Some days, it’s hard to escape from the negativity in the news.  Turn on a television or read the paper and you see stories about the pandemic, or partisan political attacks, or criminal activity.  The traditional media plays a central role covering these issues, providing us with important information and holding the powerful to account.  But there’s also a lot of good that is going on all around us, often performed by everyday people doing amazing things in our community.  These stories go unnoticed way too often but deserve to be told.

Welcome to Town Square.

Town Square was started to celebrate the good that is all around us.  Our mission is to tell the stories of everyday people – teachers, nurses, volunteers and community leaders – who are doing things to make our community better.  We hope that in telling these stories, we can bring people together around a common set of experiences and do our part to support the Central Massachusetts community.

The division we see in our society right now occurs in part because of the different silos we live in today.  Fox viewers see very different information than MSNBC viewers, for example.  We believe that there is room for something different – a news site that is focused on telling local, POSITIVE stories and providing a safe place for conversations – not debates – between people who have different viewpoints.  The local institutions that used to bring us together or at least provide a common frame of reference are no longer around.  Starting to restore that is what Town Square is all about.  We want to provide a foundation for more productive discussions and help to develop a common bond in our community.

Our team provides daily content that seeks to shine a light on the positive stories all around us that often go unnoticed in today’s media.  But we need your help.  We want to hear your story – and share it with others in our community.  If you know of someone doing great things locally, please send us their story at publisher@centralmasstownsquare.com.  And if you like what we are trying to do at Town Square, please consider becoming a subscriber and telling your friends and neighbors about us.

There is so much good going on all around us – let’s take the time to celebrate it.  It’s more important than ever – for our community and our country – that we do that together.