© 2023 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY · WNPR
WPKT · WRLI-FM · WEDW-FM · Public Files Contact
ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

In Farewell To NEXT, New England News Collaborative Enters New Chapter

Dave Wurtzel
/
Connecticut Public

Editor’s Note: After five years on air, our weekly radio program NEXT is coming to an end. The show focused on New England at a time of change and featured stories from journalists across the New England News Collaborative. 

The good news is that these powerful stories aren’t going away. We will showcase our collaborative journalism on this website, NENC.news, and we are ramping up our next phase of New England reporting to bring you more news and conversations from the region.

Still, sunsetting the show wasn’t easy. NEXT fan Alvaro Castro Rivadeneira left us a voicemail this week praising our thoughtful journalism. 

“It is introspective, it’s human, it’s kind, it’s critical, and it’s real,” he said. “To me, New England is a place of hidden beauty with pockets of surprising diversity.”

Alvaro gets it. Through our journalism, we aim to inform and empower communities all across New England, from coastal and rural areas to cities and suburbs. And it’s because we want to do more of this work that we’re ready to take this next step.

The NENC has evolved and grown. We added more station partners in 2020 and are building a stronger network of ambitious, talented stations that are united by our mission to serve the public. Over the past year, we’ve asked ourselves: What can we do together that we can’t accomplish alone?

As part of that mission, we need to reflect the region’s growing diversity in our storytelling, audiences and newsrooms. Sunsetting NEXT allows us to reimagine how we tell stories with a wider impact -- on radio, video, social media and other digital platforms. We’re also planning initiatives to engage more deeply with our communities and foster newsrooms that are inclusive and supportive of journalists of color. These steps will make our journalism stronger and more sustainable.

We thank Morgan Springer for her exceptional work as host and producer of NEXTThroughout the pandemic, we relied on Morgan to guide important conversations on a range of subjects, from racism and inequality to interviews with New England authors and musicians. We know she has more fantastic work ahead as an independent audio editor and producer.

Watch this space: Bookmark NENC.news to follow our progress and to catch the compelling stories you’ve come to expect from the New England News Collaborative.

We thank you, our listeners. Our work thrives with a dedicated and thoughtful audience. Keep rooting for us -- and let me know what you think about New England news. I can be reached at vdelatorre@ctpublic.org.

Vanessa de la Torre is executive editor of the New England News Collaborative.

Vanessa de la Torre is editorial director and executive editor of the New England News Collaborative, a regional hub of nine public media stations producing news and in-depth storytelling throughout New England. Previously, de la Torre was a reporter for Connecticut Public and the public radio collaborative Sharing America, covering issues of race, identity and culture. Before joining the public media world, de la Torre wrote for newspapers such as the Hartford Courant, where her investigative storytelling on Hartford education won regional and national awards. She also was part of the Courant team that was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting. De la Torre grew up in El Centro, Calif., a desert town near the U.S.-Mexico border, and is a graduate of Princeton University. She received her master's degree from Stanford University’s Graduate Program in Journalism. Since 2021, de la Torre has served on the board of the award-winning New England chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content