Search

WELCOME TO HORIZONMASS

After several months of preparatory work, my Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism colleagues and I are pleased to launch HorizonMass, the first standalone periodical that our organization has ever published.

Since BINJ’s core mission has been to produce longform investigative journalism, we have mainly been focused on syndicating news articles we produce to independent news organizations around Massachusetts heretofore. But as our internship program has expanded significantly in recent years, we feel like we have enough talent on hand from several universities in three cohorts every year to run a regular news outlet of our own. Which explains the HorizonMass tagline: “Independent, student-driven journalism in the public interest.”

With interns working with us as reporters, designers, marketers, and (for the first time) editors, together with our ever-growing crew of professional freelance writers, we can continue to do our part to train the next generation of journalists while covering more Bay State happenings than ever before. We hope you enjoy our initial offerings and support our efforts with whatever donations you can afford.

Forward,

Jason Pramas, Editor-in-Chief, HorizonMass

If you like HorizonMass, please consider donating to our tax-deductible IRS 501(c)(3) sponsoring organization, the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. 

BINJ supports the development and production of independent news in Massachusetts, including with this new publication, HorizonMass. BINJ achieves its mission by: providing organizational support to community publications; running reporting collaborations and civic engagement initiatives; training promising journalists; and producing bold investigative journalism. 

While BINJ is an extremely efficient organization, the work we do week in, week out takes a significant annual budget to produce. That’s why any amount you can spare helps us continue to provide quality news on issues of the day in the Commonwealth. Just click the big DONATE button below to get started. 

Thanks.

DONATE

NEWS

Photo by Mike Mozart. Creative Commons BY-2.0-DEED 2014 Mike Mozart.

PRESERVING HEALTH EQUITY IN ROXBURY

LUCY SPANGLER April 5, 2024

How Locally Owned Pharmacies Are Addressing Pharmacy Deserts BOSTON – On January 31, Walgreens closed its location at 416 Warren St. in Roxbury’s Grove Hall neighborhood, the fourth Boston location to close since late 2022. The shutdown has forced customers to transfer their prescriptions to another location further away and find a new place to buy everyday essentials like diapers, baby food, and toiletries. Additionally, it has reduced access to immunizations as COVID-19 numbers surge again. Rep. Ayanna Pressley had already delivered a searing indictment of the Walgreens Corporation on the floor of the US House of Representatives the previous day—for closing the location without providing adequate notice, space for community input, and transition resources. “Having a website with talking points about health equity and

Read More »

GRADING THE PAROLE BOARD

JEAN TROUNSTINE April 3, 2024

The Massachusetts Parole Board still faces big challenges despite making some improvements this past year. Its final member was approved this week, but is the body equipped to operate efficiently?

Read More »

PSYCHEDELIC SHOWDOWN

JACK GORSLINE April 3, 2024

From generating buzz around their cause to getting heard on Beacon Hill, psychedelics advocates had a big March. But underneath the wins, fractures in the movement as well as external opposition could undermine legalization efforts.

Read More »
Load More

CULTURE

A meal at Taqueria Jalisco. Photo by Sofia Waldron.

EATS: TAQUERIA JALISCO

SOPHIA WALDRON April 26, 2024

“A cozy atmosphere envelops the restaurant, fostering an experience fit for not just a customer but a member of their family”

Read More »

OPINION

HORIZONMASS MASTHEAD

Editor-in-Chief: Jason Pramas
Editor-at-Large: Chris Faraone
Associate Editor: Taylor Brokesh, Sabine Ollivier-Yamin
Assistant Editors: Ben Bienstock, Avery Fitzgerald, Cohavit Gil, Bryan Liu, Eden Mor, Luis Santos
Reporters: Yaakov Aldrich, Taylor Brokesh, Niya Doyle, Cohavit Gil, Jack Gorsline, Bryan Liu, Julia Norkus, Sabine Ollivier-Yamin, Lindsay Shachnow, Sofia Waldron
Designers: Ella Nasca, Alexis Park
Photographer: Derek Kouyoumjian
Web Developer: John Loftus
Interns: Yaakov Aldrich, Ben Bienstock, Taylor Brokesh, Frank Chen, Niya Doyle, Elizabeth Gilbert, Jack Gorsline, Ana Lindo, Bryan Liu, Sabine Ollivier-Yamin, Luis Santos, Sofia Waldron, Ryan Yau
Interns Emeriti: ZhaoZhou Dai, Avery Fitzgerald, Rónán Fitzgerald, Cohavit Gil, Jared Jacob, Jamie Long, Eden Mor, Ella Nasca, Julia Norkus, Alexis Park, Billy Sanders, Luis Santos, Lindsay Shachnow, Gracie Warda

