BOSTON (September 7, 2021) – GBH News has launched Election 2021: Boston’s Race Into History, a multi-platform journalism initiative focused on Boston’s mayoral race. The project provides in-depth coverage of an unprecedented race, in which every major candidate is a person of color and all but one of the leading candidates are women.
Building on the strength of GBH News’ political reporting, the initiative introduces a new weekly pop-up television series, entitled Boston’s Race Into History. The panel-based series will feature conversations with local political newsmakers and contributions from GBH News journalists Adam Reilly, Saraya Wintersmith, Callie Crossley and Peter Kadzis. The program debuts on September 17 and airs each Friday evening at 7 pm through November 5. Episodes will also appear on the GBH News YouTube channel.
“As Boston’s political landscape moves towards an historic change, we’re inviting audiences to join us in experiencing original, in-depth local journalism and compelling conversations about the diverse slate of candidates and issues that matter most to voters,” said Pam Johnston, general manager for news at GBH. “GBH News also will take a sharp look back at Boston’s complicated racial history to help contextualize this unique moment for our city.”
GBH News’ multi-platform project brings audiences into the center of the unfolding race with a digital experience complete with candidate profiles and stories about the key issues, a politics newsletter tracking the latest developments, and new episodes of the political insider podcast The Scrum. Fans of The Scrum are invited to join the podcast for a special live online episode on Monday, September 13. Special segments of Under the Radar With Callie Crossley, Boston Public Radio, Basic Black and Greater Boston will also continue to focus on the Boston mayoral race.
A curated landing page gathers GBH News’ rich multi-media political coverage into one location. Visitors to the page will find informative profiles of mayoral candidates John Barros, Andrea Campbell, Annissa Essaibi George, Kim Janey and Michelle Wu and original GBH News reporting on the candidates’ differing approaches toward police reform, housing development, the Boston Public Schools, racial equity, the environment, the post-pandemic recovery and homelessness and addiction.
GBH News will also produce, in collaboration with The Bay State Banner, a three-part series about Boston’s history with racism with a look at the issue today and in the future. Reporters are investigating what the mayoral race means for Black Bostonians who have left the city and will check in with people who grew up during the desegregation of the Boston Public Schools amidst the busing crisis. Reporters will also look inside the changing demographics and voting patterns that have led to this historic political moment. In addition, GBH News will keep voters informed about mayoral races in Lawrence, Somerville and Lynn as well as the races for the five open seats on the Boston City Council.
Explore Election 2021: Boston’s Race Into History by visiting www.wgbh.org/news/election-2021.
About GBH News
GBH News is among the fastest-growing local news providers in Greater Boston and draws on the talent of a multiplatform newsroom that includes GBH 89.7, Boston’s Local NPR; television; and digital reporting. The GBH newsroom continues to invest in substantive local coverage and has established dedicated desks for higher education, politics, innovation and investigations as well as unique partnerships to expand on that commitment, including with WNYC’s The Takeaway, The World from PRX and The GroundTruth Project. GBH News partners with CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station; and New England Public Media in western Massachusetts to connect the Commonwealth with trusted journalism. GBH News maintains bureaus at the Massachusetts State House; Dorchester, Boston’s largest neighborhood; and Worcester. The Forum Network, part of GBH News, collects thousands of video and audio lectures from the world's foremost scholars, authors, artists, scientists, policymakers and community leaders and makes them available online to the public for free.
