“Emily Sweeney offers sound advice for reporters looking to improve their reportorial multimedia skills — quick, cheap (often free), easy things for journalists to do that will help them become digital citizens, if not digital natives.”

             - HowardOwens.com director of digital publishing for Gatehouse Media Inc.

“…..one of the hipper writers for the  Boston Globe...”                                                  -Bostonist.com

“When she’s not scaring the shit out of local selectmen with her top-notch reporting, Globe staffer Emily Sweeney heads the New England chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists….Which pretty much means that she spends her free time herding cats.

Still, Sweeney’s NESPJ is on the march, building a scholarship fund, maintaining a website and mailing list, judging journalism contests and mentoring the unfortunate souls who comprise the profession’s next generation…...Pray for her soul.”

            - Paul McMorrow                    Boston’s Weekly Dig

“Emily, a lifelong Bostonian, has been sharpening her videography skills to support the stories she writes (‘for the best newspaper evah,’ she says). Check out some of the cool clips she’s captured from the field — and ask her for tips and tricks that’ll help you do the same.”

- Christine Tatum

Assistant Business Editor, The Denver Post

SPJ Leads, October 2006

Hi. My name is Emily Sweeney. I’m a journalist who enjoys working in all types of media —  I write for newspapers and magazines, produce videos for the web, contribute to blogs, and even appear on TV occasionally.

I’ve been a staff reporter at The Boston Globe since 2001, and I’m currently serving as the president of the New England chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Thanks for stopping by....and if you have any questions, comments, or newstips to pass along, please drop me a line.

Sole Survivor

1/24/08            

Forty years ago, almost all American footwear was produced right here in the United States. Today, 99 % of all shoes and sneakers are made in China. I visited one of the last local shoe factories in Massachusetts that has managed to survive. Read article + watch video

 

Gym Class 2.0

1/10/08          

What do kids do in gym class these days? Dodgeball and tag are out; aerobics and spinning are in. At Norwood High School, students take power yoga. At Scituate High, golf, horseshoes, and shuffleboard are offered. At Weymouth High School, students learn to square dance. And at some schools, students do almost no physical exercise during the school week.   Read article

 

The Departed 

2/13/07       

I appeared in Stranger Than Fiction: The True Story of Whitey Bulger, Southie, and The Departed, which is a special feature on the 2-disc DVD edition of The Departed. The Los Angeles Times described this little documentary as “...a fascinating featurette that explores the real-life Boston gang that inspired and influenced the film.”

                                                                                                       

Moonlighting lawyers

4/22/06      

The starting salary for Massachusetts assistant district attorneys is $35,500. Many state prosecutors end up taking second jobs—tending bar, mopping supermarket floors, painting houses, teaching dance lessons, and even driving Zambonis — to make ends meet.  Read article

 

Drag Queen Bingo

3/2/06             

Somewhere along the way to its decline, bingo achieved camp status, and entrepreneurial nightclub promoters have been busy putting their own quirky spin on this age-old pastime. Read article

 

Becoming a saint

1/20/05          

The path to sainthood is a an interesting process in which divine intervention meets political bureaucracy. Performing miracles may get you in the door, but there’s also a lot of paperwork involved. Read article

 

Greatest Hits: A Mob Tour of Boston

This is a guide to some of Boston’s most notorious landmarks. You won’t find these sites listed in any visitors guide. They’re not on the Freedom Trail, either. If anything, these places are part of Boston's underworld; a walk down a lane of memories paved by reputed gangsters. Read article