FIRST, LET’S SET THE STAGE: Dim the lights and turn up the sound levels. During the past decade, Joanna Detz, publisher of ecoRI News, and Richard Asinof, editor and publisher of ConvergenceRI, have had several opportunities to collaborate.

In July of 2015, they both appeared as guests on an edition of WPRI’s Newsmakers, interviewed by host Ted Nesi, sharing insights about the challenges and opportunities offered by alternative digital news enterprises in Rhode Island. The conversation blossomed.

The following year, in April of 2016, ecoRI News and ConvergenceRI collaborated on a series of stories, “Bee vigilant,” identifying ways to change consumers’ choices around lawn care and toxic pesticides. [See link below to story, “Will you bee vigilant?”]

Later that same year, the two digital news platforms collaborated on a story investigating residents’ complaints about a strong pungent odor emanating from the vicinity of Allens Avenue.

Three years later, in 2019, the mysterious odor was revealed to be illegally vented air pollution from storage tanks owned by Sprague Operating Resources. [See link below to ConvergenceRI stories, first, in 2016, “The courage to speak out,” and then, in 2019, “The stench that is eating the Providence waterfront?”]

Then ConvergenceRI interviewed Detz and editor Frank Carini in September of 2017 about ecoRI’s entry into the world of podcasts, funded in part by the Rhode Island Foundation, which they called “The Blab Lab.” [See link to ConvergenceRI story, “To podcast, or not to podcast.”]

In 2019, ConvergenceRI republished a story by Frank Carini from ecoRI News concerning the reach of polluting enterprises in South Providence [See link below to ConvergenceRI story, “A deep dive down Toxic Avenue.”]

NOW, SKETCH IN THE BACKGROUND CONTEXT FOR THE STORY, A SERIES OF SEASCAPES. The colors are blurry, the paint still drying, the brush strokes bold against the fading light. 

PROVIDENCE – On Sunday, July 27, Rhode Island celebrated the 36^th annual Governor’s Bay Day, an event begun in the aftermath of the World Prodigy oil spill that occurred on June 23, 1989. The tanker ship, en route from Bulgaria to Providence, carrying some 8.2 million gallons [195,000 barrels] of Number 2 heating oil, ran aground on Brenton Reef at the entrance to Narragansett Bay, spilling some 6,900 barrels of oil into the waters of Rhode Island Sound, four miles south of the City by the Sea.

The oil spill had quickly been “sensed” by Newport residents, as the warm summer afternoon breezes became saturated with the noxious smell of fuel oil. [In response, this reporter, newly married, who had just moved to Newport six months earlier, called his landlord to report the perplexing presence of a pungent, toxic odor, asking if there was a problem with the residence’s heating system.]

Now, nearly four decades later after the oil spill, an annual state holiday known as Governor’s Bay Day seeks to “showcase the beauty and value of Narragansett Bay and to highlight the ongoing threats it faces,” according to the news release put out by the Governor’s office. One of the goals, the news release continued, was to highlight the economic engine of the state’s natural resources, which had pumped some $315 million into Rhode Island’s economy in the last year.

Indeed, the Governor’s Bay Day celebration features free parking at all Rhode Island state beaches. The public was invited to fish Narragansett Bay without the need of a saltwater fishing license during the holiday weekend.

The larger, more important question that needed to be asked: Was there a way to reduce the demand for Number 2 heating oil – a fuel that was used mostly to power furnaces and boilers in manufacturing and forced hot water systems in homes?

NOW, TURN UP THE LIGHTS ILLUMINATING THE AUDIENCE in order to create a sense of engagement and convergence, where we are all participants and observers. Sunday, July 27, also served as the third and final day of the Newport Folk Festival, attracting thousands to the annual open-air fair of music, art and culture. [Next weekend, the Newport Jazz Festival will be coming to town.]

The messaging from the organizers of the Newport Folk Festival was direct and honest in its simplicity: “Be present, be kind, be open, be together.” But what was that lingering lyric playing in the backwash of crowd noise? Was it Tom Lehrer’s cautionary advice from his 1960’s song, “Pollution” – “Don’t drink the water and don’t breathe the air?”

As wonderfully as the folk and jazz festivals represent the best traditions of American culture, diversity, and storytelling, what seems to have been lost in the equation of the Governor’s Bay Day and the two Newport festivals is the ongoing, rapid deterioration of Narragansett Bay and all of its watersheds and with it, the destruction of aquatic life and communities that it supports.

