Politics Reporter, MassLive | Boston, Massachusetts
[email protected] | (617) 655-4672 | @BenKail
I cover federal and state politics and breaking news for MassLive in Boston. I've also covered state legislatures, crime, energy, climate change, education and business for The Day in New London, Connecticut, and The Palladium-Times in Oswego, New York.
In March 2020, my reporting exposed a coordinated effort by the Trump administration to post campaign material on taxpayer-backed social media in open defiance of federal law and ethics codes. In 2019, my reporting helped spark a state investigation into a school district's handling of sexual harassment complaints.
The Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy selected me along with 19 other journalists from around the world for the Energy Journalism Initiative seminar in June 2019, where I gained insight on energy, climate science and markets from scholars and experts in government and industry.
My investigative reporting for The Palladium-Times earned awards from The Associated Press, New York News Publishers Association and Syracuse Press Club. My environmental and features reporting for The Day earned awards from the New England Newspaper and Press Association.
In March 2020, my reporting exposed a coordinated effort by the Trump administration to post campaign material on taxpayer-backed social media in open defiance of federal law and ethics codes. In 2019, my reporting helped spark a state investigation into a school district's handling of sexual harassment complaints.
The Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy selected me along with 19 other journalists from around the world for the Energy Journalism Initiative seminar in June 2019, where I gained insight on energy, climate science and markets from scholars and experts in government and industry.
My investigative reporting for The Palladium-Times earned awards from The Associated Press, New York News Publishers Association and Syracuse Press Club. My environmental and features reporting for The Day earned awards from the New England Newspaper and Press Association.
Investigative Reporting
The Palladium-Times' exclusive stories based on my yearlong investigation of allegations against landlord Doug Waterbury helped lead the city of Oswego to overhaul its Section 8 guidelines to specifically address sexual harassment and discrimination.
The White House social media accounts have ramped up a years-long political offensive that’s deployed Trump campaign material and attacks against the Democratic party and its presidential candidates on taxpayer-backed social media accounts.
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Connecticut saw a spike in mandated reporter calls not long after my reporting on three Montville school administrators charged with failing to report suspected abuse after a substitute teacher was accused of running a classroom fight club. Exclusive stories showed the school district may not have followed proper procedures for substitute hiring and training.
Residents and visitors strolling along either side of the Oswego River Walk can find white-and-blue signs labeled “FREE WIFI” with a signal logo and the words “Oswego Wireless.” What they may not find is free Wi-Fi anywhere near those signs.
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Environment & Energy
Above photos by The Day's Sean D. Elliot
Breaking News
My coverage of a man's effort to overturn his 1995 kidnapping conviction in Oswego County's most famous missing person case earned top breaking news honors from the New York News Publishers Association in 2017.
Features
I've written profiles of community and business leaders, students and veterans, and covered garden railroads, 20-ton family keepsakes, a hunt for a peacock and a man who can't swim but still jumped into the harbor to rescue his dog.