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I found an interesting list over at politickerme.com of Maine's 50 most powerful for 2008. While lists like these will always be subjective, and while I might quibble with many of the choices, I think there were some interesting selections.
Any list of Maine's movers and shakers has to have the Cianbro Corporations's Peter Vigue (#6). For private sector leaders, he would be at the top of my list.
I was glad to see former governor, Angus King (#3), on the list. From the list's synopsis, "King has laid low over the past few years since leaving office, but that is changing. With his usual brilliant timing, the former governor is on a crusade to bring wind power to Maine where he serves as a principal of Independence Wind. He serves on numerous boards, has friend in high places and is one of the first folks aspiring politicians call."
Arguably, King was one of the state's better leaders, and unlike the current governor, attempted to move the state forward, not back to the neolithic era.
Of course, there will always be those names that elicit the reaction of "who?" from readers glancing at their name/profile. All told, I knew most of the 50.
Columnist Al Diamon (#43) made the list, which was a good choice, although at 43, five places below right-wing loonie, Mike Heath (#38), I thought he could have been a bit higher.
Diamon's been at it for a long time, and arguably, there are few in the state that grasp Maine's political world like Diamon. You can find his columns in several media outlets. He also has the Media Mutt column on the Down East website. One of his recent columns of Maine's media is a worthy rendering of the past year's bloodletting at many of the state's newspapers, and how it affects the news that Mainers receive. His take is accurate, in my opinion, about the demise of many media organs in the state.
In my book, Diamon is must-reading for anyone that still cares about politics and media, in Maine.
Speaking of the media, several other reporters/editors made the list, including Mal Leary (#27), whose been covering the statehouse since the building went up. Scott Fish (#41), the editor of the busy conservative web forum, As Maine Goes, also ended up on the list.
Agree, or disagree, lists like these are always fun, and worthy of some consideration.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Scratching my itch for news
I’ve scrapped my subscriptions to both morning dailies that cover where I live, in central Maine. That’s a big deal for several reasons: 1) I’m in my 40s, and am part of the demographic that still reads newspapers; 2) I’ve been reading a daily newspaper since I was seven-years-old.
The first of my newspapers to go was the Lewiston Sun Journal, with the introduction of its inane B-Section. Developed to attract readership from those that will probably never read their daily paper—20 and 30-somethings—it prompted me to cancel the local daily that I’d been reading the longest.
While the S-J is the paper most likely to have the news and information about Lisbon and Durham, where I now live, as well as the skinny on Central Maine matters, my cancellation forced me to go back to the Portland Press Herald. Since we’ve lived in Durham, we’ve subscribed to this paper semi-consistently over the past decade, primarily during the time our son attended high school at Greely. Since the S-J doesn’t carry sports results from southern Maine, if we wanted to read about our son’s hockey and baseball results, we were forced to subscribe to Maine’s largest daily. Personally, I also preferred their Maine Sunday Telegram, to the S-J’s lame Sunday paper.
When my wife and I agreed to deep-six our S-J subscription, a year ago, we re-upped with the Press Herald, as morning coffee without a newspaper was a tough habit to break. Going into our subscription, we knew the pitfalls of the paper. No fan of Jeannine Guttman for many reasons, and aware that the paper was struggling to deal with ad revenue (which equaled less content to read) tanking, we tried to adapt, just to have a morning newspaper, fish wrap, or not.
When the paper announced its first wave of cuts, and the Monday edition looked more like a newsletter, than a newspaper, we were finished with the morning edition of the paper. We still receive the Maine Sunday Telegram—Christ, when you’ve grown up with a newspaper, Sunday just ain’t Sunday without a paper to read, albeit one that is getting skinnier each week.
I think we’ll continue to keep the paper, if for nothing else than to read what lame explanations Guttman can continue to come up with to justify her still having a job, piloting this sinking ship of a newspaper, in name only.
This morning, “Gutty” was again regaling us with her typical solipsistic drivel that’s become her MST M.O.. I almost missed her column, as the Insight section, which used to be a stand-alone, now is combined with the Business Sunday section.
Madame Ed. was getting all giddy because Pew’s Project for Excellence in Journalism’s (which doesn’t’ seem to be yielding a whole hell of a lot of excellence nationwide) readership survey revealed that things aren’t as bad as Guttman expected them to be. Readers are “hanging in there.” Maybe you should bake them some brownies.
I don’t want to devote any more time to Guttman, so I’ll wrap up my thoughts about newspapers in Maine. Actually, I wrote a blog post on the subject in March, so I’ll just link back to that one.
