OMB Editorial

Since it's been a fairly slow newsweek - given the recess in state government, the hot humid weather, and those that can afford it being on some kind of vacation - we thought it would be a good time to ask Open Media Boston viewers for some feedback. We're getting ready to expand our operation at OMB. This naturally includes rebuilding this website to make better use of the latest technology and learn from the experience of our first year and a half as an online weekly metropolitan news publication.

It's always a good idea to keep an eye on what corporate think tanks are up to - especially at the local level - and the Boston Municipal Research Bureau is no exception, backed as it is by the largest corporations and law firms in the region. The best rationale for this opinion being that major corporations are the most powerful institutions in our society.

On the weekend of July 23-25, 2004 over 5,000 progressives from across the region, nation and world gathered at UMass Boston for the Boston Social Forum - three days of discussion, debate and cultural events staged right before the 2004 Democratic National Convention, which also took place in our fair city.

Everyone here at Open Media Boston was shocked and saddened to hear this week's announcement that the Bay State Banner suspended publication this week - possibly forever, if new investors don't step foward. For over 40 years, the Banner was not only the main African-American media outlet in Boston and Massachusetts, it was also the main community media outlet serving the predominantly African-American Boston neighborhood of Roxbury. We think this aspect of its importance has been less discussed than it should be.