State House News Service

Last updated
State House News Service
Type Private
Industry News agency
Founded1894;129 years ago (1894) in Boston, Massachusetts
FounderCharles E. Mann
Headquarters Massachusetts State House
Key people
Craig R. Sandler (Manager), Michael P. Norton (Editor)
Website http://statehousenews.com

The State House News Service is an independent, privately owned news wire service that has been providing in-depth coverage of Massachusetts state government since 1894. It provides a continuous daily feed of news stories about state-government issues and events, supplemented by photos, audio and video. It is also the only news outlet with floor privileges in the Massachusetts House and Senate chambers, where SHNS reporters cover every session from desks near the rostrums.

Contents

The SHNS is a subscription-only, paywalled service with limited advertising. Clients include media outlets, government agencies, lobbyists and lobbying firms, political campaigns, advocacy organizations and non-profits, and corporations. [1] The Service produces news stories, daily schedules of state house events, gavel-to-gavel coverage of the House and Senate, and weekly summaries of the week's top stories and of the events and issues likely to be making news in the weeks ahead. Its office is in Room 458 of the Massachusetts State House.

History

The SHNS was founded in 1894 by Charles E. Mann [2] of Lynn, Massachusetts, a self-educated reporter who began covering the State House beat in 1889 for the Boston Advertiser and Boston Record. [3] It was not unheard of for reporters to cover the beat for more than one paper, nor to form their own small news services. Then as now, Mann's bureau afforded out-of-town papers the opportunity to print firsthand accounts of legislative business and track issues of importance to their communities. Mann added papers and reporters over time, and also worked part-time for state government itself, as a clerk on a special commission redrafting the state's statutes. In 1903, he took a full-time job with the government, as clerk of the state Railroad Commission which later became the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, and turned the business over to Charles H. Copeland. [4] Copeland's family made headlines in 1912 when his brother-in-law, famous novelist Jacques Futrelle died aboard the RMS Titanic. [5] The Service has operated continuously since its founding, passing through a succession of six owners to the present day, with the basic product remaining constant: daily news copy covering state government affairs.

Early Leadership

Copeland died in 1913 and his wife Elberta inherited the business. The Copelands had made news themselves, across the east coast, with their high-profile elopement in 1893. [6] [7]

As manager/owner, Elberta spent the first seven years of her career disenfranchised from the government she covered daily; women did not receive the right to vote in Massachusetts until 1920. [8] But Elberta insisted on her rights, becoming the first woman allowed onto the floor of the Massachusetts House Chamber. [9] At the time of her death in 1951, she was also the only woman life member of the Massachusetts State House Press Association. [10] [11]

In time, she took a more passive role in actual news coverage, hiring a succession of editors and at the end of her long career "she just sat in the corner, proud to own the News Service," her great-grandnephew recalled. [12] Copeland received a formal expression of concern in 1943 from Gov. Leverett Saltonstall about a serious accident, the nature of which was not specified. In 1947, she formally turned over ownership of the New Service to Paul Ryan, her longtime reporter and editor. Ryan became a legend in the political and journalistic life of the State House, holding court at his corner desk as politicians and would-be influencers came and went to share news tips and gossip about the issues of the day. He served as editor from 1942 until 1947, and owner/editor until 1979 when ill health forced his retirement.

Under Ryan, the News Service continued its non-sensational approach to coverage, though the reporters it employed had their quirks. Veteran Boston political reporter Peter Lucas remembered that Ryan tended to hire "unemployed reporters who were down and out with temporary jobs" in addition to the regular line reporters. [13]

Ryan was in competition with the New England News Service, a similar wire service with a stronger emphasis on feature stories, established in the late 1930s by Arthur Woodman. Woodman's daughter Helen worked for her father's service, beginning her career after graduating from the University of New Hampshire in 1964. In 1978, with his health declining, Ryan asked Woodman to take over the News Service and she accepted. But immediately upon assuming the editorship, Woodman faced a crisis.