[Note: If you care to keep up with news from the good ship PPH, check out Pressing the Herald blog.]
In lieu of a local daily, what am I doing to get my news? Here are a few news sites (with two being print-based) that are my go-to substitutes for the daily newspaper.
The Wall Street Journal: The Journal has a great offer for subscribers linking the Online Journal, with the print edition, all for $99/year.
The Journal still practices journalism, with a stable of writers that can still write an article that reads like the news articles I grew up with. The Journal isn’t just for day traders, or business leaders, although, anyone who wants to stay current on the important issues of the day should be a regular reader.
The Bollard: Longtime local journalist, Chris Busby, has shephered The Bollard moving its content from web-only, to quarterly print edition, to monthly periodical. A recent article on the cruise ship industry, and its affect on Portland, by Maine author, Colin Woodard, was an example of the quality content Busby is churning out. Liz Peavey continues to write for The Bollard, with her unique travel-based articles that she’s known for. If you haven’t picked up the print edition, look for it when you make a trip into Portland.
The Lisbon Reporter/The Rumford Reporter: I lump these two online news sites together, because TRR came first, and first clued readers to the trail of trouble that leads from Rumford, to Lisbon.
A small group of local news gadflies took over the former River Valley Reporter, and made it a must read for anyone wanting some actual news from the River Valley, instead of the tired, pro-crony tripe that the Sun-Journal had been serving up for far too long.
If you follow the news trail, you’ll see that former Rumford town manager, Steve Eldridge, landed a cush job in the Town of Lisbon, and not too long ago, former River Valley Growth Council Director, Rosie Bradley, also showed up as director of economic and community development. There were other issues plaguing the government of the town, also. Since the Brunswick Times-Record cleaned house, and dumped former reporter, Michael Reagan, no news coverage of any merit was forthcoming.
Until the launch of The Lisbon Reporter that is. Now, the citizens of the town can access content online that gives them a sense of some of shenanigans that are being perpetuated by those elected to carry out their wishes.
Both sites provide news, and should be regular destinations for anyone that cares about either community, or cares to consider that similar malfeasance might be happening in their own communities. Maybe we’ll start to see many other similar sites popping up all over the state, shining some disinfecting light on small town power-tripping.
The Daily Bulldog: Bobbie and Woody Hanstein have launched their own local media beachhead in Franklin County. Bobbie, a veteran reporter at first, the Lewiston Sun Journal, and then as editor for the Franklin Journal, won several awards for her local and regional reporting. Bobbie, who heads up the editorial side, brings a strong local orientation to the news stories that end up online at their site.
For a few months, TDB was publishing a monthly print version, but costs proved prohibitive, so they are online-only.
Solid news reporting, and you’ll occasionally find an article from yours truly, usually a business-related article for the site.
Newspapers will continue to list, and probably sink at some point, unless they learn to adapt, and recognize that readers want content that is rooted in journalism.
The internet has leveled the playing field and opened opportunities up to the masses to be the media.
The first of my newspapers to go was the Lewiston Sun Journal, with the introduction of its inane B-Section. Developed to attract readership from those that will probably never read their daily paper—20 and 30-somethings—it prompted me to cancel the local daily that I’d been reading the longest.
While the S-J is the paper most likely to have the news and information about Lisbon and Durham, where I now live, as well as the skinny on Central Maine matters, my cancellation forced me to go back to the Portland Press Herald. Since we’ve lived in Durham, we’ve subscribed to this paper semi-consistently over the past decade, primarily during the time our son attended high school at Greely. Since the S-J doesn’t carry sports results from southern Maine, if we wanted to read about our son’s hockey and baseball results, we were forced to subscribe to Maine’s largest daily. Personally, I also preferred their Maine Sunday Telegram, to the S-J’s lame Sunday paper.
When my wife and I agreed to deep-six our S-J subscription, a year ago, we re-upped with the Press Herald, as morning coffee without a newspaper was a tough habit to break. Going into our subscription, we knew the pitfalls of the paper. No fan of Jeannine Guttman for many reasons, and aware that the paper was struggling to deal with ad revenue (which equaled less content to read) tanking, we tried to adapt, just to have a morning newspaper, fish wrap, or not.
When the paper announced its first wave of cuts, and the Monday edition looked more like a newsletter, than a newspaper, we were finished with the morning edition of the paper. We still receive the Maine Sunday Telegram—Christ, when you’ve grown up with a newspaper, Sunday just ain’t Sunday without a paper to read, albeit one that is getting skinnier each week.
