The New Bedford Light Reporter

The New Bedford Light is a free, nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news outlet dedicated to in-depth coverage of urgent issues facing the City of New Bedford and the South Coast region of Massachusetts, a richly diverse and economically challenged area. In addition to hard-hitting investigative and explanatory stories, we celebrate our unique local culture through inventive coverage of the arts. It’s an unusual content mix, tailored to reflect the whole of our complex city. In just over a year of publication, The Light has grown into a professional news organization with a 14-member staff, a neighborhood-based newsroom and a broad community of avid supporters. Our newsroom prioritizes watchdog/accountability journalism; we strive for impact. To date, we have exposed serious inequities in the fishing industry, evictions and gentrification, public health and safety, educational resources and much more. This is a huge and complex issue in New Bedford. The legacy of industrial pollutants, primarily from the textile industry, is present in the water, the air, the ground, the food and the health issues of residents whose low incomes and other factors make them especially vulnerable. We are a Super Fund site, and dotted with brown fields where residential housing is occupied by the poorest residents. Heat deserts in these neighborhoods are an urgent health issue, as is asthma and lead-poisoning. In addition, we are a coastal region whose residents and primary industries (fishing, wind) are directly affected by climate issues including sea-level rise, and changes in ocean temperatures, acidity, tides, and aquatic ecosystems, to name just a few. This is a challenging beat, requiring substantial experience with public records, government agencies and regulators, science and health data. It requires sharp research and investigative reporting skills, coupled with an aptitude for vivid storytelling.