Boston -- Classic or Dirty Water?

tbf you can hit several record stores in the time it takes to run a marathon

Massachusetts as a failed state, Boston as a failed city

Two of the defining features of “failed states”—something typically associated with conflict-ridden countries in the Third World—are the inability to provide public services and the lack of democratic institutions that allow for meaningful citizen participation. In many cases, as in Massachusetts, these two failures are directly connected. The state’s inability to provide core public goods such as transportation, housing, education, and healthcare is a result of a closed political system that serves entrenched interests and undermines the political will of the people. And, here again, Boston is the leader. The city’s unrivaled economic inequality, its reputation for racism, its traffic, and its crumbling system of public education are all tied to state and local institutions that are effectively closed boxes shut off from public input or influence (whether it be the legislature, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the MBTA, etc.).

plz explain something to me

so NBC abandoned yr local NBC affiliate and the station turned into, like, a local news station? That only plays local news?? But it’s still just like.... kinda shitty local news, but it’s still got the biggest market share? Everyone loves 7 News?

I have been living w my boyfriend in Malden for 2 months and we often have the news on and I gotta be honest, 7 News is NOT that impressive but I can’t tell if it’s 7 News or of it’s just local television news, period

Also may I reiterate that I am so baffled and fascinated by a local tv station that has no network affiliation that is just an news station????????

I can’t explain what’s happening with channel 7

It’s Rhode Island’s fault.

like so many things

IIRC back from the 1990s to the 2010s station WBTS (over-the-air channel 7) owned the NBC contract. Comcast swept in during the era of mergers and airwave actions took over a big chunk of operations in the region, and bought out the NBC contract from under WBTS. Lawsuits ensued, a judge ruled that NBC didn't have an obligation to stay with channel 7, leaving that channel without a network affiliation, but with a chunk of the spectrum and a broadcasting license to fill. Hence their weird brandless news.

Somehow, NBC tried to move to the local 'channel 10' but that couldn't happen because the broadcasting area overlapped too significantly with Rhode Island's crappy channel 10. So NBC's Boston ops moved to Nashua, New Hampshire and broadcast with a powerful-enough signal to cover about half of the former area. Half of Boston doesn't have an NBC signal, and the other half gets one transmitted across state lines. Channel 7 news broadcasts, but without the NBC content.

Note: I might be 100 percent wrong about all of this.

iirc nbc tried to buy whdh (ch. 7) but the owner hated nbc and wouldn't sell so nbc just didn't renew the affiliation. there was a bunch of legal shit threatened but yeah ch. 7 basically bailed and doubled down on their strong local news brand.

btw i literally don't remember the last time i watched local news.

i wasn't aware of any of this! but yeah i haven't watched network television in probably 5-10 years

I am so glad that the prelimary mayoral election is over and that the horrifying Trumpy candidates in Somerville and Medford were resoundingly bounced

Somerville had a great night!

Update: The two DSA city council candidates who had primaries today (@ElectTessa @BeccaForWard7) easily made it to the general election, and the progressive mayoral candidate leads the field going into the general. A great night for the Somerville left. https://t.co/OI33i1Xoiv

— dork (@arachno_commie) September 15, 2021

I was worried about the demographic that would turn out given that it seems every square inch of Somerville is plastered with Tauro signs

Homeowners are always overrepresented in the yard sign primary.

It was almost all slumlords; there was direct correlation between the level of abject disrepair and the number of Tauro signs slapped on that shit

The guy on Medford Ave. with the Trump signs plastered all over his house seems to keep it in relatively good condition. Guess he's aware of how much of a gawker hotspot his place is.

I thought he was becoming self-aware at one point, one of the signs said something about Trump being a liar for a hot minute but the rest of it was still a trainwreck

Love the city for the marathon. Great vibes.

it is the best

Dance party outside Boston city hall right now. The DJ is blasting “Erotic City” by Prince and everyone is grooving.

Full-on "we could fuck until the dawn" version?

mayor michelle wu presents house music dance party lol

somehow don’t think marty walsh would’ve hosted this.

lmao no he wouldn’t have

recently saw someone claim that he once 'drove out to boston'

i am not from new england but i can see 'in', 'up', 'down', possibly even 'over'. but how does one drive 'out' to a hub, unless one is parked on the floor of boston harbor?

(the writer is based in new york, so i guess this could just be a bit of bizarre nyc chauvinism)

Never heard that before.

But yeah, sounds like someone in California driving out to the desert or something.

if you see nyc as the center of the world then everywhere else including boston is outward, makes sense from that angle

A NYer who summered in the Berkshires and once drove the Mass Pike.

FAP anyone?

House / Disco dance party happening outside Boston city hall again right now 🪩