Notice
HorizonMass is published by Massachusetts Media Fund, Inc. d/b/a Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism (BINJ), an IRS 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit corporation. All rights to HorizonMass content—other than works made for hire by BINJ staff, first global web rights to display HorizonMass works published by contract creators (also known as freelancers) on BINJ websites and store them on BINJ servers and staff computers, and first global syndication rights to distribute HorizonMass works published by contract creators via BINJ’s news service MassWire, unless otherwise specified on a work-by-work basis—are held by their creators. All works made for hire by BINJ staff are: Copyright 2023 Massachusetts Media Fund, Inc. d/b/a Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism (BINJ). 

Contact HorizonMass at: 1-617-209-9511 or info@horizonmass.news.

Mailing Address
HorizonMass, 519 Somerville Ave. #206, Somerville MA 02143, USA.

REPORTER BIOS

JASON PRAMAS
JASON PRAMAS
12 posts
Jason Pramas is HorizonMass editor-in-chief. A longtime photojournalist with an MFA in Visual Arts, he is also executive director of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism and writes the award-winning column Apparent Horizon. Pramas is a Boston native.
View Posts →
DAN ATKINSON
DAN ATKINSON
10 posts
Dan is a reporter who has covered Massachusetts for the Boston Herald and Gatehouse Media.
View Posts →
JEAN TROUNSTINE
JEAN TROUNSTINE
7 posts
Jean Trounstine is a writer, activist, and professor whose latest book is Boy With a Knife: A Story of Murder, Remorse, and a Prisoner’s Fight for Justice. She is on the steering committee of the Coalition for Effective Public Safety.
View Posts →
CHRIS FARAONE
CHRIS FARAONE
7 posts
Chris Faraone is HorizonMass editor-at-large. A Queens, NY native who came to New England in 2004 to earn his MA in journalism at Boston University, he is a co-founder of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. Faraone has published several books including 99 Nights with the 99 Percent, and has written liner notes for hip-hop gods including Cypress Hill, Pete Rock, Nas, and various members of the Wu-Tang Clan.
View Posts →
NIYA DOYLE
NIYA DOYLE
4 posts
Niya Doyle is a HorizonMass reporter and a recent graduate of Boston University. She loves music, cats, and baking.
View Posts →
SOPHIA WALDRON
SOPHIA WALDRON
4 posts
Sofia Waldron (she/her) is a HorizonMass reporter. She is a student at Emerson College studying Journalism. In addition to her love of journalism, Waldron is interested in photography, music, art, and travel.
View Posts →
ADAM SENNOTT
ADAM SENNOTT
4 posts
Adam covers breaking news for the Boston Globe and is the president of the New England Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has covered housing and homelessness for various area publications including Spare Change News.
View Posts →
COHAVIT GIL
COHAVIT GIL
4 posts
Cohavit Gil is a HorizonMass assistant editor and reporter. A freelance writer and an intern at the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, she graduated from UMass Amherst in 2020 with a degree in psychology/neuroscience. Gil has written feature stories ranging from recent discoveries in neurobiology to cultural moments like Anna Delvey’s solo art exhibit.
View Posts →
JACK GORSLINE
JACK GORSLINE
4 posts
Jack Gorsline is a HorizonMass reporter. He is also a dual-enrolled student at Bunker Hill Community College and Northeastern University, studying Journalism and Political Science. Raised in Richmond, Virginia, Jack moved to Boston in 2020 to serve as an AmeriCorps’ at two charter schools in the heart of Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood. Most recently, he spent the summer of 2023 interning with Strategies for Children: a Boston-based early childhood education policy research and advocacy organization. A lifelong news junkie, Jack will regularly report on higher education, labor, economics, as well as political affairs both foreign and domestic, to name a few beats.
