Episode description

Ellen and Dan talk with Walter Robinson, a longtime investigative journalist and editor of The Boston Globe's Spotlight Team. Robby, as he is known, was instrumental in uncovering the clergy sex abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church in Boston and beyond. The series won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2003. The team's work was captured onscreen in the movie "Spotlight," where Robby was played by the actor Michael Keaton. 

Robby is a former colleague – he was a distinguished professor of journalism here at Northeastern. He was also a 1974 graduate of Northeastern's journalism program, and participated in the co-op program.

He reported and edited local news at The Globe. But he ranged wide. He reported from 48 states and 33 countries. He covered the White House during the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. He was also the Globe's Middle East Bureau Chief, and covered the first Persian Gulf War.  

In recent years, Robby has been focused on the local news crisis in a big way. He has been deeply involved in the New Bedford Light, an impressive nonprofit digital news outlet. He lives in Plymouth, so it's perhaps no surprise that he is a key advisor to the board of directors at the new Plymouth Independent.

Dan has a Quick Take on developments in the junkyard known as Twitter. Ellen reports on a new podcast out of Memphis called "Civil Wrongs." It's produced by a Report for America corps member that examines a racist massacre in the aftermath of the Civil War.