as its editor/publisher until merging the publication with BINJ.
He holds an MFA in Visual Arts from The Art Institute of Boston, [14] and is noted for curating the 2014-2015 Boston Strong? art show that criticized the racial overtones of the popular Boston Strong slogan. [15] [16]
He was formerly an assistant professor of communications at Lesley University, [17] but has stated that he believes he lost his job [2] in retaliation for helping lead a successful drive to organize Lesley core faculty into a labor union in 2015. [18] [19]
In 2018, Pramas' column Apparent Horizon won first place in the Political Column category (circulation 40,000 & over) of the annual Association of Alternative Newsmedia Awards. [20]
The George Foster Peabody Awards program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in all of television, radio, and online media. Because of their academic affiliation and reputation for discernment, the awards are held in high esteem within the media industry. The awards were conceived by the National Association of Broadcasters in 1938 as the radio industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prizes. Programs are recognized in seven categories: news, entertainment, documentaries, children's programming, education, interactive programming, and public service. Peabody Award winners include radio and television stations, networks, online media, producing organizations, and individuals from around the world.
Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," the college offers more than three dozen degree and professional training programs specializing in the fields of arts and communication with a foundation in liberal arts studies. The college is one of the founding members of the ProArts Consortium, an association of six neighboring institutions in Boston dedicated to arts education at the collegiate level. Emerson is also notable for the college's namesake public opinion poll, Emerson College Polling.
A journalism school is a school or department, usually part of an established university, where journalists are trained. 'J-School' is an increasingly used term for a journalism department at a school or college. Journalists in most parts of the world must first complete university-level training, which incorporates both technical skills such as research skills, interviewing techniques and shorthand and academic studies in media theory, cultural studies and ethics.
The Phoenix was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Boston Phoenix, Providence Phoenix and Worcester Phoenix. These publications emphasized local arts and entertainment coverage as well as lifestyle and political coverage. The Portland Phoenix, which was published until 2023, is now owned by another company, New Portland Publishing.
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DigBoston—formerly known as the Weekly Dig and colloquially as The Dig—was a free alternative newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts. It covered news in the Greater Boston area and offers commentary on music, arts, politics, business, film, sex, food, drink and more, as well as providing local bar, entertainment and club listings. DigBoston was distributed Thursdays, free of charge, in self-serve newspaper dispensers located throughout the city, as well as in local businesses.
An alternative news agency operates similarly to a commercial news agency, but defines itself as an alternative to commercial or "mainstream" operations. They span the political spectrum, but most frequently are progressive or radical left. Sometimes they combine the services of a news agency and a news syndicate. Among the primary clients are alternative weekly newspapers.
Lesley Rene Stahl is an American television journalist. She has spent most of her career with CBS News, where she began as a producer in 1971. Since 1991, she has reported for CBS's 60 Minutes. She is known for her news and television investigations and award-winning foreign reporting. For her body of work she has earned various journalism awards including a Lifetime Achievement News and Documentary Emmy Award in 2003 for overall excellence in reporting.
Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. As of 2018–19 Lesley University enrolled 6,593 students.
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The Conversation is a network of nonprofit media outlets publishing news stories and research reports online, with accompanying expert opinion and analysis. Articles are written by academics and researchers under a Creative Commons license, allowing reuse without modification. Copyright terms for images are generally listed in the image caption and attribution. Its model has been described as explanatory journalism. Except in "exceptional circumstances", it only publishes articles by "academics employed by, or otherwise formally connected to, accredited institutions, including universities and accredited research bodies".
Chris Faraone is a journalist and author in Boston, Massachusetts. He is editor of DigBoston, and editorial director of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism (BINJ) that he co-founded with Jason Pramas in 2015. He wrote for The Phoenix for several years. He has also written for the Boston Herald, Fast Company, Spin, The Source, JTTS.com, and the Columbia Journalism Review.
Serhiy Myronovych Kvit, is a Ukrainian literary critic, journalist, educator and social activist. Former champion of Ukraine in fencing (1984). Serhiy Kvit served as Rector (President) of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy from 2007 until 2014. He occupied the position of Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine in 2014-2016 when the progressive Laws on Higher Education (2014) and On Science and Research (2015) were adopted. In 2015 Serhiy Kvit signed an agreement that allowed Ukrainian scientists and businesses to fully participate in Horizon 2020 (H2020), the European Union’s flagship research program.
Jodi Dean is an American political theorist and professor in the Political Science department at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York state. She held the Donald R. Harter ’39 Professorship of the Humanities and Social Sciences from 2013 to 2018. Dean has also held the position of Erasmus Professor of the Humanities in the Faculty of Philosophy at Erasmus University Rotterdam. She is the author and editor of thirteen books, including Comrade: An Essay on Political Belonging.
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