Northeastern Global News, which launches today, is a new media brand by Northeastern University that reports news happening across the university, and provides original reporting and analysis on events around the world.

Also known as NGN, the new brand replaces News@Northeastern, the university’s award-winning news and information channel that was launched more than a decade ago. NGN features a redesigned online platform with enhanced functionality and more intuitive navigation to showcase the steady stream of stories produced by the university’s team of professional journalists.

“This exciting new brand more accurately reflects what our editorial mission has been all along,” says David Nordman, executive editor of NGN. “We have assembled a talented and experienced group of journalists to tell the story of Northeastern, and at the same time provide timely news and expert analysis on important issues and current events around the world.”

While many newsrooms across the country are slashing staff and eliminating coverage, nonprofit journalism is on the rise.

“NGN’s mission, under the umbrella of a global research university, is perfectly positioned to become a go-to source for timely and relevant information about the university, and news coverage of world events that curious readers care about,” said Renata Nyul, vice president for communications.

NGN will continue to serve as the primary source of information for news happening across Northeastern’s global university system of 14 campuses across North America and the United Kingdom.

NGN will also tell the important global news stories of the day, including the latest developments in global epidemiology, public health, the technology space and artificial intelligence, economic issues that affect pocketbooks, political insights on elections, sports and popular culture.

Unbeholden to paid subscribers, advertisers and paywalls, NGN is filling a void as more readers outside the Northeastern University community discover the award-winning content of the hyperlocal and national-global nonprofit news source. NGN is averaging more than 5 million unique pageviews annually with half of them resulting from organic search.

“I think NGN is actually a really snappy, powerful media brand, and I’m all for it,” says John Wihbey, associate professor of media innovation and technology in the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University.

Launched more than a decade ago, News@Northeastern has grown significantly from a primarily internally-focused news function to a global news organization attracting millions of readers annually.

“What’s actually been missing from the conversation is whether university communications and news offices would become a kind of player in the news media,” Wihbey says. “There hasn’t been much discussion of that. So this is pretty innovative from that perspective.”

Northeastern Global News is not part of the university’s journalism department, and all NGN editors, reporters and photographers previously worked for traditional newspapers. Some have decades of media experience in newsrooms around the world.

The news industry has suffered severe cutbacks in the last 10 to 15 years. Newsroom employment has dropped 26% since 2008, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center. Most recently, Gannett, the largest newspaper chain with more than 200 newspapers, reportedly laid off 6% of its workforce in December, after laying off about 400 and eliminating hundreds of other open positions in August. The Washington Post, CNN and Buzzfeed also announced layoffs in recent weeks.

Dan Kennedy, professor of journalism at Northeastern University, says the contraction in newspapers is a “problem that continues to accelerate.”

Kennedy says NGN produces “a lot of good, reliable information,” and the challenge is expanding exposure to the new brand through newsletters and social media.

NGN will continue to cover all the important campus news, such as the university’s expansion to Miami, the Northeastern-Mills College merger in Oakland, the kickoff to STEM Week on the Boston campus, the annual Beanpot hockey tournament, and launch of the university’s $1.3 billion fundraising campaign.

In addition, NGN will report national and global stories of interest and importance, such as what are the chances of surviving a cardiac arrest?, or a researcher finds a new way to prevent the common cold, or a new discovery in quantum physics.       

NGN has no shortage of experts across the university and beyond. Faculty at Northeastern are at the forefront of solving problems that are of global importance, including the global spread of epidemics, ethical uses of AI, international conflicts and social justice issues to name a few.

For media inquiries, please contact media@northeastern.edu.