Newsroom veteran Scott Van Voorhis is building an independent reporting and commentary enterprise with a special focus on education issues.

By Alexander Russo

A veteran of traditional newsrooms like the Boston Globe and Herald, Scott Van Voorhis is carving out a spot in the brave new world of nontraditional media.

He’s got a successful four-year-old Substack called Contrarian Boston, which includes both original reporting and commentary. He’s hired David Mancuso to cover education policy.

But that’s not all. He’s hosting the relaunch of GBH public television’s long-running weekly show, ‘Beat the Press,’ led by longtime host Emily Rooney. And he’s hosting a noontime webinar about the issues facing Boston public schools with a panel including yours truly a week from Wednesday.

Mayoral control and English learners. Graduation testing and access to algebra. Attendance problems, enrollment declines, and school closings. The Boston area has many of the same issues facing other big-city school systems.

And Contrarian Boston is an increasingly prominent nontraditional presence — along with Will Austin’s Boston Focus and the Shah Foundation’s Last Night At School Committee Meeting.

Van Voorhis has a lot to say in our half-hour conversation about the inadequate quantity, consistency, and aggressive of traditional education coverage.

Watch it above or on YouTube. Then be sure to follow him and sign up for the webinar. Read an uncorrected transcript. Listen to it on Apple or Spotify.

Previously from The Grade

What happens when a non-traditional podcast fills in to cover school board meetings?

Requiem for Seattle’s parent-run education podcast

Mandy McLaren, the education beat’s TikTok star

Why reporting on literacy is so hard — and tips for making it easier

Bright spots and black holes in New England education coverage

Make room for non-traditional education journalism