Dual-Employment Controversy

It was common in the early years of the 20th century for reporters to work side jobs doing research and writing news releases for government agencies and legislative commissions, and News Service reporters did lots of this sort of work into well into the 1970s. The appearance of State House reporters on the payrolls of government organizations made headlines from time to time from mid-century onward, and in 1978, just as Ryan's health was seriously declining, rival wire-service Associated Press published a story revealing that Ryan himself held contracts to do government work. [14]

Encouraged by the News Service's competitors to cancel their subscriptions, a number of subscribers did just that, and Woodman had to deal with a crisis of both finances and reputation. But throughout the 1980s, she and her staff slowly won the departed subscribers back, and she made sure the wall between the News Service and the state payroll stayed up for good. Former SHNS reporter Lisa Capone, in a memorial interview after Woodman's death, said her former boss "ushered us through the initiation of what journalism really was." [15]

Woodman earned a legendary status at the State House in her own right, training generations of reporters who went on to top positions in journalism, government and public affairs in Massachusetts. "There was nothing Helen didn't know about in the Massachusetts governing process," according to a 2017 WBUR-FM remembrance of Woodman's life. "She spoke 'State House' fluently. News outlets, lobbyists and trade organizations relied on her reporters — the Kids — who would type their articles on carbon paper and stuff them into cubbyhole mailboxes for clients to use in their own publications." [16]

Current Ownership

By 1996, Woodman felt she had run the News Service long enough and wished to retire, but wanted to turn the business over to someone who would uphold its integrity and news ethos. She found that person in Craig Sandler, who'd worked for Woodman from 1988 to 1991. Sandler had gone on to work as state government reporter for the TAB Newspapers, a chain of free weeklies in the Metrowest suburbs of Boston. The TABs were known for an unusually high quality level of coverage for free shoppers, with robust arts coverage and elements like the presence of a full-time report reporter at the State House. The chain was founded and run by Russel Pergament and Stephen Cummings.

Helen Woodman with Craig Sandler on her left and SHNS reporters Jon Tapper and Dan Boylan in August 1996. SHNSWiki HelenCraig.jpg
Helen Woodman with Craig Sandler on her left and SHNS reporters Jon Tapper and Dan Boylan in August 1996.

After the TAB, Sandler worked for The Sun of Lowell, and while he was there, Woodman told him of her interest in selling. Sandler reached out to Pergament and Cummings, and the trio acquired the News Service on Aug. 5, 1996. They have owned it ever since. [17] Just as Elberta Copeland had selected Daniel O'Connor and others to serve as editor after doing the job for several years herself, in 1998, Sandler hired Michael P. Norton, who trained alongside Sandler under Helen Woodman, for the editor's job. Only Paul Ryan has held the editor's job longer.

Location, Distribution and Technology

The News Service has always had offices on the fourth floor of the Massachusetts State House. The first location information, from 1906, puts the service in Room 449, farther toward the back of the building than the current room, 458. In 1947, when Thomas "Tip" O'Neill became the first Massachusetts House minority leader assigned an office, he took over 449, and the News Service was assigned Room 458, where it's been ever since. [18]

In the beginning, copy was written out in longhand or typewritten, and early recollections of the service include reference to the mimeographing of copy - a cheap, fast, reliable method that was available from the founding of SHNS. The "flimsies," or copies, were picked up by hand by subscribers in the building, and also rushed by messenger boys down to the newsrooms on Newspaper Row in Boston - near modern-day Downtown Crossing. The mimeograph remained in use until the end of 1993. Paper copies were placed in boxes at the front of Room 458 from the time it moved well into the era of email. The full spectrum of players in state government would visit Room 458, to pick up the latest news and press releases.

By 1997, it was clear the service needed a digital presence, and its new owners established the email servers, Web site and back-end content preparation system necessary to get the copy out to subscribers over the Internet. The coming of digital also made possible the transmission of photos for the first time in service history, and they became a standard feature at the end of the '90s. Audio and video followed.

The digital archives of the service run back to 1986, and paper archives run back to the 1970s.

Reach and Impact

Pergament and Cummings were experienced salespeople, and they expanded the subscriber base considerably. At the same time, the Internet was proving a bane to traditional journalism, but a boon to the News Service. The business model of ad-based news outlets deteriorated alarmingly after 1999, with advertisers preferring the customizable intimacy and market intelligence available on platforms like Facebook and Google, and that led to staffing reductions industry-wide that have continued to this day. State House bureaus were downsized, then eliminated, by most Massachusetts regional newspapers. Consolidation of newspaper holding groups became the norm, followed by acquisition of these groups by finance-focused hedge and venture funds who prime focus was on the robustness of investor return more than the vitality of civic life or ensuring a well-informed citizenry. [19]

Denuded of government reporters, the news outlets increasingly relied on News Service copy for State House coverage that once had been provided by staff members. "The State House News Service is one news operation that has benefited from news cutbacks," according to a 2011 CommonWealth Magazine story. "It used to be a backstop for most news organizations, essentially a transcription service keeping track of hearings, press conferences, and legislative sessions. But as the reporting ranks dwindled on Beacon Hill, the News Service has become a major supplier of State House stories to newspapers and media outlets across the state." [20] SHNS articles, photos, and audio-visual content are utilized by both daily newspapers and all major broadcast stations in Boston. While hard statistics are difficult to gather authoritatively, it is likely that more people read News Service copy today statewide than at any time in the Service's 125-plus years of existence.

