Aidan Ryan

Aidan Ryan

@aidanryan.bsky.social

Media reporter at @bostonglobe.com. Tips to aidan.ryan@globe.com or aidanfitzryan.13 on Signal. https://www.bostonglobe.com/about/staff-list/staff/aidan-ryan/

1.8K followers823 following162 posts

Aidan Ryan reposted

Beth Healy
@bethhealy.bsky.social

Anonymous social media provocateur turns into AI ‘news’ poster - meet Simon Pacheco, 36, a software engineer @bostonglobe.com @aidanryan.bsky.social www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/10/b...

bostonglobe.comThis anonymous news site has rankled Wu and other progressives. Here’s the Boston man who runs it. - The Boston GlobeMass Daily News, a right-wing, largely AI-generated website, has attracted tens of thousands of social media followers and fueled viral media cycles targeting City Hall and Beacon Hill.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

My latest story @bostonglobe.com goes behind Mass Daily News, a right-wing and, until now, anonymous site run by a software engineer with AI-generated posts. It's helped fuel viral media cycles targeting Wu and other progressives, often without key context. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/10/b...

bostonglobe.comAnonymous no more: Meet the 36-year-old Boston software engineer behind the viral Mass Daily News website - The Boston GlobeMass Daily News, a right-wing, largely AI-generated website, has attracted tens of thousands of social media followers and fueled viral media cycles targeting City Hall and Beacon Hill.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

New: The WHDH-TV photographers' union said it's reached a tentative contract agreement with the station, which would end a tense 15-month fight. Workers have filed grievance charges to the NLRB, filed federal lawsuits, and picketed outside the station. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/18/b...

bostonglobe.comWHDH photographers’ union says it has reached a tentative new contract with the station, ending tense battle - The Boston GlobeSteve Katsos, the business manager of IBEW Local 1228, said the agreement includes 3 percent raises over four years, two additional holidays, and additional protections for part-time staff.

Aidan Ryan reposted

Christopher Gavin
@chrisgavin.bsky.social

From @aidanryan.bsky.social: A Rhode Island website was once an influential progressive blog. AI avatars now write most of its stories. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/17/b...

bostonglobe.comA Rhode Island website was once an influential progressive blog. AI avatars now write most of its stories. - The Boston GlobeThe shift at Uprise RI comes at a time when Rhode Island progressives, led by state Rep. David Morales, are politically ascendant.

Aidan Ryan reposted

Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

For the @bostonglobe.com magazine, I visited Maine to profile @hcrichardson.bsky.social, the historian and Substack star who has amassed millions of followers for her distillation of contemporary American politics. Can her rallying cry for democracy help save it? www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/11/m...

bostonglobe.comFrom a small town in Maine, Heather Cox Richardson has built a following of millions. She still thinks America can be saved. - The Boston GlobeHer newsletter, Letters from an American, is quick to call out MAGA. Her critics say she's less tough on Democrats.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

For the @bostonglobe.com magazine, I visited Maine to profile @hcrichardson.bsky.social, the historian and Substack star who has amassed millions of followers for her distillation of contemporary American politics. Can her rallying cry for democracy help save it? www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/11/m...

bostonglobe.comFrom a small town in Maine, Heather Cox Richardson has built a following of millions. She still thinks America can be saved. - The Boston GlobeHer newsletter, Letters from an American, is quick to call out MAGA. Her critics say she's less tough on Democrats.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

Literary magazines, academic journals, and medical publications are grappling with a surge of AI-generated submissions. Some publications have seen authors submit five papers in a day, while others have seen overall entries double or triple normal levels. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/02/b...

bostonglobe.comMedical journals, law reviews, and literary magazines are grappling with AI-generated submissions - The Boston GlobeWhile these publications serve relatively narrow audiences, their contributions are key for new thinking about the world.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed an executive order Thursday directing state agencies to prioritize local news outlets in advertising. The directive is the first statewide effort in the country, and could open up as much as $4m to $5m per year for newsrooms. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/23/b...

bostonglobe.comVermont governor directs state agencies to prioritize local news outlets in advertising - The Boston GlobeThe order is the first of its kind at a statewide level, and advocates believe it can help support local newsrooms.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

