This is a web edition of GBH Daily, a weekday newsletter bringing you local stories you can trust so you can stay informed without feeling overwhelmed.
🌶️ Sunny and hot again with a high near 94. Sunset is at 7:49 p.m.
What do you get when you combine automated headlines, ambiguous bylines and funding from partisan groups or hostile governments? It’s what media watchdogs call “pink slime” journalism and it has big implications for local news creators and consumers alike. GBH News’ Senior Investigative Reporter Phillip Martin reports on how “pink slime” is showing up right here in Massachusetts.
But first, here’s what you need to start the week.
Four Things to Know
1. Boston residents are facing the third heat emergency of this summer as the city copes with soaring temperatures and a heat index nearing 96 degrees yesterday through Wednesday.
“When a heat emergency is issued, that means that the temperature has reached 95 degrees or above for two days or longer,” said Zoe Davis, senior climate resilience project manager with Boston’s Office of Climate Resilience. A heat advisory, which is less serious than a heat emergency, is triggered when the temperature reaches 90 degrees or higher for three days. Both temperature thresholds include an evening temperature that stays at or above 75 degrees.
2. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, multi-day heat waves are expected to get longer in the future, and reach higher temperatures.
Researchers at Boston University are leading multiple studies about the health impacts of heat, including for people who face hot conditions on the job and in early childcare settings. Hear more about the findings here.
3. Massachusetts has launched a public awareness campaign to educate families and caregivers about how to keep kids — especially kids with disabilities — from drowning.
According to the National Autism Association, children with autism are 160 times as likely to drown than other kids. The organization encourages first responders to always check nearby water first when a child with autism is missing.
4. The Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in the southern Berkshires recently announced it was canceling the remainder of its season, following the death of its production director in what has been described as a ‘workplace accident.’
The festival is a key event on the Berkshire summer tourism calendar each year. And it helps to drive the area’s tourism economy, alongside other events and venues such as Tanglewood.
Local editors worry ‘pink slime’ journalism poses real danger
By Phillip Martin and Nicole Dauphinee
Newcomers to Boston would likely be confused if they stumbled upon the online website North Boston News looking for information about what to do in the city.
The front page recently featured a jumble of stories with repeated themes and headlines. Several focused on where to find the cheapest gas in Essex County. Stories are written by “staff” or, in some cases, what appear to be fake bylines of reporters with no identifiable information or track records on the internet, unlike most working journalists.
North Boston News is one of a growing number of what journalist watchdogs are calling “pink slime” journalism. Named after a meat byproduct made from beef trimmings, these websites attempt to look like traditional local news organizations but instead are created and funded by partisan groups or hostile governments, largely with the help of automated services, according to watchdog groups that follow them.
In Massachusetts, such sites include websites with seemingly local names like the Bean Town Times, the Cape Cod Ledger and the Springfield Record.
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