News Service Florida

Logo of the News Service of Florida.png

By the mid-2000s, the new digital paywall model for the News Service had been validated, and Sandler began visiting other state capitols to see if the model could be replicated. Florida had the lucrative market, thriving government-affairs sector and complicated politics that would support a large enough staff and infrastructure to run a full-fledged capitol bureau, so Sandler selected Tallahassee. The business model, operating structure, product offering and customer base are very similar to those of the State House News Service.

Role in the Massachusetts State House

Location of the State House News Service reporter's desk on the floor of the House Chamber Location of SHNS desk in Mass House Chamber.jpg
Location of the State House News Service reporter's desk on the floor of the House Chamber

The News Service serves most immediately as a "cheat sheet" for reporters assigned to the State House itself, to fill them in on stories they can't cover directly because they are working on other stories or assignments. This "cheat sheet" function has diminished in importance as the number of State House reporters, and the ranks of journalists assigned to cover government, has diminished significantly in recent years. At the same time, this phenomenon has increased the value of the Service in newsrooms across Massachusetts (and Florida, in the case of NSF). News organizations use SHNS stories in place of pieces that once would have been written by State House reporters (Capitol reporters in Florida). The News Service operates as a wire service of record for the building as the only outlet granted floor privileges in the House and Senate chambers, in contrast to other news organizations that report from the galleries. The SHNS floor desks are located near the rostrums of both chambers. In 1970, a short item in the Boston Herald described SHNS reporter Fred Day being "hit by flying pieces of a gavel thumped vigorously by House Speaker Bartley, whose stand is fully 10 feet away"—for the second time in 10 days. [21]

Beyond the journalism community, the News Service serves as a de facto news source of record for the wider state-government community - the legislators, legislative staffers, agency employees, political organizations and industry groups, and the like.

Editors

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

<i>The Boston Globe</i> American daily newspaper

The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBUR-FM</span> Public radio station in Boston

WBUR-FM is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Boston University. Its programming is also known as WBUR News. The station is the largest of three NPR member stations in Boston, along with WGBH and WUMB-FM and produces several nationally distributed programs, including On Point, Here and Now and Open Source. WBUR previously produced Car Talk, Only a Game, and The Connection. RadioBoston, launched in 2007, is its only purely local show. WBUR's positioning statement is "Boston's NPR News Station".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts State House</span> State capitol building of the U.S. state of Massachusetts

The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the New State House, is the state capitol and seat of government for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston. The building houses the Massachusetts General Court and the offices of the Governor of Massachusetts. The building, designed by architect Charles Bulfinch, was completed in January 1798 at a cost of $133,333, and has repeatedly been enlarged since. It is one of the oldest state capitols in current use. It is considered a masterpiece of Federal architecture and among Bulfinch's finest works, and was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architectural significance.

The MetroWest Daily News is an American daily newspaper published in Framingham, Massachusetts, serving the MetroWest region of suburban Boston. The newspaper is owned by Gannett.

Lesley Candace Visser is an American sportscaster, television and radio personality, and sportswriter. Visser is the first female NFL analyst on TV, and the only sportscaster in history who has worked on Final Four, NBA Finals, World Series, Triple Crown, Monday Night Football, the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the World Figure Skating Championships and the U.S. Open network broadcasts. Visser, who was voted the No. 1 Female Sportscaster of all time in a poll taken by the American Sportscasters Association, was elected to the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association's Hall of Fame in 2015.