I think we’ll continue to keep the paper, if for nothing else than to read what lame explanations Guttman can continue to come up with to justify her still having a job, piloting this sinking ship of a newspaper, in name only.
This morning, “Gutty” was again regaling us with her typical solipsistic drivel that’s become her MST M.O.. I almost missed her column, as the Insight section, which used to be a stand-alone, now is combined with the Business Sunday section.
Madame Ed. was getting all giddy because Pew’s Project for Excellence in Journalism’s (which doesn’t’ seem to be yielding a whole hell of a lot of excellence nationwide) readership survey revealed that things aren’t as bad as Guttman expected them to be. Readers are “hanging in there.” Maybe you should bake them some brownies.
I don’t want to devote any more time to Guttman, so I’ll wrap up my thoughts about newspapers in Maine. Actually, I wrote a blog post on the subject in March, so I’ll just link back to that one.
[Note: If you care to keep up with news from the good ship PPH, check out Pressing the Herald blog.]
In lieu of a local daily, what am I doing to get my news? Here are a few news sites (with two being print-based) that are my go-to substitutes for the daily newspaper.
The Wall Street Journal: The Journal has a great offer for subscribers linking the Online Journal, with the print edition, all for $99/year.
The Journal still practices journalism, with a stable of writers that can still write an article that reads like the news articles I grew up with. The Journal isn’t just for day traders, or business leaders, although, anyone who wants to stay current on the important issues of the day should be a regular reader.
The Bollard: Longtime local journalist, Chris Busby, has shephered The Bollard moving its content from web-only, to quarterly print edition, to monthly periodical. A recent article on the cruise ship industry, and its affect on Portland, by Maine author, Colin Woodard, was an example of the quality content Busby is churning out. Liz Peavey continues to write for The Bollard, with her unique travel-based articles that she’s known for. If you haven’t picked up the print edition, look for it when you make a trip into Portland.
The Lisbon Reporter/The Rumford Reporter: I lump these two online news sites together, because TRR came first, and first clued readers to the trail of trouble that leads from Rumford, to Lisbon.
A small group of local news gadflies took over the former River Valley Reporter, and made it a must read for anyone wanting some actual news from the River Valley, instead of the tired, pro-crony tripe that the Sun-Journal had been serving up for far too long.
If you follow the news trail, you’ll see that former Rumford town manager, Steve Eldridge, landed a cush job in the Town of Lisbon, and not too long ago, former River Valley Growth Council Director, Rosie Bradley, also showed up as director of economic and community development. There were other issues plaguing the government of the town, also. Since the Brunswick Times-Record cleaned house, and dumped former reporter, Michael Reagan, no news coverage of any merit was forthcoming.
Until the launch of The Lisbon Reporter that is. Now, the citizens of the town can access content online that gives them a sense of some of shenanigans that are being perpetuated by those elected to carry out their wishes.
Both sites provide news, and should be regular destinations for anyone that cares about either community, or cares to consider that similar malfeasance might be happening in their own communities. Maybe we’ll start to see many other similar sites popping up all over the state, shining some disinfecting light on small town power-tripping.
The Daily Bulldog: Bobbie and Woody Hanstein have launched their own local media beachhead in Franklin County. Bobbie, a veteran reporter at first, the Lewiston Sun Journal, and then as editor for the Franklin Journal, won several awards for her local and regional reporting. Bobbie, who heads up the editorial side, brings a strong local orientation to the news stories that end up online at their site.
For a few months, TDB was publishing a monthly print version, but costs proved prohibitive, so they are online-only.
Solid news reporting, and you’ll occasionally find an article from yours truly, usually a business-related article for the site.
Newspapers will continue to list, and probably sink at some point, unless they learn to adapt, and recognize that readers want content that is rooted in journalism.
The internet has leveled the playing field and opened opportunities up to the masses to be the media.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The bliss of Shagg Pond
After months of burning the candle at both ends, I finally had a few days (Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday) for some much needed rest and relaxation.
A dear childhood friend of my wife invited us to her family camp on Shagg Pond, in Woodstock, located in northeast Oxford County. This camp, which will be 100 years old next year, is a place that gives you the sense that you are turning back the clock to a time before being harried was a way of life.
