The Dorchester Reporter will welcome supporters, readers, and citywide leaders to Southline Boston on Morrissey Boulevard on Thursday evening for a special gathering focused on supporting local news and the next generation of community journalists.
The event, titled “The Future of Local News in Boston and Beyond,” will serve as both a fundraiser and a conversation about the importance of local journalism at a time when newspapers across the country continue to face economic challenges and shrinking newsrooms.
The evening will spotlight the launch of the Thomas F. Mulvoy Jr. Scholarship, an initiative designed to support young people from our neighborhoods pursuing careers in journalism.
Named for the longtime Boston Globe editor and current Dorchester Reporter associate editor, the scholarship honors Tom’s decades-long commitment to mentoring young reporters and strengthening local journalism in Boston’s neighborhoods.
The event also serves as a launch of the Edward W. Forry and Mary Casey Forry Foundation for Community Journalism, formed last year to help sustain community journalism while creating opportunities for aspiring reporters from Dorchester and other Boston neighborhoods. The nonprofit is named for Ed and Mary Casey Forry, who started this newspaper in 1983.
More than four decades later, The Reporter remains one of the city’s few independent neighborhood newspapers, continuing its mission of covering local government, schools, development, public safety, arts, and community life in Dorchester, Mattapan, and surrounding neighborhoods.
Thursday’s program will bring together civic leaders, business owners, educators, journalists, and longtime supporters of the paper for an evening centered on why local reporting still matters— and how we can create a pipeline of homegrown talent to sustain it.
Funds raised through the event will support both the work of the Dorchester Reporter newsroom and the foundation’s educational programs, including internships, mentoring opportunities, and scholarship support for young journalists.
This event is made possible thanks to the generous support of sponsors and friends, led by Eversource Energy, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, UMass Boston, Boston Globe, Keolis, and Bob and Suzanne Sullivan.
The Reporter is also grateful for our supporters from RODE Architects, Boston Red Sox, Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester, The Boston Foundation, Bunker Hill Community College, Mass League of Community Health Centers, Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center Thomas Mulvoy Trust, Supreme Liquors, and Commonwealth Financial.
A full list of sponsors is on page 6 of this week’s Reporter.
Southline Boston is housed in the former Boston Globe building on Morrissey Blvd. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities remain open. See this page for more information.
