CommonWealth Beacon, an award-winning and trusted source of rigorous reporting and analysis on politics, public policy, and government across Massachusetts, has announced the addition of Laura Colarusso as its next editor, replacing Bruce Mohl who is retiring after 16 years in that role.
She comes to CommonWealth Beacon from Nieman Reports, an online and quarterly print publication with a mission of promoting and elevating journalistic standards. She was selected following a nationwide search over a period of several months and will start in November.
In addition to leading Nieman’s newsroom, Colarusso has reported on a wide variety of topics including climate change, education and health care, and covered the Pentagon in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. She has held leadership positions at GBH News in Boston, where she was the digital managing editor before joining Nieman Reports in 2021, where she served as editor. Colarusso won a regional 2020 Edward R. Murrow Award for the story “The Original Old Boys Club” while she was at GBH.
“We are thrilled to have Laura join our team and lead CommonWealth Beacon into its next chapter,” said Joe Kriesberg, CEO of the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC) and publisher of CommonWealth Beacon. “Laura has the experience, network and leadership skills to build on Bruce’s legacy, and to further shape CommonWealth Beacon into a dynamic, civic news outlet that will continue to inform and engage our readers.”
“CommonWealth Beacon has a long history of creating outstanding journalism that helps the people of Massachusetts understand their government and the changes taking place in the world around them,” Colarusso said. “I couldn’t be more excited to join this organization at such a critical time for our democracy, and I’m looking forward to leading CommonWealth Beacon as we work to connect with broader and more diverse audiences, and deliver even more high quality news and information to our readers.”
“I had an opportunity to work with Laura at GBH News and Nieman Reports, and I consider her to be an innovative news leader with a proven track record as well as high ethical standards,” said Dan Kennedy, professor of journalism at Northeastern University and member of the CWB Advisory Board. “I’m thrilled with this appointment, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Laura’s vision is for a news organization that has already established itself as a national leader in nonprofit journalism focused on state politics and public policy.”
For nearly three decades, CommonWealth Beacon has provided readers with high-quality, non-partisan original journalism covering the major issues of the day, including housing, transportation, healthcare, criminal justice, and education, among others. Its reporters routinely break stories that bring necessary accountability to state government, while also highlighting promising solutions to some of Massachusetts’ biggest challenges.
Its mission is to build a more inclusive and vibrant civic culture that makes government more responsive and effective by providing non-profit, non-partisan, original civic news coverage to the people of Massachusetts free of charge.
“The importance of high quality, independent and fact-based reporting in this moment cannot be overstated,” said Eileen O’Connor, MassINC board chair and member of the search committee. “During this time of tremendous social change and political division, Laura’s leadership and experience ensures that CommonWealth Beacon will remain a trusted source of unbiased journalism.”
CommonWealth Beacon began publishing as a quarterly print magazine called CommonWealth Magazine in 1996 and became entirely digital in 2018. In 2023, the publication rebranded as CommonWealth Beacon, signaling its commitment to expand its newsroom, fully leverage its digital platforms and create a financially sustainable and vibrant non-profit news organization.
About MassINC:
Founded in 1996, MassINC is a non-partisan civic organization working to make Massachusetts a place of inclusive economic opportunity and civic vitality. We advance this mission by providing residents with non-partisan research, editorially independent journalism, and civic engagement opportunities that lift up a wide range of diverse voices. These activities contribute to informed and thoughtful policy making and increased government transparency and accountability. We do this work across three independent divisions — CommonWealth Beacon, the MassINC Policy Center, and the MassINC Polling Group.
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