[Shagg Pond, with Bald Mountain in the background, shrouded in fog]
[Another shot of an idyllic Maine pond]
One of the best things about the location of the camp, besides the idyllic pond, scenic vistas, and great people just hanging out, was being cut off from cell phone service, the internet (s), and other intrusions that diminish the experience.
[Camp Altamerteva, on Shagg Pond]
One of the best parts of the long weekend was my wife's friend's son, George. Eight-years-old and still wide-eyed about the world, George was my guide to enjoying my surroundings. Never have I seen a child derive so much enjoyment from the wonders of a rural pond. From sharing his passion for catching frogs with me, to the joy of returning the favor by taking him on his first-ever hike of Bald Mountain, George helped me to put aside political partisanship, the worries of the world, and the cynicism that pervades our daily existence. It's been quite a long time since I enjoyed being in the presence of a youngster, but George's enthusiasm for life was contagious.
[George showing off his catch]
A dear childhood friend of my wife invited us to her family camp on Shagg Pond, in Woodstock, located in northeast Oxford County. This camp, which will be 100 years old next year, is a place that gives you the sense that you are turning back the clock to a time before being harried was a way of life.
[Shagg Pond, with Bald Mountain in the background, shrouded in fog]
[Another shot of an idyllic Maine pond]One of the best things about the location of the camp, besides the idyllic pond, scenic vistas, and great people just hanging out, was being cut off from cell phone service, the internet (s), and other intrusions that diminish the experience.
[Camp Altamerteva, on Shagg Pond]One of the best parts of the long weekend was my wife's friend's son, George. Eight-years-old and still wide-eyed about the world, George was my guide to enjoying my surroundings. Never have I seen a child derive so much enjoyment from the wonders of a rural pond. From sharing his passion for catching frogs with me, to the joy of returning the favor by taking him on his first-ever hike of Bald Mountain, George helped me to put aside political partisanship, the worries of the world, and the cynicism that pervades our daily existence. It's been quite a long time since I enjoyed being in the presence of a youngster, but George's enthusiasm for life was contagious.
[George showing off his catch]I'm back to the day-to-day grind of work, following the joke of a presidential race we've been given, and yes, blogging. With my return, I'm going to try to keep my memories of the past long weekend alive, and appreciate the little things, like George helped me reconnect with.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Local news
I've been meaning to put up a link to The Lisbon Reporter. An email from a friend requesting that I do so got it done.
At some point I want to get up a future post about sites like the new one in Lisbon, as well as the fine job informing the public in Rumford and the River Valley being done by The Rumford Reporter. My full-length book, picking up where Moxietown left off, will have an entire chapter devoted to local news. Moxie Matters: Life's Beginnings in a Small Maine Town will have material about the history of newspapers in Lisbon Falls (the late John Gould got his start as a local newspaperman). In my opinion, The Lisbon Reporter is carrying forward that spirit, and the great work done by Norm Fournier, during the glory days of the old Lisbon Post (1970s and 1980s).
In an era when daily newspapers in Maine are irrelevant, or quickly moving in that direction, keeping apprised about local politics, corruption (seemingly intertwined in too many communities), and the people that make local communities unique has fallen to dedicated people determined to maintain the spirit of community journalism.
A tip of the hat to the good folks at The Lisbon Reporter (and The Rumford Reporter). Keep on being the news. We're enjoying over here, on the other side of the river.
At some point I want to get up a future post about sites like the new one in Lisbon, as well as the fine job informing the public in Rumford and the River Valley being done by The Rumford Reporter. My full-length book, picking up where Moxietown left off, will have an entire chapter devoted to local news. Moxie Matters: Life's Beginnings in a Small Maine Town will have material about the history of newspapers in Lisbon Falls (the late John Gould got his start as a local newspaperman). In my opinion, The Lisbon Reporter is carrying forward that spirit, and the great work done by Norm Fournier, during the glory days of the old Lisbon Post (1970s and 1980s).
In an era when daily newspapers in Maine are irrelevant, or quickly moving in that direction, keeping apprised about local politics, corruption (seemingly intertwined in too many communities), and the people that make local communities unique has fallen to dedicated people determined to maintain the spirit of community journalism.
A tip of the hat to the good folks at The Lisbon Reporter (and The Rumford Reporter). Keep on being the news. We're enjoying over here, on the other side of the river.
Weekend randomness
Last week at this time, we had just set up the RiverVision bivouac on Main Street, and I was signing books for the first wave of pre-parade Moxietown buyers. It seems like it was a month ago, rather than a week. My fame foray was brief, but I'm grateful for a run slightly longer than the usual 15 minutes.
