Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | May 29, 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 3 Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Digital Editor, Grant Welker, gwelker@wbjournal.com Staff Writers Laura Finaldi, lfinaldi@wbjournal.com (Manufacturing, higher education) Emily Micucci, emicucci@wbjournal.com (Health care) Contributors Susan Shalhoub Livia Gershon Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Associate Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com Custom Publishing Project Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Senior Special Accounts Manager Mary Lynn Bosiak, mlbosiak@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com COO, Mary Rogers, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Manager, Valerie Clark, vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel, rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources, Kim Vautour, kvautour@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Joseph Zwiebel jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com I must have sounded like a crazed ex-boyfriend, waiting around for the phone to ring. Two or three times a day for the last two weeks, I stopped by Digital Editor Grant Welker's desk to ask: "Did he call?" "Any word?" "When was the last message you left for him?" "Do you think he will call?" The "he" I was referring to was Paul Provost, publisher of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. I've been wanting to do a story about the Telegram since I started as WBJ editor back in 2015, wondering how its rapid changes in ownership have affected its ability to adjust to the new media reality of lower print revenues, smaller news- room staffs and the rise of free digital and specialized content. We decided to pursue the article for this issue because the Telegram fell off our Central Mass. 100 list (published on page 14), meaning it was no longer among the top 100 largest employers in Central Massachusetts. Our initial plan was to have Grant sit down with Provost to talk about the Telegram's past, present and future, get a really great portrait of him, and put the Telegram as the main cover story for this issue. Of course, without Provost calling back, that couldn't happen, which left me with a controversial decision. We rarely write stories about compa- nies where we don't have anyone from that company on the record, especially print feature stories not tied to a piece of breaking news. Since media rarely writes about other media and the T&G is a competitor of WBJ, I didn't want us to be calling out the Telegram for its struggles in a very high-profile cover story. Luckily for me, Grant did a fantastic job tracking down all the information about the Telegram's tumultuous last few years, its still important role in the com- munity, and the reality it faces as a daily newspaper to spin a well-researched and balanced story I was completely comfort- able publishing. Photographer Nathan Fiske even came up a great image show- ing how the Telegram's significance still looms over the region, enabling us to keep it as the cover story. Provost eventually did call back, albeit Telling the Telegram's story Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-weeky, 24x per year, including 5 special issues in April, July, September, November and December, by New Engand Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $54.95. For more information, please email wbjournal@ cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com A division of: NEWS & ANALYSIS DEPARTMENTS 4 Central Mass. In Brief 5 Flash Poll 12 Focus on Central Mass. 100 14 The List: Central Mass. 100 28 Know How 29 On the Move 31 Photo Finish 32 Business Leads 33 Opinion 34 Shop Talk: Ross Dik, Knight-Dik Insurance Agency 12 Reaching higher ground Leading off the deep dive into the Central Mass. 100 looking at companies like EMC and MathWorks, the merger of Athol and Heywood hospitals has created a stronger Heywood Healthcare. 26 Filling employment needs Despite the low unemployment rate, workers still need jobs and companies still have jobs to fill. Central Mass. career officials are working to match skills of the supply to the needs of the demand. I N T H I S I S S U E Worcester Business Journal WBJ Webster • Dudley • Oxford • Auburn • Worcester • Shrewsbury Providing the best service to his customers so they succeed. At Webster Five, your success is important to us. Whether you're a small start-up or a large corporation, we offer all the financial tools, resources and progressive services you need to succeed. Make an appointment and tell Keith what's important to you. Visit web5.com/Keith or call 508.438.4712. What's important to Keith? Keith Kirkland, VP, Business Lending Officer KHJ23479_WEB-374_BuisLender_4.3x5.5_Keith_Mech2.indd 1 3/31/17 11:37 AM a scant few minutes before our press deadline, which unfortunately left us little chance to put his comments in the story in any significant way. Despite all this, we were able to tell the Telegram's story. - Brad Kane, editor W

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