Emily Rooney is an American journalist, TV talk show and radio host and former news producer. She hosted the weekly program Beat the Press on WGBH-TV. until its cancellation on August 13, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nina Easton</span>

Nina Jane Easton is an American author, journalist, TV commentator, entrepreneur, and film producer. In 2016, she co-founded SellersEaston Media, a private-client storytelling service that chronicles the legacies and impact of leaders in business, public service, and philanthropy. A former senior editor and award-winning columnist for Fortune Magazine, she chaired Fortune Most Powerful Women International, with live events in Asia, Europe, Canada, and the U.S., and she co-chaired the Fortune Global Forum, bringing together top business and government leaders from around the world. At the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), she founded and hosts a live event series on global affairs called "Smart Women Smart Power." She is a frequent political analyst on television and was a 2012 fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Matthew Victor Storin is an American journalist who served as editor of The Boston Globe from 1993 to 2001.

William T. Harrington, as Bill Harrington was an American sportscaster, children's television host, and news reporter for WHDH radio and WCVB-TV in Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayanna Pressley</span> U.S. Representative from Massachusetts

Ayanna Soyini Pressley is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district since 2019. This district includes the northern three quarters of Boston, most of Cambridge, parts of Milton, as well as all of Chelsea, Everett, Randolph, and Somerville. Before serving in the United States House of Representatives, Pressley served as an at-large member of the Boston City Council from 2010 through 2019. She was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2018 after she defeated the ten-term incumbent Mike Capuano in the Democratic primary election for Massachusetts' 7th congressional district and ran unopposed in the general election. Pressley was the first black woman elected to the Boston City Council and the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts. Pressley is a member of "The Squad", a group of left-wing progressive congress members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karyn Polito</span> American politician and lawyer

Karyn Ellen Polito is an American attorney, businesswoman, and politician who served as the 72nd lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 2015 to 2023. Polito was a Republican member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 11th Worcester district from 2001 to 2011. Polito was first elected lieutenant governor in 2014 with her running mate, Charlie Baker. They were both re-elected in 2018, and declined to seek reelection in 2022.

The New England Center for Investigative Reporting (NECIR) is a nonprofit investigative newsroom housed at WGBH News in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 2009 by investigative journalists Joe Bergantino and Maggie Mulvihill, and was based at Boston University until July 2019.

Bill Marx is a theater critic based in Boston, Massachusetts. Marx served as theater and arts critic for WBUR from 1982 to 2006 and as the host of a podcast dedicated to books in translation for WGBH (FM) and Public Radio International's The World from 2007 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen Ortiz</span> US Attorney

Carmen Milagros Ortiz is an attorney, college instructor, and former United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Wu</span> Mayor of Boston

Michelle Wu is an American lawyer and politician serving as the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, since 2021. The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, she was the first Asian American woman to serve on the Boston City Council. She was first elected to the council in 2013 and served from 2014 to 2021, including a stint as council president from 2016 to 2018. Wu was elected mayor in 2021, winning with 64% of the vote, becoming the first woman, first person of color, and first Asian American elected to serve as the mayor of Boston. Wu is a member of the Democratic Party.

<i>Bay State Banner</i>

The Bay State Banner is a weekly newspaper primarily geared toward the readership interests of the African-American community in Boston, Massachusetts. Distributed free of charge, it was founded in 1965 by Melvin B. Miller, who remained the chief editor and publisher until March 2023. In 2015, the publication celebrated its 50th anniversary serving the region's minority-oriented neighborhoods.

Sacha Pfeiffer is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and radio host. In November 2018, she joined NPR as an investigations correspondent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Campbell</span> American politician (born 1982)

Andrea Joy Campbell is an American lawyer and politician who is the Attorney General of Massachusetts. She is also a former member of the Boston City Council. On the city council, she represented District 4, which includes parts of Boston's Dorchester, Mattapan, Jamaica Plain, and Roslindale neighborhoods. A member of the Democratic Party, she was first elected to the council in November 2015 and assumed office in January 2016. She served as president of the council from January 2018 until January 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019–2020 Massachusetts legislature</span> 191st Massachusetts General Court

The 191st Massachusetts General Court was the meeting of the legislative branch of the state government of Massachusetts, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It convened in Boston at the Massachusetts State House, on January 2, 2019, and ended on January 6, 2021, during the fifth and sixth years of the governorship of Charlie Baker. Senate and House districts were drawn based on the 2010 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021–2022 Massachusetts legislature</span> 192nd Massachusetts General Court

The 192nd Massachusetts General Court was a meeting of the legislative branch of the state government of Massachusetts. It consisted of elected members of the Senate and House of Representatives. It first convened in Boston at the Massachusetts State House on January 6, 2021, during the governorship of Charlie Baker. The 192nd term ended in early 2023. Will Brownsberger, Michael Moran, and Dan Hunt oversaw decennial redistricting based on the 2020 census.

