Jurkowitz to Rejoin 'Boston Phoenix,' Seeking More Space and Voice

By: Graham Webster More than 10 years after leaving the Boston Phoenix to become executive editor of Boston magazine -- a position he held for only a few months before joining The Boston Globe -- Mark Jurkowitz will return to his old job as media writer at the Phoenix, the weekly announced Tuesday.

"I really have had 10 terrific years at the Globe, and I have nothing but really good feelings about the people I work with here," Jurkowitz told E&P Tuesday afternoon. He said the decision to move back to the Phoenix has to do with the latitude an alternative newsweekly affords its writers.

"There's no doubt that, literally in terms of space and the kind of voice you have, you'll have more voice and freedom at the Phoenix," he said. Also, the Internet has changed the nature of the job, Jurkowitz said.

"My first stint at the Phoenix, it was a lonely job," he said. "There was no Internet, no Jim Romenesko." Noting that the prestige of the Globe has given him access and a large platform to write from, Jurkowitz also said the Internet levels the playing field. "Frankly, thanks to the creation of the Internet, the guy covering the media at the Boston Phoenix has as good a platform as anyone," he said.

Writing in his Phoenix blog, Dan Kennedy, who replaced Jurkowitz and is now moving to Northeastern University, said he had learned a great deal from Jurkowitz.

"I was fortunate enough to work with Mark for three and a half years before taking over his beat," Kennedy wrote. "I learned a hell of a lot from him, not just about the ins and outs of the Boston media scene, but about larger issues as well, ranging from the perils of corporate media consolidation to ethical considerations."

Jurkowitz, who does not currently write a blog, said he will continue Kennedy's blog in some way when he rejoins the Phoenix.

Jurkowitz was the Phoenix's media writer starting in 1987. He left the alt-weekly to become executive editor of Boston magazine in 1994, and then he quickly joined the Globe as ombudsman in 1995. He became the Globe's first full-time media reporter in 1997.