Our Mission

As a digital portal, NEWz strives to be not just a window, but a door. We hope to bring together the following siloed elements of our region: voices from different ethnic groups and cultures; the best stories from the over 100 ethnic media of New England; student journalists, teachers and coaches from UMass Boston and the local mainstream media; news consumers of all kinds; research; links to community, business and government resources; and opportunities to connect better across our cultures. We hope that with new insights and information from NEWz, you will be inspired to take a more active role in your own neighborhoods and communities, in the nation and the “global village.”

Each week we will offer you not only the best ethnic news stories and opinions in New England, but also a chance to comment on individual stories and issues in our Community Blog, and work on our upcoming Media Ethics “WIKI”—a code of media ethics that we all will be writing together, thanks to the wonders of the Internet. Youth voices have a special place at NEWz—including our soon-to-come high school journalism blog. The site also features the work of UMass Boston communication studies students, who as interns with the local ethnic media, represent new voices in their communities.

What journalism training and support do you offer?

All aspiring journalists will find a useful Reporter’s Toolkit with research, tips, and links to important government and community databases. Soon we will offer free training podcasts as well.

Who are the ethnic media in New England?

See our free online Ethnic Media Database for New England, with contacts and other information about the more than 100 local ethnic media. Research about ethnic media is collected for you, and original research on regional African-American, Latino and other ethnic media is being done exclusively for the NEWz website.