References

  1. "About the News Service". statehousenews.com.
  2. "Charles E. Mann". Boston Herald. Boston, Massachusetts. 1923-10-16. p. 6.
  3. "Charles E. Mann Dies At Malden: Was Ex-Secretary of Public Service Commission; Founded State House News Bureau - Wrote Several Books". Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 1923-10-16. p. 9.
  4. "C. M. Copeland Dies In Hospital". Boston Herald. Boston, Massachusetts. 1913-09-15. p. 5.
  5. "Charles H. Copeland Dead, Was News Service Head". Springfield Union. Springfield, Massachusetts. 1913-09-15. p. 1.
  6. "Copeland Very Sly". Savannah Morning News. Savannah, Georgia. 1893-07-08.
  7. "Wedded After A Long Run: C. H. Copeland and Miss Futrell Meet At Charlotte". Savannah Morning News. Savannah, Georgia. 1893-07-09.
  8. "National Constitution Center - Centuries of Citizenship - Map: States grant women the right to vote". constitutioncenter.org. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  9. "Shall a Woman Enter House? Speaker Cushing Is Perturbed". Boston American. Boston, Massachusetts. 1914-01-25.
  10. "Mrs. Copeland, Ex-News Agency Director, Dies". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. 1951-03-24.
  11. "Mrs. A. F. Copeland: State House News Service Ex-Owner Dies in South". Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 1951-03-24. p. 11.
  12. Doran, Sam; Craig Sandler (2019). On Top of Beacon Hill: The State House News Service at 125. Boston, Massachusetts: State House News Service. ISBN   9781099778933.
  13. Doran, Sam; Craig Sandler (2019). On Top of Beacon Hill: The State House News Service at 125. Boston, Massachusetts: State House News Service. ISBN   9781099778933.
  14. Cohen, Steven A. (1972-10-17). "Newsmen on Mass. payrolls". Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe. Associated Press.
  15. Ely, Elissa (2017-06-07). "Helen Woodman Harrington Led The State House News Service For 20 Years And Mentored Generation Of Journalists". wbur.org. WBUR-FM. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  16. Ely, Elissa (2017-06-07). "Helen Woodman Harrington Led The State House News Service For 20 Years And Mentored Generation Of Journalists". wbur.org. WBUR-FM. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  17. Sandler, Craig; Michael Norton (2017-01-26). "LONGTIME NEWS SERVICE EDITOR HELEN WOODMAN HARRINGTON DIES". statehousenews.com. State House News Service. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  18. Doran, Sam; Craig Sandler (2019). On Top of Beacon Hill: The State House News Service at 125. Boston, Massachusetts: State House News Service. ISBN   9781099778933.
  19. Smith, Gerry (2018-05-22). "The Hard Truth at Newspapers Across America: Hedge Funds Are in Charge". bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  20. Mohl, Bruce; Mariah Sondergard (2011-11-03). "Silent crisis: The shrinking press corps at places such as the State House leads to a decline in what the FCC calls 'accountability reporting'". commonwealthmagazine.org. CommonWealth Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  21. "Combat pay dept". Boston Herald. Boston, Massachusetts. 1970-02-13. p. 14.
  22. "Beacon Hill Gets a New Lion". Boston Herald. Boston, Massachusetts. 1922-06-04. p. 36.
  23. Goldman, Arnold. "ELLIOT PAUL (1891-1958) A CHRONOLOGY". www.cowbeech.force9.co.uk/.
  24. "Board Is Named To Take Bay State Border Ballots". Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 1916-09-29. p. 9.
  25. "Louis Mathieu To Be Honored - Transit Vet". Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 1965-01-06. p. 18.
  26. "Tom O'Connor, Journalist, Sacco-Vanzetti Champion". Boston Herald. Boston, Massachusetts. 1966-01-17. p. 21.
  27. "Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Tom O'Connor Collection 1920-1965". brandeis.edu. Brandeis University: Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections Department.
  28. "L. E. Ryan Appointed Assistant to Kelly". Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 1950-02-08. p. 14.
  29. Marquard, Bryan (2020-01-16). "Father John L. Doyle, a voice for the poor and immigrants, dies at 93". bostonglobe.com. Boston Globe.
  30. Marquard, Bryan (2020-01-16). "Father John L. Doyle, a voice for the poor and immigrants, dies at 93". bostonglobe.com. Boston Globe.