Friday, August 29, 2008
In a case of struggling media reporting on struggling media, Brian Williams closed last night's NBC Nightly News broadcast with a report from Portland, Maine, with people talking about the troubles the Portland Press Herald has been having. The graphic for the segment was the Press Herald's logo over the words "FINAL EDITION?" It streams here.
I know they did at least one interview that never aired as part of the segment. Portland state Rep. Herb Adams spoke with the reporter, and even offered them the opportunity to film his own personal copy of the issue the Portland Phoenix put out two years ago this week. The cover story then? This one. Sadly, NBC didn't use that clip. When I talked to the reporter last week, I sent her links to some of my stories about the PPH, and she asked if I was willing to appear on camera. Despite my willingness, I never heard from her again - and still haven't. And NBC didn't mention the Phoenix or any other media in town at all in their piece, leaving the impression that if the Press Herald closed, the whole city would be without any news at all.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
In Sunday's Washington Post, ex-Portland Press Herald DC correspondent Jonathan Kaplan laments the decreasing number of Washington correspondents reporting for regional and local newspapers around the country. It's as much a plea for his old job back as anything else - of course, the guy might properly claim to have been duped, as in December 2007 the PPH hired him away from The Hill, where he had worked for five years, and then barely six months later laid him off But his piece also shows how well the Press Herald brass handled the layoffs - while he was being interviewed before being hired, PPH execs were "proud ... they had a bureau in Washington ... (and) never implied that the lone Maine reporter's seat in the Capitol was in jeopardy of growing cold." But lo, on June 23, a human-resources staffer sent Kaplan himself an e-mail intended for his bosses, asking when he'd be canned. It wasn't until three days later that the editor actually bothered to confirm what, at that point, had to be some serious suspicions. And he ends the piece with an ironic bit political-theater reporting that Kaplan says justifies keeping DC correspondents. Back in May, he tells Post readers, US Senator Susan Collins praised an aspect of the farm bill, and then voted against the entire bill. If that's his strongest argument for having a Washington bureau, it's a weak argument indeed - Kaplan was on the job in May, and never told his readers about that event.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
UPDATE: Just before 11 am, the Tuesday news went live on the Press Herald's site.
For an organization that at least periodically claims to be looking to the Web as a key to the future, the Portland Press Herald is having a pretty rough few days. From Thursday night through Sunday morning, the site was unable to be updated - the best they could do was post stories in a small sidebar column on the site's front page. That got resolved in time for most readers of Sunday's Web version of the paper, but today, at 10:42 am, yesterday's news (heck, yesterday's DATE) was still on the site. Here's a pic: 
There's not even an update that says they're having problems - which suggests the problems are so severe they can't even post such a notice.
Friday, May 30, 2008
No sooner did I post the last entry than into my e-mail box came a copy of the latest newsletter from Robert Bickler, the general manager of the Blethen Maine Newspapers, leading with this little gem: General Manager’s Update:
Owing to a continuation of significant declines and advertising volumes coupled with rising business costs, the executive management team has been working aggressively to develop a plan that will provide additional non-payroll savings including newsprint, travel, supplies, postage and other costs. Unfortunately, it has been determined that we will also need to eliminate a significant number of positions in an effort to bring expenses more in-line with revenues that are available to us. While details are still being worked out, a reduction in workforce is expected to occur effective July 1.
Few things are more difficult than eliminating the jobs of valued employees. But, in the current business climate we must maintain the economic viability of our business. Unfortunately, staff reductions are necessary in order to assure that. The Newspaper Guild's notice, which arrived shortly thereafter, says: "up to 35 full and part-time employees represented by the Guild at the Portland
Newspapers and Maine Today will lose their jobs."
Ironically, accompanying Bickler's e-mailed newsletter to the employees was an updated copy of the evacuation plan for the company's headquarters building at 390 Congress Street. Sounds like a lot of people will be leaving in a hurry.