Photographers and technicians at WHDH-TV have raised workplace concerns amid their fight for a new contract, including in charges filed to the NLRB and lawsuits in federal court. They haven't received a raise since 2023 and have been bargaining for a year www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/20/b...

bostonglobe.com‘The worst treatment’: WHDH employees take to picket lines and lawsuits in tense contract fight - The Boston GlobePhotographers and technicians at the station say they have not received a raise since 2023, and they get only six paid holidays a year, as talks for a new contract continue.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

America's Test Kitchen has had three rounds of layoffs since the PE-owned Marquee Brands took over in 2023. Leaders say its repositioning the brand to survive in the digital age, while former staffers worry they're hollowing out the food media company. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/09/b...

bostonglobe.comWhy has America’s Test Kitchen been laying off staff? Here’s what happened under the company’s private equity owner. - The Boston GlobeCompany leaders say the changes are part of a strategy to reallocate resources and set the company up for success in a landscape dramatically reshaped by social media and AI.

Aidan Ryan reposted

Miles Halpine
@mileshalpine.bsky.social

"WBUR, Boston’s other NPR news station, has also seen a jump in donors. Its membership has increased nearly 19 percent from a year ago and the station met its $1.1 million spring fund-raising goal in just four and a half days..." Via @aidanryan.bsky.social www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/06/b...

bostonglobe.comGBH faced layoffs, suspended shows, and the loss of federal funding. Now it’s pointing to signs of resilience. - The Boston GlobeGBH's resilience following the loss of federal funding will be a relief in other corners of the industry because of its outsized role in public media.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

Even before Congress cut funding for public media, GBH was struggling with cuts and layoffs. But a year after the rescission, GBH has entered a period of stability. WBUR is holding steady too. My latest @bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/06/b...

bostonglobe.comGBH faced layoffs, suspended shows, and the loss of federal funding. Now it’s pointing to signs of resilience. - The Boston GlobeGBH's resilience following the loss of federal funding will be a relief in other corners of the industry because of its outsized role in public media.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

Why did an environmental nonprofit take over a local lifestyle magazine? The Buzzards Bay Coalition and the South Coast Almanac, whose content hasn't changed under its new owner, saw they shared a love of their region and would be stronger together. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/19/b...

bostonglobe.comWhy the nonprofit Buzzards Bay Coalition took over the South Coast Almanac lifestyle magazine - The Boston GlobeThe Almanac is clearly not an environmental publication. But that didn’t stop the Buzzards Bay Coalition, from bringing it under the environmental nonprofit’s ownership in late 2024.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

South Shore News founder Justin Evans faced a significant test when he put up a paywall in April: Would readers pay for AI-generated articles that recap town government and school committee meetings? Turns out, hundreds would. My latest @bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/12/b...

bostonglobe.comA South Shore AI-generated news site put up a paywall. Hundreds of readers, including a police chief, opened their wallets. - The Boston GlobeWhile the audience is still small, it’s a sign that despite skepticism about the technology, there could be a larger audience for AI-generated local news — albeit with a limited focus.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

The Midcoast Villager has attracted national attention for its cafe, which is expected to be profitable in its first full-year. But layoffs on the news side show how leaders are still fine-tuning the novel approach to local news. My dispatch from Maine: www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/30/b...

bostonglobe.comA Maine newspaper took a bold step in opening a cafe. Here’s how it’s faring a year after opening. - The Boston GlobeThe cafe is expected to turn a profit in its first full year of operation, despite recent cuts at the newspaper.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

Evan Smith, interviewing NPR CEO Katherine Maher at the WBUR Festival, brought up that one critique of public media is inefficiencies in its system. He then started to ask whether Boston needed two public radio stations. “I’m going to stay way away of that,” Maher said.

Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

Scoop: More cuts at America's Test Kitchen, which is laying off 24 employees, representing 10 percent of its workforce. Comes three months after it acquired Food52 out of bankruptcy. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/18/b...

bostonglobe.comAmerica’s Test Kitchen lays off 24 employees — 10 percent of its workforce - The Boston GlobeMonday’s layoffs are also just the latest cuts for the company, which last year laid off seven employees and shuttered its Cook’s Country magazine.