Yesterday, I had workforce business that took me into the CareerCenter, located in Portland's Bayside neighborhood. For years, my work life evolved around Portland. With my work now centered in Central/Western Maine, I rarely find myself headed south (more often north and west). Portland is a great city. Small enough that it doesn't have many of the assorted negatives of most larger urban enclaves, but vibrant as hell, much more so than comparable cities most other places. It's got art, bookstores, music, great restaurants, and Tommy's Park at noontime is alway fun.
I had the chance to work some RiverVision stops in, getting the new book into indie booksellers, Books Etc. on Exchange Street, and Chris Bowe's wonderful Longfellow Books. Also had a chance to have lunch with Ari Meil, who did the great layout and design work for Moxietown. Ari's one of independent publishing's bright lights. His Warren Machine Company continues to grow its catalog, and Ari is about all the right things, including helping other publishers move their operations forward. We talked about some exciting collaborative possibilities that you'll be hearing more about in this space, in the future.
Lately, I've been thinking about where my life has landed, and how it seems like so many formerly random, or disparate areas are all coming together. For someone that spent his first 40 years trying to figure life out with very limited success, the past five years and particularly the last 24 months have been amazing, as well as personally empowering.
A case in point--Thursday, I met with a young man that is involved with The Caleb Foundation, which manages a variety of public housing, included complexes in Lewiston. Because of the demographic and racial makeup of his residents, we agreed to grab lunch and talk about WorkReady, and other matters related to workforce development.
While we certainly have areas where there is potential to partner on the workforce end, our conversation revealed mutual interests in baseball, books, music, and of all things, religion/theology. He gave me a CD of a band that he thought I'd like. They are Beverly, Mass.-based Caspian. I've had it in my CD player almost non-stop since Thursday, soaking in their post-rock bliss.
While Portland is amazing, and Maine's hub for entertainment and culture, the state's largest city isn't the only place where Mainers have the opportunity to access culture.
Waterville has been hosting the Maine International Film Festival for the 11th straight year. MIFF's been showing great indie films for the past week at various venues in Waterville. Tonight, my better half and I are going to catch Skills Like This.
Summer in Maine is too short, and I'm finally taking a brief respite between books to enjoy some of the events.
Yesterday, I had workforce business that took me into the CareerCenter, located in Portland's Bayside neighborhood. For years, my work life evolved around Portland. With my work now centered in Central/Western Maine, I rarely find myself headed south (more often north and west). Portland is a great city. Small enough that it doesn't have many of the assorted negatives of most larger urban enclaves, but vibrant as hell, much more so than comparable cities most other places. It's got art, bookstores, music, great restaurants, and Tommy's Park at noontime is alway fun.
I had the chance to work some RiverVision stops in, getting the new book into indie booksellers, Books Etc. on Exchange Street, and Chris Bowe's wonderful Longfellow Books. Also had a chance to have lunch with Ari Meil, who did the great layout and design work for Moxietown. Ari's one of independent publishing's bright lights. His Warren Machine Company continues to grow its catalog, and Ari is about all the right things, including helping other publishers move their operations forward. We talked about some exciting collaborative possibilities that you'll be hearing more about in this space, in the future.
Lately, I've been thinking about where my life has landed, and how it seems like so many formerly random, or disparate areas are all coming together. For someone that spent his first 40 years trying to figure life out with very limited success, the past five years and particularly the last 24 months have been amazing, as well as personally empowering.
A case in point--Thursday, I met with a young man that is involved with The Caleb Foundation, which manages a variety of public housing, included complexes in Lewiston. Because of the demographic and racial makeup of his residents, we agreed to grab lunch and talk about WorkReady, and other matters related to workforce development.
While we certainly have areas where there is potential to partner on the workforce end, our conversation revealed mutual interests in baseball, books, music, and of all things, religion/theology. He gave me a CD of a band that he thought I'd like. They are Beverly, Mass.-based Caspian. I've had it in my CD player almost non-stop since Thursday, soaking in their post-rock bliss.
While Portland is amazing, and Maine's hub for entertainment and culture, the state's largest city isn't the only place where Mainers have the opportunity to access culture.
Waterville has been hosting the Maine International Film Festival for the 11th straight year. MIFF's been showing great indie films for the past week at various venues in Waterville. Tonight, my better half and I are going to catch Skills Like This.
Summer in Maine is too short, and I'm finally taking a brief respite between books to enjoy some of the events.
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