Joel Rawson

Latest Articles

Short-sighted?

The Projo 's ultra-local approach could save the paper — or spell its demise
There may, in the end, be no way to save the American metropolitan newspaper. Plummeting advertising revenue and competition from the Internet often seem forces too daunting for even the savviest of publishers.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | August 26, 2009

Heslin's rise: A change of the guard, but to what effect?

As The ProJo Turns
Thomas E. Heslin, the Providence Journal's new executive editor — like his storied predecessor — bridges two distinctly different journalistic eras.
By IAN DONNIS | November 19, 2008

Dark days on Fountain Street

With a parting shot, MacKay joins the exodus from the once-mighty BeloJo
There are black umbrellas in the poolside Pernod and grapefruits at Casa Diablo upon our having learned that ace reporter Scott MacKay has taken the Urinal’s buyout package.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | August 27, 2008

Media rebels in the Internet age

The debate-defining posts of Rhode Island activists wield influence beyond their readership
Bloggers have “used a new and powerful medium and ‘crashed the gates’ to ensure that information — the most important ingredient in a democracy — would be available to anyone who wanted to write, read, or debate.”
By IAN DONNIS | May 01, 2008

The end of an era at the ProJo

Rawson bridges two distinctly different eras in journalism
“They’re too contrary, too independent, and too fiercely competitive,” he told me at the time.
By IAN DONNIS | March 19, 2008

The ProJo's brave new world

Will going super-local on the Web strengthen the paper?
The Providence Journal is turning to an unlikely source — high school football — for help.
By IAN DONNIS | December 05, 2007

Fading memory

The Projo ’s institutional knowledge is on the wane
When former Dodgers pitcher Clem Labine died at age 80 on March 2, his death barely got a mention in the next day’s Providence Journal .
By IAN DONNIS | March 29, 2007

The ProJo’s power behind the throne

Mark Ryan exemplifies the changes during 10 years of Belo’s ownership
Mark T. Ryan is a man of many descriptions.
By IAN DONNIS | March 28, 2007

Projo editor says the full Station story will never be told

Aftermath
Will the full story of the 2003 Station nightclub fire ever be told?
By BRAIN C. JONES | March 21, 2007

Concern cited on earlier deadline and impact on sports

As the ProJo turns
When the Providence Journal focuses its resources, it remains quite a good newspaper.
By IAN DONNIS | February 07, 2007

Management cuts pizza and cash prizes for writing competition

As the ProJo turns
A strong in-house writing culture is a big part of what has long distinguished the Providence Journal from other similarly sized dailies, so reporters are disheartened by management’s elimination of the money for pizza during monthly writing discussions and of $400 in monthly cash prizes for top-notch writing.
By IAN DONNIS | January 24, 2007

Rhode Island’s man of mystery

Projo reporter Mark Arsenault carves a budding sideline in fiction
The hard-luck obit writer has just made his literary debut, in Gravewriter , a fast-paced mystery that represents a promising new chapter in Providence Journal reporter Mark Arsenault’s budding sideline as a fiction writer.
By IAN DONNIS | December 14, 2006

Reporter rumbles off rather than writing ‘puff pieces’

As The ProJo Turns
As a car enthusiast and former mechanic, Tony DePaul probably seemed like a good choice to take on one of two new automotive beat jobs at the Providence Journal .
By IAN DONNIS | April 27, 2006

Love and war

All’s Well That Ends Well ; The Man Who ; Boots on the Ground
Shakespeare might have subtitled All’s Well That Ends Well (presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project at Cambridge Family YMCA Theater through May 14) Smart Women, Foolish Choices .
By CAROLYN CLAY | April 25, 2006