Crosscut Seattle is reporting some fascinating info on the prospects for a buyer of the Blethen Maine Newspapers (the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, Central Maine Morning Sentinel, and Kennebec Journal, plus mainetoday.com and ancillary related properties, including real-estate holdings in Portland, South Portland and elsewhere). Here's a link to the story, by Bill Richards, who has covered the Seattle Times and the Blethen family for many years. Some highlights: -The newspaper's employees union declined to sign a non-disclosure agreement with the Blethens that could have allowed them to view the company's financial information, Crosscut reports. -Three buyers are in the running to be the new owners. -Ten prospective buyers have looked at the papers' financial records, some with primary interest in the papers' real-estate holdings. -Richards names Black Press, the Canadian newspaper giant, as a possible buyer, though the company's owner wouldn't confirm that.
Friday, April 18, 2008
There is more bad news for the employees of the Blethen Maine Newspapers - five full-timers and four part-timers are being laid off from the Augusta-based Kennebec Journal and the Waterville-based Morning Sentinel, sister papers of the Portland Press Herald. And it's not the last of the cost-cutting for the year. "Highlights," which really are lowlights, include: total ad revenue has dropped $70,000 since last year, circulation revenue is down $71,000, and third-party commercial printing jobs are down $52,000. This after last week's strange news. about how Frank Blethen thinks about newspapers. Here's today's all-staff memo from KJ/MS publisher John Christie: To: All Employees From: John Christie About a month ago, I spoke to you about the financial state of Central Maine Newspapers. I explained that when we established the financial goals for 2008, we recognized this would be a tough year and planned – with the approval of Blethen Maine Newspapers – to make less money this year than we did last year. Despite that very reasonable approach, the year started off behind, with January results that were discouraging. Although February results were better, they did not make up for the shortfall in January. Still, we needed at least one more month’s results before we could project a trend for the months ahead. It was at that point – when the results of the first two months were “in the books” – that I spoke with you. I was asked then if layoffs or other cutbacks were planned. I said, no, there was no specific plan at that point, but that layoffs were always possible. I added that we would monitor financial results on a month-by-month basis and determine at the end of each month whether layoffs and other expense reductions would be necessary. March financials are now in and have been reviewed, along with projections for the rest of the year. They are not good. March revenues were down by 6 percent versus last year and cash flow for the month was 28 percent below budget. For the first quarter, cash flow was off well more than $100,000 vs. budget and even more than that vs. January-March, 2007. We cannot sit back and hope things will turn around. We have to take action now; waiting will just make the hole deeper and require bigger cutbacks. For that reason, we are today announcing a set of expense reductions, including some layoffs. The cutbacks include: Layoffs: five full time and four part-time employees. Those affected will be notified today and will receive severance payments based upon their years of service. The actual number of people affected may be smaller because one or two may be able to fill vacancies in other, related areas. In most cases (but not all), the layoffs are related to a reduction in work in the effected departments. For example, there is less commercial print work and fewer classified ads and those two areas are among the effected departments. Department directors have already or will soon further reduce expenses by reorganizing their departments in ways that ensure that our work assignments are well aligned with the areas where we need to put our best efforts. Some people have already had their work assignments modified; others will very soon; and a few changes will occur later this year as opportunities arise. In making these cutbacks, we have been careful not to materially diminish our service to readers and advertisers. There should be no discernible difference in our daily and Sunday products. The reasons for the cutbacks are worth explaining. First, the expense side: Newsprint – the paper we print on – costs a lot more than it did a year ago. Between the recent price increases and the ones scheduled for the next two months, our costs for newsprint will have risen 15 percent compared to a year ago. Fuel. Our fuel costs include delivery trucks, mileage by reporters, photographers, sales representatives, circulation employees and contractors and heating oil. Gas is up 18 percent from a year ago; diesel and heating oil are up even more. Second, the revenue side: Total advertising revenue is down $70,000 compared to a year ago, mostly due to classified and national advertising declines. Retail advertising – which comes mostly from local business – is holding steady. Circulations revenue is down $71,000 vs. last year. Commercial print revenue is down $52,000 vs. last year. This is due mostly to the Sun-Journal purchasing the Franklin newspapers and switching the printing from CMN to their own plant; and other jobs switching to presses near their home base in order to reduce transportation costs (more fallout from the high price of fuel). We have avoided layoffs for the past five years, a time when most newspapers have had multiple layoffs and buyouts. But we could not be immune forever to the broad forces that caused problems at those newspapers. Some of those factors, such as a stagnant economy, the cost of commodities and the effect of the Internet, have damaged our business to the point that we have to take these regrettable steps or risk having to take even more drastic steps in the near future. You will likely wonder if today’s announcement is connected to the fact BMN is for sale. There is no connection. Declining revenues and rising expenses would have to be dealt with under any circumstance if we are to sustain our two newspapers into the future. Is this the last of the expense cutting for the year? I hope so, but cannot make a guarantee. Ad revenues, particularly, have become hard to predict. As I have said all along, we will monitor our finances and make adjustments as needed. I thank all of you for your hard work and dedication. That’s what has allowed us to go this long without major cutbacks and what has allowed us to keep this reduction narrowly focused. Keep up the good work, knowing that it is appreciated, especially in these challenging times to our industry.