Are you listening?    
The latest issues of ecoRI News, the online digital news platform published Tuesdays and Fridays, had worrisome stories about the declining quality of Rhode Island’s shoreline:

•     Easton’s Beach in Newport [First Beach] took the top spot in Rhode Island, testing for unsafe levels of enterococci bacteria 10 out of the 24 testing days, according to reporting by ecoRI News reporter Rob Smith. Translated, the waters are often teeming with unsafe fecal contamination.

Rhode Island isn’t the only coastal state at risk, according to Smith’s reporting. A recent report by Environment America found that 453 beaches nationwide tested positive for unsafe fecal contamination levels on 25 percent or more of all testing days.

The major culprit: stormwater runoff that carries whatever chemicals and debris happen to be found on the impervious surfaces, from rooftops to parking lots to roadways, including lawn fertilizers and animal waste – as well as microplastics.

Some progress is being made as a result of the completion of the Narragansett Bay Commission’s three-part combined sewer overflow abatement program, according to Smith’s reporting. In 2024, beaches around the state were closed for a combined 71 days, a sharp decrease compared to 2023, when beaches were closes for 246 days, the largest number of closures since 2006, according to Smith’s reporting.

•      The reality for future life of beaches in Rhode Island, known as the Ocean State, is dismal, according to further reporting by ecoRI News. A 2022 report done by consultants predicted that there would no longer be a beach off Memorial Boulevard by 2070 if nothing is done. 

In Washington, under the Trump administration, efforts to control environmental pollution are being scrapped with alarming alacrity, despite efforts of a coalition of the attorneys general, including RI Attorney General Peter Neronha, to push back against the apparent lawlessness of the Trump regime.

SOUND UP. LIGHTSDOWN.  THE INTERVIEW BEGINS. Detz’s voice is soft-spoken, assured. She is thoughtful in her responses. Asinof’s voice is nasal, raspy, a twinge of New Jersey in his tone of voice. His questions are surprisingly concise. He lets the pauses following each of his questions lengthen, awaiting Detz’s answers, without pushing for a reply, until she is comfortable enough to respond.

ConvergenceRI: How do you maintain your sense of optimism in these difficult times?    
DETZ: Are we on the record now?

ConvergenceRI: Yes, if you want to be.    
DETZ: Yes. I honestly don’t have a sense of optimism right now, I’m afraid.

ConvergenceRI: Why not?    
DETZ: I think it could be an energy problem. Optimism about journalism, or about everything?

ConvergenceRI: You define whatever you want it to be.    
DETZ: I think it is difficult for me, because there is this constant low hum from the news. Democracy is fraying, I guess. It is the low hum of democracy fraying everyday. I think it is just wearing me out, even if it is not an urgent crisis.

There is this constant feeling that things are not going in the right direction. And nothing seems to break through.

ConvergenceRI: What would be a positive force that you would like to see that would change that for you?    
DETZ: A positive force? [nervous laughter] I don’t know. Something rising up. The attention span that we have. Something that could break through all of the crap, and galvanize people, whether that is a person or an idea.

I just think people, people in my world, are deflated. There is just like an energy problem. There is nothing to rally around.

ConvergenceRI: I can certainly relate to that feeling about a lack of energy. I try as much as possible to maintain a sense of staying on the sunny side of the street as much as possible.    
DETZ: I know you do.

ConvergenceRI: It’s hard. I am facing my own mortality. At the same time, I am trying to maintain what I think is an important news source in Rhode Island, because in general, the news reporting in Rhode Island, is often terrible when it comes to the environment and also for health care. 

For me, being able to tell people’s stories is rejuvenating for me.    
DETZ: Yes, yes. I think if I’m talking about why I am [not optimistic] on the journalism side, specifically our coverage area, which is the environment, which I think is just feeding my overall pall of negativity.

We’ve been doing this for 15 years. And, it just seems like we are writing the same story over [and over] again. Look at all of the studies and commissions that have been done to understand this or that issue that serve to do nothing more than to delay progress.

I think that this last legislative session with only one environmental bill passing is just sad. Not that change always necessarily has to happen at the governmental level, but I think it’s just sad. [A long pause.]

