Brad Racino

About

Brad Racino is the managing editor at New York Focus, an independent nonprofit newsroom investigating power in the Empire State. He oversees a team of reporters with a mission to examine how decisions made in Albany impact communities around the state.Previously, Racino was the editor and publisher for NY Cannabis Insider, the first newsroom dedicated to covering the state’s emerging legal cannabis industry. He created, organized, and hosted statewide conferences and meetups and negotiated sponsorships, advertisements, and partnerships. His work as a reporter led directly to statewide policy changes, held public agencies accountable, exposed public health risks and shed light on systemic abuses of power. During part of that time, he was also a managing producer at Syracuse.com, focused on workforce development, innovation, and the future economy of Central New York. For nearly a decade prior, Racino was the assistant director, editor, and senior investigative reporter at inewsource in San Diego. There, he produced national-award-winning investigations across web, TV, and radio, some of which prompted Congressional hearings, high-level resignations, and law changes. He also managed reporters, photojournalists, social media and web producers, freelancers, and independent contractors, and created collaborations with TV stations, national outlets, civic groups, businesses, and academia.Overall, Racino's journalism has earned more than 100 awards, including two national medals from Investigative Reporters and Editors, a national Emmy nomination, two national Edward R. Murrow awards, two Golden Mike Awards, and a Meyer "Mike" Berger award from Columbia Journalism School.He was also named one of 10 "Emerging Leaders" in US nonprofit journalism by The Institute for Nonprofit News.Racino has worked as a data reporter for ASU's News21, a multimedia reporter for the Columbia Missourian, a project coordinator for NFOIC, and a videographer and editor for Verizon Fios1 TV in New York. Before journalism, he was an underwater videographer in the Bahamas, a branch manager of a New York photography company, an art gallery owner, a wedding photographer, and a vacuum salesman(!).Racino received a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Albany, a master’s degree from Mizzou, and has continued his education through the International Center of Photography, IRE and ACES.