Friday, April 11, 2008
There are a few
things you should know before the weekend begins, in addition to the impending
return of Granny's Burritos, which we told you about earlier today:
News: The unionized
employees of the Blethen Maine Newspapers had previously said they were
considering trying to buy the papers (the Portland
Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, the Augusta-based Kennebec Journal, and the Waterville-based Morning Sentinel). They have officially launched their effort,
including a Web site where they are seeking financial backers to support the
union's efforts.
Art: It must be
video-contest month. Both the AFL-CIO and the Maine Association of Realtors
have announced cash prizes for creating good videos. To win the AFL-CIO's top
prize of $1000, make a video on the theme "Turn Around America,"
trying to build grassroots momentum for elected leaders whose policies focus on
workers. To win the Realtors' top prize - $20,000 (now we're talking!) - make a
video about why you want to own a "piece of Maine" - by which they
mean buy a house. (If you own a house, tell 'em why you love it - and don't be
shy about admitting it can no longer be because of the great resale value!)
Event: Maine's Green Party
is hosting a showing of American Blackout,
a documentary about Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney's efforts to figure
out what went wrong with the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. (We're
assuming the movie is short.) McKinney is seeking the Green Party's nomination
for president. It's at 7 pm at the Meg Perry Center, 644 Congress St, Portland,
and costs $5. We're not sure if McKinney ever came to Maine, but
also-seeking-the-Green-nomination Jesse Johnson from West Virginia did, a couple
months back, and stopped by the Portland Phoenix office for a brief chat. He
was very nice, fairly predictable in terms of issues, and energetic. (And he
became the only candidate I've ever met, in more than a decade of
interviewing candidates, who ever sent me a thank-you note after a sit-down
interview.)
Other brief tidbits:
-Portland-based
Shipyard Brewing Company was named the 15th-largest craft brewing beer by 2007
sales volume by the national Brewers Association. When the list expands to
include all US brewing companies, Shipyard moves down a little (gotta make room
for the big guys, like Anheuser-Busch) to be the 27-largest US brewing company
by 2007 sales volume. It's the only Maine brewer on either list.
-Portland Stage
Company just got a $25,000 federal grant (from the National Endowment for the
Arts) to perform Julius Caesar for students who have previously had little
exposure to professional theater.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Seattle Times
president/publisher Frank Blethen (still the owner of the Portland Press
Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, the Kennebec Journal, and the Central Maine
Morning Sentinel, though not for long) found himself in some sort of mind warp
earlier today, according to a story on Editor & Publisher's Web site.
Blethen was arguing
not for family ownership of newspapers, as he has done for decades, but,
suddenly, for local ownership, even saying saying he would "rather have a
crummy paper owned locally than a supposedly good paper owned in
absentia."
Of course, he was
referring to his family's flagship property in Seattle, where he and almost the
entire Blethen family lives. But think about that statement in relation to the
papers the family owns in Maine.