But, I do think that the stories that bring hope are those where, as you said, the individuals are finding ways to do a small thing, in the face of all of this [resistance].

Whether it is planting a pollinator pathway or composting, they are little pinpricks. I don’t know if that is enough to move things beyond the complete dismantling that is happening at the federal level, and ultimately, that is trickling down to the state level, of many of the environmental regulations that people fought really hard for.

ConvergenceRI: Was what happened with the proposed bottle bill legislation this year in the General Assembly, [with more study recommended], one of the disappointments?    
DETZ: It’s not going to save us, but I would say it is a symptom of the problem. Which is, we studied it. It has been held for further study, after so much study.

The bottle bill is in place in a neighboring state. It just seems like a very small thing that we can do to try to alleviate the litter problem, and we have a very real litter problem in the state. And yet, powerful, monied groups can continue to sandbag progress.

And yes, it is a little bit dismaying. I’m speaking as an individual, not for ecoRI. Just as an individual.

ConvergenceRI: Are there places in Rhode Island that you go to that you find restorative? I know that when my soul needs to be “restored,” so to speak, I often find myself trying to head down to Little Compton and the Town Beach there.    
DETZ: That’s exactly one of my touchstones.

Although I usually stop in and spend some time in the woods [that surround the beach there], and where I find myself surrounded by old trees. That feels pretty good.

ConvergenceRI: Are there favorite old trees that you go to?    
DETZ: I like old trees. I don’t discriminate.

ConvergenceRI: For me, it’s an opportunity to get outside of my own head and my own issues, and just listen to the world around me.

To use my ears rather than my eyes. I think that we’ve become much too visual, and respond to visual stimulation and not enough to what we hear, taste, touch or what we smell.    
DETZ: I agree. It’s good sometimes to shut out visual stimulation. I practice yoga daily. That’s a lot of it.

ConvergenceRI: You practice yoga daily?    
DETZ: Yes, Just turning inward. Oftentimes, closing my eyes. Shutting out the world.

ConvergenceRI: In terms of collaborations with ecoRI, what are the kinds of collaborations where you have found common ground?    
DETZ: Collaborations with other media organizations?

ConvergenceRI: Once again, I’ll let you define it, rather than me define it, however you feel comfortable doing so? It could be media collaborations; it could be groups. It’s where you find common ground.    
DETZ: I am part of a small group of newsrooms that is working to form a social collaborative of nonprofit newsrooms in the state. But I am also a member – I should say ecoRI, not me individually – of the Alliance of Nonprofit Newsrooms – which is a nationwide alliance of small independent, nonprofit newsrooms. Small budget.

And, that’s felt really good, even if it is just commiserating. But hearing the stories of other publishers across the country that are dealing with a lot of the same issues that we are, has made me feel not so alone. That’s a collaboration of sorts that helps me to put things in perspective.

ConvergenceRI: When you say, “helps to put things in perspective,” can you give an example?    
DETZ: Richard, you know that the news business is a constant churn, a daily churn. And, that there are constant headwinds. And, there are big waves.

Everything is constantly changing. You just find yourself second-guessing everything you do. And, it can feel like a very lonely task running a small, nonprofit newsroom.

Essentially, the Alliance of Nonprofit Newsrooms is an active listserv, where we can give mutual aid, assurances, and use the group as a sounding board for ideas, grants, whatever.

ConvergenceRI: In terms of leadership in Rhode Island, I have been really impressed with the work that Attorney General Peter Neronha [and his team] has been doing. He has been a star in the last couple of months. Do you agree?      
DETZ: I can’t really comment on politicians. I will say that Neronha, from my observations and consuming the news of other organizations, he has stuck his neck out, and put himself out there, to fight back against a lot of the stuff coming out of Washington. [Editor’s Note: Attorney General Neronha has filed nearly 30 lawsuits against President Donald Trump and his administration in the first six months of his second term, according to reporting by The Providence Journal.]

ConvergenceRI: Shifting gears, are your dogs still thriving?    
DETZ: They are not thriving in this heat, but they are my anchor. They ground me in reality. Yes. They’re here with me, in my office.

ConvergenceRI: Do you have a favorite walk that you do with them?    
DETZ: I like all walks. All walks are precious. [Detz than shared, off the record, a story illustrating the strong relationship she has with her dogs.]

