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THAT ‘FREE SPEECH’ THING

Photo by Kori Feener Mayor Walsh and various police agencies were no friends of civil liberties at Boston’s monster protests against the ultra right August 22, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Despite the “mission accomplished” happy talk in most of the news media, Saturday’s 40,000-strong Boston protests against extremism — and the tiny ultra-right rally that

JASON PRAMAS August 22, 2017

LAWMAKERS PUSH TO RENAME THE YAWKEY MBTA STATION

This short feature is a sequel to “The Yawkey Way,” which caused some controversy, raised discussions, spurred subsequent coverage, earned attention from the larger sports and journalism communities, and was ultimately recognized as a notable story in the 2017 edition of Best American Sports Writing. Tom Yawkey has long been considered by

BRITNI DE LA CRETAZ August 17, 2017

A PROTEST BY ANY OTHER NAME…

The best way to defeat the ultra right is to stop playing their game August 15, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Street protest is a vital part of any genuinely democratic political system. But how and when people choose to demonstrate (or counterdemonstrate) determines the tactic’s relative success or failure.

JASON PRAMAS August 15, 2017

STRIKE. IRON. HOT.

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) demonstration with Joseph J. Ettor speaking from platform to striking barbers in Union Square, New York. (1913) You don’t need a union to take action for justice on the job July 18, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Last week 1,200 Tufts Medical Center nurses unionized with

JASON PRAMAS July 18, 2017

REAL RIDESHARING

Evolving the way the world moves … beyond Uber (and Lyft) July 7, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS The following column was written as commentary for the July 2017 episode of the Beyond Boston monthly video news digest — produced by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism and several area public access television stations.

JASON PRAMAS July 7, 2017

GETTING TO BIKE

Urban multimodal network needed to make bicycles a viable alternative in the ’burbs June 21, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS The following column was written as commentary for the June 2017 episode of the Beyond Boston monthly video news digest — produced by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism and several area public

JASON PRAMAS June 21, 2017

PRESS FAIL: AS GE CEO STEPS DOWN, BOSTON JOURNALISTS MUST DO THEIR JOB

June 14, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS A recent column by the Boston Globe‘s Shirley Leung perfectly encapsulates the problem with local media cheerleading for General Electric’s decision to move its headquarters to Boston. The title alone says it all: “Will GE’s new CEO remain committed to Boston?” Because, like so many

JASON PRAMAS June 14, 2017

THE PEOPLE’S BUDGET

A better way forward for the federal government May 30, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS At this point, anyone who pays attention to current affairs in even a cursory manner will be aware that President Donald Trump’s proposal for the next federal budget is a savage attack on working families — and a slap

JASON PRAMAS May 30, 2017

BATTLE OF THE NOOBS

Photo by Luke O’Neil ‘Boston Free Speech’ protesters and counter demonstrators both lose the day May 17, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Last week’s right-wing Boston Free Speech protest at the Parkman Bandstand on Boston Common did not require a response from the left wing. Let’s get that out of the way

JASON PRAMAS May 27, 2017

PROGRESSIVE CONFUSION

Only multiparty democracy will ensure that left policies are enacted in Mass May 10, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS There is a persistent myth that Massachusetts is a left-wing state. The basis of this demonstrably false conceit is that the Commonwealth has had a Democratic majority in its legislature for as

JASON PRAMAS May 10, 2017