There has been plenty
of fire directed at the Press Herald and the Blethens in general since they
bought the paper 10 years ago, for being absentee owners, for being
disconnected, for bringing in non-Mainers to run the place. But the Blethens
and their proxies in Maine have always defended themselves by saying family
ownership was best, and harping on the Blethens' commitment to strong
journalism.
Now, though, the
patriarch of the family is reversing himself, and admitting at least the
possibility that a "crummy" owner who is local would do better than a
"supposedly good" owner elsewhere.
Of course, he has
already put the Maine papers up for sale. And the Maine papers have laid off
people (though not nearly as many as the Seattle Times just did). And the Press
Herald's newsstand price went up 25 percent a couple weeks back, from 60 cents
to 75, in the same week the paper slashed the space allocated to news.
So perhaps Blethen is
trying to have it both ways, becoming a "crummy" owner-from-away, and
hoping that a "supposedly good" local owner will spring up. We shall see.
In other Seattle
Times/Blethen/Press Herald news:
-City editor Andrew
Russell (or whatever his new title is) announced at the end of March (in his
only blog post of the month) that the newsroom is being reorganized, away from
the "traditional" beat structure, where a reporter has a subject-area
of expertise, like city politics, or public safety. Word is that the ideas
being batted around leave out a few things we might think are important. We're
still seeking specifics on that, and will get back to you when we've got 'em.
-Frank Blethen will
step down from his post as the top man at the Seattle Times in 2015. Of course,
by then, no Mainers will care, because he won't have been involved in
newspapers here for seven years (if all goes according to his plan to sell the
Maine papers by the end of this year). But when the Seattle Times is on the
run, they're really on the run - laying off people, selling papers, and even
their fearless leader is planning an exit strategy. It doesn't help things that
he apparently believes (having told E&P so, anyway) that by the time he's
done, "we will have the difficult part out of the way." Surely
nothing could happen between now and then to surprise anyone.
-The good folks at
Crosscut Seattle, whom I will stretch and call my
colleagues-in-fascination-with-all-things-Blethen, have put out a really fascinating four-part
series of the financial crisis facing the Seattle Times. (Here are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.) As I mentioned above,
much of this won't matter to us Mainers, though some of it may have a bearing
on the price the Blethens seek (or get) for the Maine publications. But there
is one parallel I found interesting, though not really surprising: The Seattle
Times's coverage territory once expanded well into the suburbs and met many
news consumers' needs for daily information. But when faced with budget
problems, the Times contracted, leaving unmet demand behind. Sound familiar?
Thursday, March 27, 2008
We know the news
hasn't been good for the Seattle Times folks of late, or for their soon-to-be
ex-colleagues at the Blethen Maine Newspapers (the Press Herald/Sunday
Telegram, Kennebec Journal, and Morning Sentinel).
It's been bad for a
while, but it just got even worse. Sure, we told you back in August 2006 that
the Press Herald would soon be for sale, and we told you (20 minutes before the
Press Herald's own Web site told you) when that became official company policy
on St. Patrick's Day. And we mentioned the coverage of that announcement, as well as some thoughts on who might buy the papers.
We told you in August
2007 that the Press Herald had lost 27 percent of its advertising revenue in
the previous two-and-a-half years.
In October 2007, we
explored how "convergence" and multimedia journalism were being done
at the Press Herald (or rather, not done; we can now add to that failure the
elimination earlier this month of the job of "Online Reporter" held
by Dieter Bradbury).
In December 2007, we
revealed that an alert Phoenix reader told the world something the Press Herald
brass hadn't - that Plum Creek CEO Rick Holley was a personal friend of Frank
Blethen and a member of the family-dominated corporate board that oversees the
paper.
We told you in early
January that Frank Blethen had predicted that 2008 would be a terrible year requiring "deep cuts" for the company.
And we told you a couple weeks ago that the layoffs had begun.
