Author: Anna Albrecht

Anna Albrecht

Brookline author Michelle Amazeen turns a critical eye in her new book to an increasingly common form of advertising that resembles news articles and can confuse readers.

Amazeen, an associate professor of mass communication at Boston University, spoke Thursday at BU’s Institute for Global Sustainability, joined by former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson,.

Amazeen’s book, “Content Confusion: News Media, Native Advertising, and Policy in an Era of Disinformation,” focuses on the harmful nature of so-called native advertising, which she described in an interview with Brookline.News as “content that mimics content around it.”

Many news organizations, especially legacy outlets, publish articles that resemble news stories but are really paid advertisements. These ads, Amazeen said, are a major source of revenue for some news outlets, many of which are facing financial challenges.

During her talk, Amazeen zeroed in on how fossil fuel companies utilize native ads – also known as sponsored content – as a way to reframe themselves in the climate change conversation. Amazeen showed an example from The New York Times , a post exploring “how scientists are tapping algae and plant waste to fuel a sustainable future.” The headline suggested this science was “the future of energy,” when it was actually an ad paid for by ExxonMobil.

“They leverage this practice a lot,” Amazeen said. “And sometimes what they’re claiming in their sponsored content contradicts what’s coming out of the newsroom.”

Many publications now have in-house content studios – internal teams, distinct from the newsroom, that write articles painting advertisers in a favorable light. These articles usually include labels such as “sponsored content” or “from our partners,” but they can sow confusion by disorienting readers who may not notice the labels.

The way we get information is constantly shifting, particularly now with the advent of generative AI and the proliferation of deep fakes, Amazeen said. Such developments reinforce the need for journalistic integrity.

“People don’t have the time to verify the accuracy of all the stuff that is coming out on social media,” Amazeen said. “So who should they be turning to only be putting up accurate information? Our news media, our news outlets.”

The proliferation of sponsored content can demoralize journalists and affect news coverage, Amazeen said. Some studies cited in her book show that news companies’ reporting on a specific company decreases after they run native advertisements. Companies, especially those that have been known for negative climate impacts, want to “borrow the halo of credibility” from news organizations that readers trust, Amazeen said.

Ashley Dwyer, a BU Earth and Environment PhD candidate who was in the audience at the talk, said similar conversations about how to effectively communicate information to the public occur in her lab. 

“These companies are trying to continue the status quo of how we treat the Earth,” Dwyer said. For people who casually consume news, she said it can be hard to discern an article from advertisement. 

Melissa Martin, another Earth and Environment PhD candidate in the audience, said she agreed. 

“It’s too much for an average person to consider,” Martin said. “It’s unfair to put responsibility on a reader who is now working under a changed contract with the news.” 

Before writing about native advertising, Amazeen studied the emergence of the fact-checking movement and the effects of misleading political ads on consumers, and co-edited the book “Key Thinkers in Critical Communication Scholarship: From the Pioneers to the Next Generation.” She became interested in the phenomenon of native advertising around 2016, when she read the book “Black Ops Advertising” by Mara Einstein, which is where she borrowed the term “content confusion” from. 

Amazeen, who said she considers herself a news advocate, said worries that some people may try to weaponize her book to discredit news. She said she wants to push to eliminate native advertising that can subvert the integrity of news publications. 

“I don’t want to leave everybody in a depressed state,” Amazeen said.

“But you want to leave them on alert,” Abramson said.

This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

Anna Albrecht

The first two $750 monthly payments have gone out to 53 Brookline residents enrolled in a new guaranteed income program.

The Brookline Housing Authority announced the program in April with the intention of providing $250 monthly checks to low-income housing residents but tripled the payments to $750 through a partnership with the Brookline Community Foundation that formed over the summer. 

The program, called UpTogether Brookline, will run for a year. It is integrated into a five-year coaching and asset building course offered by the housing authority to Section 8 voucher holders and housing authority residents.

Laura, a 39-year-old with a son in second grade, enrolled in the housing authority’s self-sufficiency program in October and shortly after was invited to enroll in the guaranteed income program. A Section 8 voucher holder, she is a case worker for homeless families in shelters, earning $48,000 a year in a town where the median household income is $140,000 . She asked to only be identified by her first name to protect her privacy. 

For the past few years, she said, she has been struggling with living paycheck to paycheck but dreams of fixing her credit and buying a house. The self-sufficiency program is a way for her to take steps towards realizing those goals, she said.

“I just feel like this has been a big blessing in the moment,” Laura said, pausing to compose herself. “Sorry, I’m getting emotional. It’s such a huge relief when you need it.”

Both organizations had separate plans to roll out a guaranteed income program after receiving American Rescue Plan Act grants, a federal stimulus package meant to help communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Those grants, plus additional money from the community foundation, fund the $536,000 income project.