View Posts →
SABINE OLLIVIER-YAMIN
SABINE OLLIVIER-YAMIN
3 posts
Sabine Ollivier-Yamin is a HorizonMass associate editor and reporter. She is a Boston based arts and culture writer interested in the comedy beat. Ollivier-Yamin has written for the Daily Free Press, the Bunion, Gold Comedy, and the Core Journal. She is also a great pedestrian, she always pays attention to street signs.
View Posts →
BRYAN LIU
BRYAN LIU
2 posts
Bryan Liu (they/them) is a HorizonMass assistant editor/reporter and an Emerson College student from Jersey who micro-doses on pop culture one social commentary at a time. With a background in living arts, Bryan’s feature writing also explores the greater Boston area and Emersonian culture.
View Posts →
IZZY MITCHELL
IZZY MITCHELL
2 posts
Izzy Mitchell is a Boston based journalist, studying at Emerson College. She works as an on-air host for WERS 88.9, and reports for HorizonMass. She views journalism as a way to connect communities through arts and culture, and delivers engaging pieces in audio, video, and written form.
View Posts →
FRANK CHEN
FRANK CHEN
2 posts
Frank Chen (he/him) is a HorizonMass reporter. A journalist and photographer at Emerson College, he focuses on social justice and local news with a passion for investigative journalism. As an Emerson student, he is a founding member of the AAJA Emerson Chapter. He loves traveling and listening to live music whenever he is free.
View Posts →
JULIA NORKUS
JULIA NORKUS
2 posts
Julia Norkus (she/they) is a HorizonMass reporter. A journalist and photographer at Emerson College, their focus lays with the arts, with a passion for music and performance. As an Emerson student, she acts as Editor-in-Chief of WECB.fm’s Milk Crate, a music publication, as well as the host of WECB.fm radio show “Lavender Tea”. In their free time, Norkus loves bike rides, attending local shows in Allston and collaging.
View Posts →
YAAKOV ALDRICH
YAAKOV ALDRICH
1 posts
Yaakov Aldrich (any/all) is a HorizonMass reporter. They are a Boston-based student journalist and photographer, currently studying English and Political Science at Northeastern University, where they also write regularly for the Huntington News. Yaakov follows local stories about political activism, community events, and art in Boston.
View Posts →
JON LAMSON
JON LAMSON
1 posts
View Posts →
JYOTI SINHA
JYOTI SINHA
1 posts
View Posts →
KENDALL POLIDORI
KENDALL POLIDORI
1 posts
View Posts →
LINDSAY SHACHNOW
LINDSAY SHACHNOW
1 posts
Lindsay Shachnow is a HorizonMass reporter. She is a journalism student at Boston University and has a strong passion for social justice and data-driven storytelling. Lindsay is the co-campus editor for the Daily Free Press and has previously interned for BU Today and Gotham Gazette.
View Posts →
TAYLOR BROKESH
TAYLOR BROKESH
1 posts
Taylor Brokesh (she/her) is a HorizonMass reporter and associate editor. She is also a senior studying journalism at Boston University. Brokesh has covered just about everything, from state government to midterm elections to the World Cup and beyond, and in the future she hopes to cover the environment and politics. When she’s not reporting or editing, you can find her watching movies from the early 2000s, browsing small record stores and bookstores or hunting for the next best bowl of ramen.
View Posts →
  • 1
  • 2

Sign up for the HorizonMass Newsletter

Independent, Student-Driven Reporting in the Public Interest

Covering Massachusetts and beyond.

CONTACT US:

HorizonMass, 519 Somerville Ave. #206, Somerville, MA 02143;
info@horizonmass.news; 617.209.9511

Receive the latest news

Subscribe To The HorizonMass Newsletter

Receive the latest news

Subscribe To The HorizonMass Newsletter