In February, we
explained how Press Herald editor Jeannine Guttman failed to understand the
results of a Pew Research Center report on what kinds of news interest men and
women - and that men and women are very interested, at roughly equal levels, in
breaking news and important issues of the day. She spent most of her time
talking about how the paper offers NASCAR news and recipes to combine into one
publication so many niche-market topics that you could almost call the Press
Herald a niche sausage.
And earlier this
month, I wrote about a blogger determined to draw attention to the Press
Herald's journalistic shortcomings (a blogger who just today wrote in a posting
that he is depressed about the paper's future prospects, and said he is "done
wasting energy" on "the Seattle Blethens and their local
minions;" what that means for future posts is unclear).
But now comes even
worse news, from Seattle, via Crosscut and its intrepid reporter Bill Richards,
who has worked for the Seattle Times, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and has
covered the Blethens for many years: Not only are print-ad revenues down, but
they're down more than the Blethens expected. And online-ad revenues are also
down, which suggests the Blethens' plans for future profits may be shrinking.
So however long they
have to wait before they can unload the Maine papers, another question lingers
for the Blethens - one certainly closer to their hearts: how long can they hang
onto the Seattle Times, their family's flagship paper, before it collapses?
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
UPDATE: With Crosscut Seattle story link (also here). Definitely read that story - it has great analysis and some new ideas of who might buy the papers - including a possibility of the union taking it employee-owned.Yesterday's announcement that the Portland Press Herald and the rest of the Blethen Maine Newspaper group are up for sale has a lot of attention in the expected arenas. The Press Herald has a story here. The Seattle Times has a story here. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's story is here. I'm told Crosscut Seattle will have a story later today ( UPDATE: It does, and that must-read story is here.) (and I'll post an update to this story when it's live).The PressingTheHerald blog (which I wrote about in the latest issue of the Phoenix) has declared an end to its six-day-old "Blethen Maine Death Watch," and "T. Cushing Munjoy" has resumed buying the paper, only to find that he and Frank Blethen agree on something - that the Blethens will be lucky to recoup half of the $200-million-plus purchase price they paid for the Maine papers in 1998. Even PortlandPressHarried's "T. Flushing Funjoy" is digging around, unearthing the Blethens' corporate memos and exec-speak from five years ago and ten years ago. But nobody has addressed what appears to be a clear fact, which doesn't bode well for the papers' future: The Blethens likely have no prospective buyers. Most businesses, and particularly privately-owned ones, don't generally announce that parts of their companies are "for sale." They announce that they have been sold, complete with answers to the "who bought it" and "when do they take over," even if not the "how much did they overpay" questions, and reassuring quotes about the future. Not so this time - the Blethens have basically said, "We need to get rid of these companies - would anyone like to make us an offer?" They have also engaged the services of a major newspaper brokerage company, the New Mexico-based Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, which again suggests they have no idea who might buy the papers. We know from my story on the impending sale of the Press Herald back in 2006 that some of Maine's big players aren't interested, and they've likely gotten even less so. The Bangor Daily News has laid off workers since then, and while the Lewiston Sun Journal has been expanding, their merger-and-acquisition people seem to be focused on weeklies, rather than dailies. Maybe the Sample Group, who own the Biddeford Journal-Tribune and just bought the Brunswick Times-Record, would be interested, but they just laid off people at the Times-Record, only days after begging the state for a loan they said would allow them to keep the newspaper operating. Who's left? It's anybody's guess - even the Blethens don't have any ideas.
Monday, March 17, 2008
 In August 2006, we used the above graphic to illustrate a story called " Press Herald For Sale?" in which I posited that all signs were pointing to an impending sale of the Portland Press Herald, and quoted owner Frank Blethen as asking, in a September 2003 Press Herald article, "Can you just keep going?" The answer: Not much longer at all now, what with layoffs, an impending price hike, circulation drops, and shrinking area for news. The following is a memo from the Seattle Times corporate office to company employees that went out this morning.
From: Company
Communications
Sent: Monday,
March 17, 2008 11:02 AM
To: All
Seattle Times
Subject: Message
from Carolyn Kelly
I wanted to let you
know about an announcement we are making this morning related to Blethen Maine
Newspapers.
