"As he was nearing
70, the mandatory retirement age for judges in Massachusetts, Fred
Rutberg began thinking about what he might do next. He had served on the
bench in Berkshire County for 20 years, and lived in Stockbridge for
40.
"Then one soft summer night in 2014, Rutberg and his wife, Judith, were on Nantucket, listening to a talk at the island library by veteran political journalist Joe Klein.
"'At some point, [Klein] said, offhandedly, 'Democracy requires citizenship and citizenship requires a town square,'' Rutberg said. 'And when he said that, I whispered to my wife, 'The Berkshire Eagle.''
"Five years later, the former district court judge is president and publisher of the Eagle, a once-great daily newspaper whose staff, circulation, and prestige all declined dramatically during two decades of corporate ownership. Backed by a group with local ties and deep pockets, Rutberg bought the moribund paper in May 2016 and began investing in it, hiring reporters and editors, adding new sections, revitalizing its website, even spending money on better-quality newsprint.
"So far, the results are promising. Print subscriptions, which had been dropping for years, are holding steady, and the Eagle’s digital subscriptions are growing - by an impressive 60 percent since June 2018. Last year, the Eagle received the New England Newspaper & Press Association’s award for general excellence, and its daily and Sunday editions swept the Newspaper of the Year awards for papers of its size. . . ."
A recent Boston Globe article reported on Mr. Rutberg and his work with the Berkshire Eagle.
To access the complete Boston Globe report, please visit:
The Boston Globe: Now that's a good story: news revival in Berkshires (1 JUN 19)
"Then one soft summer night in 2014, Rutberg and his wife, Judith, were on Nantucket, listening to a talk at the island library by veteran political journalist Joe Klein.
"'At some point, [Klein] said, offhandedly, 'Democracy requires citizenship and citizenship requires a town square,'' Rutberg said. 'And when he said that, I whispered to my wife, 'The Berkshire Eagle.''
"Five years later, the former district court judge is president and publisher of the Eagle, a once-great daily newspaper whose staff, circulation, and prestige all declined dramatically during two decades of corporate ownership. Backed by a group with local ties and deep pockets, Rutberg bought the moribund paper in May 2016 and began investing in it, hiring reporters and editors, adding new sections, revitalizing its website, even spending money on better-quality newsprint.
"So far, the results are promising. Print subscriptions, which had been dropping for years, are holding steady, and the Eagle’s digital subscriptions are growing - by an impressive 60 percent since June 2018. Last year, the Eagle received the New England Newspaper & Press Association’s award for general excellence, and its daily and Sunday editions swept the Newspaper of the Year awards for papers of its size. . . ."
A recent Boston Globe article reported on Mr. Rutberg and his work with the Berkshire Eagle.
To access the complete Boston Globe report, please visit:
The Boston Globe: Now that's a good story: news revival in Berkshires (1 JUN 19)
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