ConvergenceRI: What advice would you give to young people starting out their careers in journalism?    
DETZ: [laughing] What advice? Just be curious. Do the work. Meet and talk to as many people as you can. There are a lot of new-fangled things out there; there are all kinds of new technology tools, but the basics are always the same.

Ask good questions. Listening. Telling people’s stories authentically, showing up. Doing the work.

ConvergenceRI: I agree with you. I believe stories are our most valuable personal possession. And sharing them is what makes us human. And, by sharing them in a context, you can create your own neighborhood, even if you don’t live next door to each other.      
DETZ: I agree.

ConvergenceRI: For me, it’s frustrating that the health care reporting in this state has often been terrible, in my opinion. The fact that I have been surviving if not thriving, with much of my reporting mainly focused on the delivery of heath care, it is because people can’t get the information that they need to survive.

They are dependent on someone to at least ask good questions, because you can’t rely on the mainstream media to tell you what is actually happening.

As I think I may have shared with you, I had an inadvertent dance with the refrigerator in my apartment, which I somehow managed to pull down on top of me in late January. [See link below to story, “Dances with refrigerators.”]

I badly bruised my kidneys and my bladder. I didn’t break anything. But, I ended up doing a three-week stint in a rehab facility.  

As a result of my stay there, what I realized was that there was a whole new generation of caregivers who are providing the care for the older people in Rhode Island. [Editor’s Note: According to a news release about a July 11 hearing held by a House commission led by Rep. Lauren H. Carson, which is studying services and programs for older adults in Rhode Island, there are currently more than 240,000 Rhode Islanders who are age 60 or older, nearly one-quarter of the state’s population.]

And, I believe, if there is hope, it will be in a way that the caregivers can find a new prosperity, based upon their skills and their willingness to take care of older people. Being able to tell their stories and to personify them. There is a need to focus not so much on the leaders and CEOs, but upon those who are providing care. They are the people on the front lines.      
DETZ: As journalists, we do need to focus on the lawmakers and decision-makers, but I think it can be easy to lose sight of people doing the work, and those stories – I think that is an important point.

ConvergenceRI: I would like, if you are willing to do so, to have a regular meeting with you just to talk, because I find it therapeutic just to be on the phone and talking with you, to be honest.    
DETZ: That’s very kind of you to say.

ConvergenceRI: Call it a mutual admiration society. We both know what it takes to create a publication and maintain it, despite all of the headwinds that are out there. And, the ability to ask good questions, to make sure that people’s stories get told.

I find that I don’t have the time to play around with social media these days. I find Facebook distasteful, I find LinkedIn too self-promoting. I find many of all the other online opportunities an energy drain.    
DETZ: [laughing] I won’t disagree with you. Like I said, technology is always changing. Google, which was once a tool for curious people to search the internet and discover news things, is becoming an “answer bot.” That means that it may no longer be a way for people to discover your work.

These things are always changing. Algorithms change. I don’t know how much time should be invested in social media. For your mental health, it’s probably a fine time to scale back.

I have a staff. The work doesn’t fall solely on me. It requires a lot of work to get your content out.

The audience is so fractured now. There is not one place that people go to get news. Not a newspaper or even a news website.

You’ve got to learn the new buzzwords [and platforms]. And, it can be really hard for a small publisher to find the time to do all those things well. What is the return on the investment? Are people scrolling past you? Are they actually having a meaningful engagement? 

Are they navigating your website? Are they signing up for your newsletter?

We are doing a survey of young readers; we look forward to seeing those results. Just measuring how younger people are engaging with the news, and specifically, climate news.

ConvergenceRI: I’d be interested, if you are willing to share that with me, I’d be happy to republish the results.      
DETZ: I don’t know if we would want the results to be republished, but I would be willing to share that with you.

ConvergenceRI: I basically know who my readers are, and I know how well that I am reaching a select group of people. And, I can tell when my stories make a difference. However, the way that news is handled these days is so fractured.      
DETZ: Yes, exactly.

ConvergenceRI: I find many government news conferences with limited value.      
DETZ: News releases and news conferences are never the real story.

ConvergenceRI: It’s a hard business. Like you, I do wish I had more energy. Any questions that I should have asked that you would like to talk about?    
DETZ: I hope that a new generation of people is coming into media with fresh blood and fresh energy. We have young people on our staff. I hope that they can take the mantle and continue the work in our uncertain future.