The Blethen family has
made the decision to explore the sale of Blethen Maine Newspapers. As you all
know, the industry economics have been particularly challenging for us as a
small, independent newspaper company. The unrelenting challenges and unique
circumstances here have led us to conclude that scaling back to a smaller
organization is necessary at this time. Doing so provides the best opportunity
for success in the long term for both the Seattle Times Company and for Blethen
Maine Newspapers.
The Blethen family
will continue to own and operate The Seattle Times and the
Washington affiliates: the
Yakima Herald-Republic, the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, the Issaquah Press and
Rotary Offset Press.
Today's announcement
does not mean that we are out of the woods; we hope it buys us some breathing
room as we transform ourselves. We do not anticipate any changes to our
operations here; we will continue to redefine our business model and work to
align our cost structure with our revenue.
A copy of the press
announcement is attached. If you have any questions, please ask your manager or
department head.
Carolyn
Kelly
Seattle Times
Company to Explore Sale of
Blethen
Maine
Newspapers
Seattle –
Citing ongoing challenges in the
industry and the need to focus on the future of its flagship newspaper and
affiliate newspapers in the State of Washington, the
Seattle Times Company has announced that it will explore the sale of its Blethen
Maine Newspapers.
The
sale would include the Portland Press
Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, the Kennebec Journal, the Morning Sentinel and MaineToday.com, a Web
site that serves as a news and information portal for the state of
Maine.
"We
have been proud to be the stewards of these newspapers for the last 10 years.
They provide their communities with high quality, independent journalism that is
in keeping with the best traditions of the Seattle Times Company," Seattle Times
CEO and Publisher Frank Blethen said. "We wish our stewardship could continue
indefinitely, but the difficult business environment and continuing
uncertainties require we consider other options.
"The decision to explore a sale was
painful. But a sale may be the best opportunity for the long-term survival of
our newspapers in Washington and those
in Maine. "
Chuck Cochrane, CEO and Publisher of
Blethen Maine Newspapers, said he does not anticipate this decision will require
changes in policies or operations of the newspapers while a sale is being
explored. The three Blethen Maine Newspapers have about 500 employees and
combined circulation of about 101,000 daily and 136,900
Sunday.
The
Seattle Times Company has engaged Dirks, Van Essen & Murray of Santa Fe, NM,
the nation's leading newspaper merger-and-acquisition firm, as a broker to
assist with the potential sale. Blethen said the goal is to have the process
completed by at least the end of the year.
Blethen Maine Newspapers is a unit
of the Seattle Times Company.
###
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
There will be layoffs at the Portland Press Herald, costing 15 people their jobs, according to a report on the paper's Web site. Four of the layoffs happened today, according to the Newspaper Guild Local 128 Web site, the site of the union representing PPH workers. Among those laid off today were two "Clerk II" positions in news, which will save the company between $527 and $639 a week per person, according to the union's wage tables, which are posted online. The union also suggests unnamed managers recently received bonuses totaling $132,000, and claims the company did not give the union the amount of advance notice the contract requires. The paper will also reduce the amount of space in the paper for news, and will eliminate some wire-service subscriptions. The paper has lately been running a lot of wire copy from the McClatchy News Service, which is owned by McClatchy Newspapers, a not-quite-half owner of the Seattle Times Company, the Press Herald's parent company, whose majority owner is the Blethen family. There is no word on whether there will be layoffs at the other Blethen-owned papers around the state. In related layoff news, the Brunswick Times-Record's new owners laid off 10 people on their first day running the company, and the paper made no mention of that, drawing fire from media watchdog Al Diamon (who also writes for the Portland Phoenix) and the Forecaster's Midcoast edition. Late last week, Times-Record managing editor James McCarthy admitted that he killed the news, all by his lonesome. Not a good time to be working for daily newspapers.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Beyond the deep cuts the Seattle Times will have to make (as I discussed in this post earlier in the week), it appears the trickling down has begun: the Yakima Herald Republic, another Seattle Times-owned company (like the Press Herald, Morning Sentinel, and Kennebec Journal), is laying off five support workers people and leaving a reporter's job unfilled, according to its own report (with a hat-tip to Romenesko). Any effects of the massive spending cuts on the Maine newspapers remain to be seen, but this is a sign that the entire Blethen portfolio may be taking a large budget hit, rather than just the Seattle Times itself.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
A correction from the Portland Press Herald from Friday's paper:
A story on
Page B4 on Wednesday about foraging for edible mushrooms contained a
photo of amanita muscaria, which is a poisonous and hallucinogenic
mushroom. It was a copy editor's error.
