New Hampshire Bulletin is a left-of-center online news outlet and an affiliate of national news media network States Newsroom. ¹

Background

New Hampshire Bulletin is the 22nd offshoot of the States Newsroom network of left-of-center state-level reporting and commentary outlets. Like other members of this group, it purports to be an independent, nonpartisan news outlet, but many of its articles betray a left-of-center slant. ² It has published editorial opinions and articles sympathetic to left-leaning issue areas such as abortion access, ³ LGBT activism, ⁴ and critical race theory. ⁵

As a member of States Newsroom, it receives funding from private donations and grants from organizations such as AFSCME, The American Endowment Foundation, American Online Giving Foundation, Arizona Community Foundation, Ayco Charitable Foundation, Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund, ProPublica, Google News Initiative Journalism Emergency Relief Fund, The Groundtruth Project, Report for America, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, The Minneapolis Foundation, and Piedmont Environmental Council. ⁶

Commentary

Abortion

In March 2024, New Hampshire Bulletin ran an op-ed which urged readers to support local abortion services in the name of “compassion.” The op-ed laments the “uphill battle” faced by abortion clinics in New Hampshire where the practice remains legal, even after the U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs decision, and then solicits support of Abortion Provider Appreciation Day and activist groups like Reproductive Equity Now. ⁷

LGBT Youth Issues

In February 2024, the Bulletin published an open letter decrying the introduction of “harmful bills” and warning that such legislation would cause mental harm to LGBT individuals in New Hampshire. The proposed legislation included bans on gender transitioning of minors, parental “right to know” legislation, and restrictions in sports participation based on natal sex. The letter, written by nonprofit heads Michelle Merrit of New Futures and Borja Alvarez de Toledo of Waypoint claimed to speak on behalf of numerous healthcare facilities and activist organizations including the New Hampshire branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 603 Equality, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, ACLU of New Hampshire, and Outright. ⁸

That same month it published an op-ed by Alice Wade, member of LGBT activist group 603 Equality, in which the author accused opponents of transgender ideology of wanting “to prevent all trans people from receiving health care, persecute them for wanting to exist in a body that’s comfortable for them, and force them back into the closet where anti-transgender politicians think we belong.” ⁹

In March 2024, New Hampshire Bulletin published an article suggesting that laws requiring teachers to disclose information about students to parents upon request might be harmful, especially to “disabled students.” ¹⁰

Climate Change

In March of 2024, the Bulletin published an article by businessman Dan Weeks calling for the introduction of stricter regulations and legislation to counteract purported effects of climate change. Weeks, vice president of a solar energy company, endorsed a nascent pollution reduction plan funded in New Hampshire by money from the Inflation Reduction Act. ¹¹

Race

In July of 2021, The New Hampshire Bulletin published a piece by University of Kansas professor Nicholas Ensley Mitchell opposing bans from several states on the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 classes. Mitchell specifically objected to phrasing in the Iowa and Tennessee legislation, which forbid teachers from saying that the United States is “fundamentally racist.” ¹²

In June 2021, Dan and Sindiso Mnisi Weeks published an article attempting to demonstrate that New Hampshire is systematically racist. The article referenced disparities in white-versus-minority education, crime, health, and economic outcomes. ¹³

Leadership

Dana Wormald is the editor-in-chief of New Hampshire Bulletin. He is a journalist and the former editor of the Concord Monitor. ¹⁴

1.  “States Newsroom Launches New Hampshire Bulletin.” States Newsroom. April 14, 2021. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://statesnewsroom.com/press-releases/states-newsroom-launches-new-hampshire-bulletin/
2. “States Newsroom Launches New Hampshire Bulletin.” States Newsroom. April 14, 2021. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://statesnewsroom.com/press-releases/states-newsroom-launches-new-hampshire-bulletin/
3. Hobson, Jinell, Denoncour, Sandi, Warriner, Christina. “How You Can Invest in Compassionate Reproductive Care in New Hampshire.” New Hampshire Bulletin. March 8, 2024. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2024/03/08/how-you-can-invest-in-compassionate-reproductive-health-care-in-new-hampshire/
4. Merrit, Michelle, Alvarez de Toledo, Borja. “Rights, Lives, and Health of LGBTQ+ Individuals are Under Threat.” New Hampshire Bulletin. February 14, 2024. Accessed March 12, 2024.  https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2024/02/14/rights-lives-and-health-of-lgbtq-individuals-and-families-in-nh-are-under-threat/
5. Ensley Mitchell, Nicholas. “Bans on Critical Race Theory Could Have a Chilling Effect…” New Hampshire Bulletin. July 15, 2021. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2021/07/15/bans-on-critical-race-theory-could-have-a-chilling-effect-on-how-educators-teach-about-racism/
6. “Supporters.” States Newsroom. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://statesnewsroom.com/support/
7. Hobson, Jinell, Denoncour, Sandi, Warriner, Christina. “How You Can Invest in Compassionate Reproductive Care in New Hampshire.” New Hampshire Bulletin. March 8, 2024. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2024/03/08/how-you-can-invest-in-compassionate-reproductive-health-care-in-new-hampshire/
8. Merrit, Michelle, Alvarez de Toledo, Borja. “Rights, Lives, and Health of LGBTQ+ Individuals are Under Threat.” New Hampshire Bulletin. February 14, 2024. Accessed March 12, 2024.  https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2024/02/14/rights-lives-and-health-of-lgbtq-individuals-and-families-in-nh-are-under-threat/
9. Wade, Alice. “Stop Pretending that Trans Persecution is Helping Kids.” New Hampshire Bulletin. February 2, 2024. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2024/02/02/stop-pretending-that-trans-persecution-is-helping-kids/
10. Good, Jules. “Forced Reporting Endangers Students with Disabilities.” New Hampshire Bulletin. Accessed March 5, 2024. March 12, 2024. https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2024/03/05/forced-reporting-endangers-students-with-disabilities/
11. Weeks, Dan. “Whatever Happened to Winter?” New Hampshire Bulletin. March 7, 2024. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2024/03/07/whatever-happened-to-winter/
12. New Hampshire Bulletin. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2021/07/15/bans-on-critical-race-theory-could-have-a-chilling-effect-on-how-educators-teach-about-racism/
13. Weeks, Dan, Weeks, Sindiso Mnisi. “Does Systemic Racism Exist in New Hampshire.” New Hampshire Bulletin. June 2, 2021. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2021/06/02/commentary-does-systemic-racism-exist-in-new-hampshire/
14. “Dana Wormald.” New Hampshire Bulletin. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://newhampshirebulletin.com/author/dana-wormald/