Aidan Ryan reposted

Dan Kennedy
@dankennedy.net

The Lexington Observer’s unusual revenue stream: acting as a conduit for other news outlets. @aidanryan.bsky.social reports. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/15/b...

bostonglobe.comWhy are millions of dollars flowing through a two-person Lexington news outlet? A look at the newsroom’s unorthodox business. - The Boston GlobeWhile the “Local News Hub” program has helped the Observer pay for its own local reporting, some of its leaders are questioning whether it should continue.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

New: I wrote about the Lexington Observer, a local outlet with two employees that has made most of its money as a financial intermediary for other news orgs. Its leaders are now debating whether to continue the service, which I haven't seen any other outlet adopt. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/15/b...

bostonglobe.comWhy are millions of dollars flowing through a two-person Lexington news outlet? A look at the newsroom’s unorthodox business. - The Boston GlobeWhile the “Local News Hub” program has helped the Observer pay for its own local reporting, some of its leaders are questioning whether it should continue.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

More GBH News: the Boston public media giant is merging its operations with New England Public Media. While it's owned the Springfield-based organization since its inception in 2019, the two have largely run separately. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/01/b...

bostonglobe.comGBH to merge with Springfield-based New England Public Media - The Boston GlobeThe public media giant already owned NEPM, but the merger will strengthen ties between the organizations that had largely operated separately.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

New from me: I spoke with the CEO of Yankee Publishing, the NH media company that owns Yankee magazine and the Old Farmer's Almanac, about how the print-heavy business has managed to remain stable and profitable, AI, and its employee-owned model. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/01/b...

bostonglobe.comWorried about the death of print media? Look to Yankee Publishing for hope. - The Boston GlobeThe CEO of Yankee Publishing, which owns Yankee magazine and the Old Farmer’s Almanac, spoke to the Globe about print, AI, and its employee-owned model.

Aidan Ryan reposted

Dan Kennedy
@dankennedy.net

Insightful @aidanryan.bsky.social story on the burgeoning rivalry between the nonprofit @cambridgeday.com and the upstart @csindie.bsky.social, launched recently by the Day's founder. #journalism www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/25/b...

bostonglobe.comA new kind of local news war? Two outlets in Cambridge are trying to revitalize the city’s coverage. - The Boston GlobeCambridge Day and the Cambridge Somerville Independent will be competing for coverage — and donation dollars — but this isn’t a newspaper war of yore.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

Cambridge should be ripe with local news. But just a few years ago, the city lacked a single full-time reporter dedicated to the city. Now, after the founder of the local Cambridge Day left to start his own outlet, it’s trying to be a two newsroom town. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/25/b...

bostonglobe.comA new kind of local news war? Two outlets in Cambridge are trying to revitalize the city’s coverage. - The Boston GlobeCambridge Day and the Cambridge Somerville Independent will be competing for coverage — and donation dollars — but this isn’t a newspaper war of yore.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

“There’s just a gigantic amount of people that need to be made fun of that haven’t been touched yet." The Onion CEO @bencollins.bsky.social, a Mass. native, on why the satirical news site kept fighting to take over Infowars. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/22/b...

bostonglobe.com‘There’s just a gigantic amount of people that need to be made fun of’: The Onion CEO is excited to take over Infowars - The Boston GlobeThe Onion’s plan to take over Infowars has been long — and complicated. But chief executive Ben Collins is confident that a new deal will help his outlet land the joke.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

Matt Shearer pitched his first-ever show as the “most unhinged episode of Oprah.” He delivered with a furry, poop songs, a Red Line car seat, $5 Dunkin’ gift cards for all, and lots of Masshole energy. More on the famed reporter who took his viral videos onstage: www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/10/b...

bostonglobe.com‘A new frontier’: With his first live show, WBZ NewsRadio’s Matt Shearer brings viral TikToks to The Wilbur stage - The Boston GlobeThe show, a two-and-a-half-hour event played like a Dunkin’-stained blend of America’s Funniest Home Videos for the TikTok-era with a chaotic late night program featuring the kind of Massachusetts profanity, but also pride, that makes the state unique.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