Here's the story. The correction appears not to have run online - though it is in the paper's online archive - but is not attached in any way to the online version of the story. So I wouldn't suggest using either of the pictures in the online version of the story to choose yummy mushrooms. With a tip of the hat to RegretTheError.com.
Monday, July 09, 2007
The Portland Press Herald has taken its political criticism to a new low: Not only did a Friday editoral fail to note that the Corrections policy of moving inmates from prison to a jail is in violation of a federal court order rediscovered by the Portland Phoenix and reported on in the June 29 issue, but Sunday's column by obscurer-in-chief Bill Nemitz makes no note of the fact that the Maine Department of Corrections has been failing to treat mentally ill inmates for their medical conditions for more than 18 months. (See, " Torture in Maine's Prison," by Lance Tapley, November 11, 2005.) We all know that the Press Herald hates to let on that anyone else has a scoop - much less admit they've been scooped continuously for 20 months - but it's becoming dangerous to the public, and to the Press Herald's credibility. The public needs to know that dangerously disturbed people are released every day from Maine prisons, and have never been treated for mental illness, though many of them are diagnosed, as you can hear in this Maine Public Broadcasting Network report. The Corrections Department is doing nothing, and thereby endangering not only the lives of inmates (and former inmates), but also the lives of the public. And for the Press Herald's credibility, the paper should acknowledge and bring to light the serious problems that exist, or risk looking as if they don't know what everyone else in Maine knows - that Maine inmates are tortured and mistreated by Maine prison guards in Maine-taxpayer-funded prisons. Here, for reference by Press Herald reporters, editors, and columnists, are links to the entire body of work by Portland Phoenix contributing writer Lance Tapley, on the terrible conditions at the Maine State Prison (for inmates without mental illness as well as for those who are suffering from various forms of mental illness). Note the most recent article, which reveals that a freelance writer for the Maine Sunday Telegram was a party to a lawsuit 35 years ago that resulted in a federal court order opening the prisons to free and unfettered reporting. Where's the Press Herald/Sunday Telegram now? It's quite a shift in 35 years.
In
chronological order from November 2005 to the present:
Torture in Maine’s Prison, November 11, 2005
Reforming the Supermax, November 18, 2005
Pressure Rising,
March 24, 2006
Arbitrary
Imprisonment, July 21, 2006
Death in the
Supermax, October 13, 2006
Hunger Strike
at Maine’s Supermax Prison, October 18, 2006
Baldacci’s
‘Political Prisoner,’ November 17, 2006
Lockdown: What
do Prison Officials Have to Hide?, December 15, 2006
sidebar:
Stonewalling is Normal, December 15, 2006
Sluggish
Response to Suicide, January 5, 2007
Brown Defense
Team Enlarging, January 12, 2007
An Insult to
Justice, February 2, 2007 — Lance Tapley’s speech upon receiving the Maine State Bar
Association’s Excellence in Legal Journalism Award
Cracks in the
Armor, February 2, 2007
Prison Guards Suit
Up, March 16, 2007
Prison Madness
Explained, March 30, 2007
Punish the
Mentally Ill!, April 13, 2007
Prisoners as
Commodities, April 27, 2007
Prisoner Gagged,
May 4, 2007
Inmate Sues
Officials in Federal Court, May 18, 2007
Maine Prison
Bosses Violate Court Orders, June 29, 2007 — with links to images of the court
orders
sidebar: Press
Behind Bars, June 29, 2007
sidebar: Waves of
Activism, June 29, 2007
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