“We sought to look for ways that could really impact economic mobility for the people who experience the greatest need – which in Brookline, we also know, disproportionately includes people of color,” said Zoraida Fernandez, co-president of the Brookline Community Foundation. 

For Karen Lajara, a 50-year-old with four daughters living in a BHA residence, the guaranteed income program has helped her clean out credit card debt and given her confidence in her goal of buying a house. As a financial plan specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center making $52,000 a year, Lajara said she has long worried about the future of her daughters, especially as a breast cancer patient who is constantly anxious she may not be able to provide for them as she does now. With the guaranteed income, she feels closer to stability.

“I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, finally,” Lajara said. “It’s my motivation to keep going.” 

Other communities in greater Boston have implemented guaranteed income programs, with Somerville, Cambridge and Chelsea having their own versions.

Danielle Mendola, BHA’s resident service programs director, said UpTogether Brookline was modeled after the economic stability plan in Newton , which combined ARPA grant money and economic coaching from advisers. 

While the housing authority hopes to continue expanding its economic mobility and self-sufficiency programs, the guaranteed income program will last only 12 months, said BHA executive director Ben Stone. 

Similarly, Fernandez said the community foundation hopes to be a part of a program like this for years to come. By providing stability for people without policing them, you allow them to meet their potential, she said. 

“Knowing that the participants are hard workers, they’ve got goals,” Mendola said. “And by supporting them, it’s really helping to make a more equitable Brookline, and that has benefits for everyone, the community at large.”

This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

Anna Albrecht

The Michelin Guide has awarded Brookline Thai tapas restaurant Mahaniyom a coveted stamp of approval. 

Known for its strict restaurant reviews, Michelin is one of the world’s most celebrated food guides. It revealed its picks for the Northeast Cities Guide Tuesday night in Philadelphia, where Boston restaurants received their first awards from the company since it started giving out its coveted stars in 1926. Boston’s 311 Omakese got the region’s only star, while Mahaniyom received a Bib Gourmand, a distinction reserved for restaurants that serve “hgih-quality food at a great value,” according to the Michelin Guide. 

In the heart of Brookline Village, Mahaniyom specializes in small plates rooted in the casual “Ran-Lao” style of Thai dining, featuring dishes like Kang pu crabmeat curry and pomelo salad. The Michelin Guide also recognized the creativity of Mahaniyom’s drink menu, awarding one of the owners, Chompon “Boong” Boonnak, the Exceptional Cocktails Award. 

“Everyone here puts themselves into their work,” Boonak said. “Our flavor is something we want to do best and not compromise.” 

Boonnak and his childhood friend Smuch Saikamthorn opened the intimate, two-dozen-seat restaurant in 2020, just three weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. With the help of their team, the Brookline community and local publicity, Bonnak said, the restaurant thrived during quarantine by pivoting to takeout. They also opened a sister restaurant,  a dive bar concept nearby on Harvard Street, last year.

Since the Michelin announcement, Mahaniyom has experienced an influx of reservations. Boonnak, who got back to Brookline Thursday afternoon after receiving the award in Philadelphia, said the restaurant expects to start having to book reservations a month out, whereas it used to book a week or two in advance. Still, he wants to keep walk-ins a viable option for the business, which is open for lunch and dinner every day except Tuesday.

“That’s the charm of the business,” Boonak said. “We want to keep having people come in, and we want to feed everybody, to seat everybody we can.”

Benjamin Kaye-Smith ate there Wednesday night after a co-worker told him about the Michelin honors.

“Everything was excellent,” said Kaye-Smith, a sous chef at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, who is currently working at TD Garden. He cited the pomelo salad and pork cheek as favorites, alongside the Eleven Tigers shot – a traditional Thai herbal-infused rum. 

Jesse Choi and Kaitlinh Nguyen, Boston University seniors who live in the Brookline area, dined at Mahaniyom for the first time that same night but had not heard about the awards. 

“It makes sense, because I think that was one of the best meals I’ve had in a while,” Choi said after hearing about the Michelin award.

Nguyen had seen the restaurant’s high rankings on the app Beli and had seen that Boonak is a BU alum.

Outside the restaurant, a woman walked by and backtracked, looking into the large front windows. She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the sign. Another couple passed by, and one said, “This is the place I told you about.” 

Alyssa Zhang, 16, and her grandmother Alice Lee praised the restaurant after enjoying dishes that included the crab curry and pomelo salad. Zhang said she had seen the Michelin recognition, which inspired her to go. Lee said she hadn’t heard about the award but trusted that wherever her granddaughter took her to eat would be great.

“We will come back again,” Lee said. “It was delicious.” 

Despite the increased recognition, Boonak said he wants to keep the space intimate.

“I want people to know this is a place they can come and hang out,” Boonak said. “I want to continue being a neighborhood space, and we want to be the best in service, best in hospitality.”

This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.