The Granite Beat

On this episode of “The Granite Beat,” Julie Hart and Adam Drapcho talk with a group who came together to bolster local news coverage in New Hampshire. Justin Silverman of the New England First Amendment Coalition, Melanie Plenda of the Granite State News Collaborative and Laura Simoes of the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications are partners in the Civic Documenters program, helping train community members to participate in reporting on local government. CivDoc, as the program is called, was first piloted in the Monadnock Region, and is currently expanding in the Lakes Region. The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

Beatrice Burack, a junior at Dartmouth College, has been writing articles seen by readers across the state. After interning with the New Hampshire Bulletin, Burack wrote a five-part series about skiing in New Hampshire, from how it was once the capital of alpine skiing in North America to the present state of skiing in low-snow winters as well as a peek into what the future might bring. The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

On this episode of Granite Beat, hosts Julie Hart and Adam Drapcho talk with Melanie Plenda, executive director of the Granite State News Collaborative, and Carol Robidoux, founder and editor of Manchester Ink Link and Nashua Ink Link, New Hampshire's newest outlet, created with the help of the collaborative. The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

On this episode  of Granite Beat, Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart talk with Anna Brown, executive director, and Mike Dunbar, content editor, for Citizens Count, a nonpartisan nonprofit organized to help Granite Staters make the most of their voting rights. They also host a podcast in the Granite State News Collaborative family, $100 Plus Mileage. The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

On this episode of Granite Beat, Julie Hirshan Hart and Adam Drapcho talk with Phil Kincaid, for several decades an editor at different New Hampshire news outlets and former executive director of the New Hampshire Press Association, and Kelly Burch, an accomplished freelancer whose work has been featured in many national publications. This editor/reporter team is behind a Granite State News Collaborative reporting series called The 306 Project, which is tracking an effort to reform education in New Hampshire.  The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

On this episode of Granite Beat, Lauren Chooljian, a reporter and producer for New Hampshire Public Radio's document team is a New Hampshire native and graduate of St. Anselm College. Yet she had to stretch her wings a bit after St. A's and spent several years in Chicago with WBEZ. Back in New Hampshire and at NH PR, she caught wind of a bombshell of a story, which earlier this year was turned into a podcast called the 13th step. Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart talk with her about her journalism journey and her most recent story.   The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

Readers of Granite State newspapers will likely recognize the name of Mike Cote  as an editor with the New Hampshire Union Leader, where he worked for 11 years. Earlier this year, though, he made a career shift. He left the daily newspaper life for that of monthly periodicals so he could take the role of New Hampshire editor for Yankee Publishing, where he leads the teams behind New Hampshire Magazine and the New Hampshire Business Review.    The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

Stephen Porter, one of the two reporters, given the historic assignment of launching a New Hampshire Bureau for the Boston Globe at the beginning of this year, comes on to share his story being in journalism and his insight on the changes within technology and social media.   The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

Catherine McLaughlin has just wrapped up her first year as a full time reporter. She started at Laconia Daily Sun immediately after graduating from college. Her first year ended with an investigation into a raft of departures from the Laconia School District. Co-host Julie Hart was also in collaboration with Catherine in editing the story giving Granite Beat twice the inside look.  The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

Reporters Julie Hart and Adam Drapcho talk with Michael Kitch. A historian and a writer, and for many years was the senior reporter for the Laconia Daily Sun, making the happenings of Laconia City Hall as transparent as possible for our readers. Lately, he's been writing for the New Hampshire Business Review, notably covering what might be one of the most important legal questions in the state's history. That question is, how much should the state be contributing to each child's public education?

On this week’s episode of The Granite Beat we welcome Ann Hermes, who worked for the Christian Science Monitor for 12 years before becoming an independent photographer. Ann produces images that look like postcards from a rapidly changing world, providing images from the Arab Spring, NYC ‘dining sheds’, and one of the few remaining drive-in theaters. Most recently, she has been working on a meta-project to chronicle local newsrooms – those that remain at least – around the United States. The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

On this week’s episode of The Granite Beat we spoke with Amanda Gokee, a reporter with The Boston Globe. When The Globe decided to open a New Hampshire bureau, Amanda’s local credibility and experience at the New Hampshire Bulletin was exactly what they needed to shine a light on what’s happening in the Granite State for local, regional, and national audiences. In her new role she has written about everything from politics to health, education to climate, and breaking news to trans healthcare.  The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

A good photographer is someone who operates their equipment with technical skill, but a great photographer is one who balances that skill with empathy for the scene and people they are photographing. On this week’s episode of The Granite Beat, we speak with Valley News photojournalist Alex Driehaus, who has a portfolio of projects rich with empathy. She has spent time photographing people recovering from addiction in Ohio, marginalized young adults in San Francisco, and most recently, a former Special Forces soldier from Afghanistan now living as a refugee in New Hampshire's Upper Valley The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter

Journalist and author Bill Donahue's trip to Kenya to report on a cycling team and a legendary runner took an unexpected, and it turns out prescient, turn.  The Granite Beat’s  Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart recently interviewed Donahue where they talked about finding the hidden stories and how to be humble as a journalist working in another country. The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

On this episode of The Granite Beat, Julie and Adam talk with sports journalist Joshua Spaulding. He’s worked 20 years as a sports editor for the Salmon Press, which publishes weekly newspapers throughout central and northern New Hampshire, and currently directs and produces sports coverage for 11 newspapers. Over the years he has chronicled the stories of promising young athletes, some of whom have risen to professional or even Olympic competition. If you played high school sports in the Lakes Region or Northern New Hampshire within the past two decades, it's almost guaranteed that Josh has published your name at least once. The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter

On this week’s episode of The Granite Beat, Julie and Adam speak with Jason Moon, the journalist behind many intriguing long-form projects at NHPR, such as the Bear Brook true crime podcast that has been downloaded more than 17 million times. The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter

On The Granite Beat podcast, Felice Belman, deputy Metro editor for The New York Times, Felice Belman, discusses the differences between legacy newspapers and newer startups, the unique responsibility and resources of a publication like The Times, and the subjective decision-making process for determining which stories to cover. The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

From legislative action to government accountability, veteran reporter Annmarie Timmins finds the humanity behind the headlines. On this episode of The Granite Beat hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart speak with New Hampshire Bulletin senior reporter Annmarie Timmins. A native Granite Stater, Annmarie is a homegrown journalist who has taught at both UNH and at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications and spent 25 years reporting for The Concord Monitor. The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

On this episode of The Granite Beat, hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart speak with Granite State News Collaborative executive director Melanie Plenda. Melanie worked as a staff reporter and freelancer for newspapers in Michigan, New York, New Hampshire and Alaska before taking over at GSNC in 2018 to lead one of the most important recent developments in local journalism.   The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter.

On this episode of The Granite Beat hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart speak with Judi Currie, a staff writer for Business New Hampshire Magazine with a broad range of experience in New Hampshire. She has covered topics from across the spectrum for countless newspaper, radio, and television outlets The Granite Beat, is a project of The Laconia Daily Sun in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative, of which Laconia is a partner, and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. Each week hosts Adam Drapcho and Julie Hart explore with local reporters how they got some of the most impactful stories in our state and why they matter