“The paper can’t survive if it can’t get young people to come and work here,” said Ed Miller, editor of The Provincetown Independent, about why the outlet's nonprofit partner bought a condo to house reporters at below-market rates. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/07/b...

bostonglobe.comFaced with a lack of housing, a Cape Cod nonprofit bought a condo for Provincetown Independent reporters - The Boston GlobeThree reporters share the three-bedroom, three-bathroom condo, paying below market rates to live year-round in the community they cover.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

My latest: Nonprofit news pioneer VTDigger is facing several challenges, years after it established itself as Vermont's news outlet of record: the departure of its editor and CEO, financial losses, and a tense contract negotiation with its editorial union. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/02/b...

bostonglobe.comVTDigger is losing its top editor and CEO. What’s driving the departures at a nonprofit news pioneer? - The Boston GlobeExecutive departures, financial challenges, and a tense contract negotiation with its editorial union has left VTDigger on unstable footing.

Aidan Ryan reposted

Dan Kennedy
@dankennedy.net

In Haverhill, Mass., WHAV Radio had already decided to drop CBS News and expects to announce an agreement with a different news service soon. “It is a sad end for what was once called the ‘Tiffany Network,’” says station president and CEO Tim Coco. #journalism whav.net/2026/03/21/w...

whav.netWHAV Reports No Local Impact From Coming End of Nearly Century-Old CBS Radio - WHAV(Additional photograph below.) Friday’s reporting of the demise of the nearly century-old CBS News Radio will have no effect on WHAV or its listeners. WHAV President and CEO Tim Coco said in a stateme...
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

More on the idea of a merger between two of public media's most prominent organizations, from notes that the leaders of WBUR and GBH sent to their respective staffs Thursday.

Aidan Ryan@aidanryan.bsky.social

NEW: GBH and WBUR have long insisted that there’s room for two public media giants in Boston. In an era without federal funding, could that come to an end? “It would make a lot of sense to merge,” GBH CEO Susan Goldberg told me. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/12/b...

bostonglobe.comGBH is open to examining merger with WBUR as public media adjusts to life without federal funding - The Boston GlobePublic broadcasters across the country have so far weathered $1.1 billion in federal cuts. But public media executives fear the relief is temporary.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

NEW: GBH and WBUR have long insisted that there’s room for two public media giants in Boston. In an era without federal funding, could that come to an end? “It would make a lot of sense to merge,” GBH CEO Susan Goldberg told me. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/12/b...

bostonglobe.comGBH is open to examining merger with WBUR as public media adjusts to life without federal funding - The Boston GlobePublic broadcasters across the country have so far weathered $1.1 billion in federal cuts. But public media executives fear the relief is temporary.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

New from me: A Milton-based startup that launched this week is aiming to be a MasterClass for new parents, with videos created by working pediatricians. With so much free parenting content online, can it break out? www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/02/b...

bostonglobe.com‘MasterClass meets Mass General’: Milton-based media startup uplitMD aims to be a video guide for new parents - The Boston GlobeThe paid subscription service faces an uphill battle to break through in a media landscape awash in free parenting content, but is betting on high-quality video and working doctors to reach parents.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

Dartmouth has moved swiftly to embrace AI. @ditikohli.bsky.social and I covered its deal w/ Anthropic, how AI is leading to classroom tension, and how officials are under fire for paying an undergrad to promote a mental health chatbot in the student paper. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/25/b...

bostonglobe.comDartmouth College went all-in on AI. Then came the tension. - The Boston GlobeThe swift rollout at the Ivy League school is a case study in the turbulence that AI can bring.
Aidan Ryan
@aidanryan.bsky.social

The @bostonglobe.com presses are quiet tonight, as its executives have made the unprecedented decision to not print and deliver a paper Tuesday due to Monday's monster of a blizzard. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/23/b...

bostonglobe.comIn unprecedented decision, The Boston Globe will not print a paper for Feb. 24 delivery - The Boston GlobeA massive nor’easter that blanketed New England with snow and turbulent winds made it nearly impossible for the paper’s printing staff to get to work in Taunton.