{"id":53,"date":"2026-05-19T12:35:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T12:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53"},"modified":"2026-05-19T12:35:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T12:35:31","slug":"commonwealth-beacon-turns-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53","title":{"rendered":"CommonWealth Beacon turns 30"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

IN THE SPRING <\/mark><\/strong>of 1996, a new magazine began making its way onto the desks of policymakers and into the mailboxes of readers across the Bay State. Its inaugural issue featured a smiling family of four sitting on their sofa in the living room of their home in Billerica \u2013 an example of \u201cMaking it in the Middle Class.\u201d <\/p>\n

Read more One year in, backers of Massachusetts\u2019s eviction sealing law say there is promise \u2014 and an awareness problem<\/a><\/p>\n

In this special edition of The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon <\/em>editor Laura Colarusso sits down with Dave Denison, founding editor of CommonWealth<\/em> magazine \u2013 CWB\u2019s precursor \u2013 to discuss the seismic changes in both the media and political environment in Massachusetts on the 30th anniversary of the magazine\u2019s launch. <\/p>\n

In CommonWealth<\/em>\u2019s early days, Denison had to prove that a policy-focused magazine could produce exciting articles, and not, as others tried to label it, \u201ceat your peas\u201d journalism. <\/p>\n

The secret? According to Denison, it was finding great writers. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt turned out that if you do the stories well enough with writers who know what they\u2019re doing, that you can overcome that,\u201d Denison said. \u201cThat\u2019s the whole challenge, is to write a magazine piece that has such a good opening that people start it and keep going.\u201d <\/p>\n

It started, for Denison, with old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting. On a mission to capture the essence of middle-class life, Denison zeroed in on middle-income Billerica, and in particular, a street called Heritage Road. <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, well, that\u2019s something you can work with, because we\u2019re talking about the heritage of the American dream,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Read more Political Notebook: Healey underwater in new poll<\/a><\/p>\n

Without the aid of social media to track people down, Denison canvassed the neighborhood on foot. From the beginning, CommonWealth<\/em>\u2019s mission was always to put in the effort. <\/p>\n

\u201cMost newspaper journalists go out, and the whole point is, let\u2019s spend 15, 20 minutes with someone so we get some quotes, then we can put the quotes in the story,\u201d Denison said. \u201cThat\u2019s not deep enough. I tried to go a little bit deeper on that.\u201d <\/p>\n

While CommonWealth<\/em>\u2019s mission to go in-depth where others do not remains unchanged, over the last three decades a shift in the media environment surrounding the publication required some adjustments. CommonWealth<\/em> magazine printed its last physical edition in 2018 and has since transformed into the website known as CommonWealth Beacon <\/em>today. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been working for the last 10 years at a magazine that still prints, the Baffler <\/em>magazine, but it never ceases to stun me how, even though we print it and mail it and put a lot of effort into the aesthetics of the magazine, it seems like so much of the readership comes to us online,\u201d Denison said. \u201cThat\u2019s where people are now.\u201d <\/p>\n

Read more \u2018I want a legacy for my family\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dave Denison was the first editor of CommonWealth magazine and oversaw the publication of its first issue 30 years ago, in the spring of 1996. Although much has changed about the country, the state, and the organization since the 1990s, Denison and current editor Laura Colarusso discuss the enduring mission of creating a more transparent political system for the common good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-codcast"],"yoast_head":"\nCommonWealth Beacon turns 30 - Worcester Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CommonWealth Beacon turns 30 - Worcester Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dave Denison was the first editor of CommonWealth magazine and oversaw the publication of its first issue 30 years ago, in the spring of 1996. Although much has changed about the country, the state, and the organization since the 1990s, Denison and current editor Laura Colarusso discuss the enduring mission of creating a more transparent political system for the common good.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Worcester Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-19T12:35:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?p=53#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?p=53\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/690f2c82d115bde885a331998fa0eae0\"},\"headline\":\"CommonWealth Beacon turns 30\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-19T12:35:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?p=53\"},\"wordCount\":481,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?p=53#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/66b466fcc62448cf9a856d06d20ae4e3.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"The Codcast\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?p=53#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?p=53\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?p=53\",\"name\":\"CommonWealth Beacon turns 30 - Worcester Moving Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?p=53#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?p=53#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/66b466fcc62448cf9a856d06d20ae4e3.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-19T12:35:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/690f2c82d115bde885a331998fa0eae0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?p=53#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?p=53\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?p=53#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/66b466fcc62448cf9a856d06d20ae4e3.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/66b466fcc62448cf9a856d06d20ae4e3.png\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?p=53#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"CommonWealth Beacon turns 30\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Worcester Moving Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/690f2c82d115bde885a331998fa0eae0\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worcestermovingreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"CommonWealth Beacon turns 30 - Worcester Moving Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"CommonWealth Beacon turns 30 - Worcester Moving Report","og_description":"Dave Denison was the first editor of CommonWealth magazine and oversaw the publication of its first issue 30 years ago, in the spring of 1996. Although much has changed about the country, the state, and the organization since the 1990s, Denison and current editor Laura Colarusso discuss the enduring mission of creating a more transparent political system for the common good.","og_url":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53","og_site_name":"Worcester Moving Report","article_published_time":"2026-05-19T12:35:31+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/690f2c82d115bde885a331998fa0eae0"},"headline":"CommonWealth Beacon turns 30","datePublished":"2026-05-19T12:35:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53"},"wordCount":481,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/66b466fcc62448cf9a856d06d20ae4e3.png","articleSection":["The Codcast"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53","url":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53","name":"CommonWealth Beacon turns 30 - Worcester Moving Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/66b466fcc62448cf9a856d06d20ae4e3.png","datePublished":"2026-05-19T12:35:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/690f2c82d115bde885a331998fa0eae0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/66b466fcc62448cf9a856d06d20ae4e3.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/66b466fcc62448cf9a856d06d20ae4e3.png","width":1920,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=53#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CommonWealth Beacon turns 30"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/","name":"Worcester Moving Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/690f2c82d115bde885a331998fa0eae0","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}