This past Monday Massachusetts’s pundits and commentariat opened their inboxes and found something missing. The Bay State’s own version of Politico’s Playbook was not there. It was not a holiday or one of the newsletter’s seasonal hiatuses. Rather, the daily tip sheet on state and local politics is simply no more. Its last writer moved on and the Arlington, Virginia-based news outlet decided not to replace her.
“Because it’s Boston!” an energetic Nick Johnston says when asked why the Hub of the Universe is on Axios’ expansion list this year.
“It’s a big thriving city,” the Axios publisher continued. “Why not Boston?”
Axios is coming to Boston, following success elsewhere. As the capital of a small state like Massachusetts, landing here can ripple out much farther.
Later this year, another daily newspaper will begin printing in Springfield. However, the paper is not new nor new to the region. On Monday the Hartford Courant announced it would begin printing its paper north of the border on the presses of The Republican in
Four months after the first rumblings of its expansion began, Politico, now the preeminent publication for inside the Beltway politics, has made its move. As part of a national strategy to replicate in state capitals what it did in Washington, Politico announced plans in April
Perhaps Politico is not legion yet, but its decision to start Playbooks for other states suggests they are prepared to greatly expand their footprint well beyond the grossly over-reported national political scene. What Politico is proposing is only a start, but if successful, in states like Massachusetts