Category: Reporting

Not Alone

Berlin isn’t the only community trying to figure out how to move forward from an industrial past; check out this report from NPR‘s Morning Edition. There is some discussion about what other towns have done with former industrial sites, but they are all considerably larger than Berlin. The problem of mill sites occurrings nationwide, as does the split in residents’ opinions on the best way to deal with it.

At least the stack in Berlin isn’t 800 feet tall. The mayor’s perspective in El Paso reminds me of the city seal argument in Berlin.

Let me know of your thoughts on El Paso’s challenge. Maybe Berlin can learn from their struggles.

Quickly…

Three things. It might wind up being more.

  • Council was interesting tonight. The opposing sides really do bring out the best in both. Members disagree, but largely respectfully thus far, and there is a level of discussion that is intriguing. What’s more, for this first open meeting with the new council a number of people showed up and spoke. Actual civic participation! It’s great to see citizens engaged.
  • I hate newsprint, if for no other reason than there is a limited supply of it. I’d be happy to write enough to keep Fraser viable for another decade or so, but the news hole for the council meeting was only 500 words. I wrote just about the city seal discussion, which has been ongoing now for months, and I’m figuring out how to use the rest to make stories for next week.
  • I almost hit a moose on the way home. If I make it a year of late Monday nights without flattening my hood I’ll be surprised. The added bonuses of the North Country.

I could go on, but it’s late and I need to sleep. I’ve got a few things going on tomorrow that’ll have me around Berlin, and otherwise Wednesday I’ve got to figure out if I want to go to Concord for SEC deliberation. Too much going on for one reporter in this region; we sure could use more hands and more paper.

Midwinter’s Nap

It’s dumping snow outside, and I’m looking forward to a drive to Concord tomorrow to see what the SEC has to say about the petitioners pushing for review of the CPD project. Hopefully the roads won’t make for more than half of my day spent in the car.

I’ve noticed Berlin in winter is much harder to get into. In summer, when I don’t have any work, I meander downtown and check out what’s going on. All the time that results in a story. People are always excited to talk in Berlin, and it’s though those interactions that I get a ton of my inspiration for stories.

In winter, though, it’s more difficult. The Reporter doesn’t have an office, so I spend my time at the community college, unless I’ve got something to cover. When it’s cold and raw out I don’t want to go wandering about downtown, and as a result I don’t make the same connections I would it the summer. I find fewer of the stories I feel like really make the Reporter stand out. It’s a challenge I have yet to figure out how to overcome in this 21st century model of reporting I am in. I want the stories, but the current Reporter setup makes that hard.

Of course it could be there is just less going on. The police log today took less than 10 minutes. So little happens when the weather and the cold clamp down it almost silences the city. The cold reflects not only my stories, but the police’s beats.

I know, however, there are still things to report. I don’t want to go over and over a dead horse, but with the Laidlaw and CPD projects moving forward, and with the election transition, there are so many things to talk about.

And at the same time there are new stories with no connection to these issues. They are hot on here, but I know there are thousands more topics, both positive and negative, that need airing. I heard a great one today about a 21 year old woman who received a double lung transport five months ago. It was inspirational and compelling. She is from Berlin and got a new lease on life. That is something worth telling.

Tomorrow I dive back into the ever present energy issue. It, too, interests and captivates me. There are more stories in Berlin than one reporter can handle. I try to wrap my mind around them all, an obviously impossible task. But the community makes me want to find more. It makes me want to dig and tell stories and keep every issue that ought to be on the front page. The residents deserve it. Berlin deserves it. It makes me want to drive up there now, at 10 p.m., to see what I can find. And it makes me miss my seat at WMCC, near the door outside the Bistro, where I often type my stories on the city. It is the perfect place to be caught in a storm, and it’s where I intend to be sitting as I watch the thaw. That’s when life afresh will reemerge in the city; I will be there to tell you about it.

A day of it

Today was a bit of a strange day as a result of the crazy weather. Instead of my normal Monday routine in Berlin I got rained out, only to go to council and put in almost a full day there. Councilors were discussing the rules and policies, which wound up taking nearly three hours. I got home at 11 p.m. and spent another hour writing up the story so it can show up in Wednesday’s paper.

It was quite a show to watch the remnants of the old council and the new members work together. Councilors Robert Danderson, Micheal Rozak and Mayor Paul Grenier dominated much of the conversation early in the night, which pertained to bridge maintenance and sewer construction. Councilor Mark Evans made his mark during the policies discussion, which lasted for several hours.

But then at the end, when Councilor Danderson said he’d like to have one of the councilors who supported writing a letter to the Site Evaluation Committee regarding Clean Power Development rescind their support, the councilors spoke largely in unison. Councilor Lucie Remillard, who I have not noticed to be particularly attached to either the CPD or the Laidlaw camp, said she didn’t want to do anything that might disrupt CPD’s efforts, though the council shouldn’t fight their battles for them. Councilor Evans and Poulin didn’t speak up in favor of supporting CPD’s efforts to move forward without SEC review, but Councilors McCue, Landry, Cayer and Remillard did.

In the end, so did Mayor Grenier. He said he had concerns about the project, but to try to stop it at this point would send an anti-business message around the state.

This is an interesting time for the council—significant transitions all over the place. Mayor Grenier seems intent on running a tight ship, which appealed to several councilors from the last administration. He also made what seemed like deliberate attempts to extend the olive branch. I’m not sure if his comments about CPD count as the latter, or if, as he said, he reached some agreement with Mel Liston of CPD when the two men met on Sunday.

Regardless, I’m interested to see how this plays out. As Councilor Evans said, the clarification of the new rules may be useful when the council gets down to business because there may be a number of close decisions. Keeping to the rules will be key to ensuring residents get the governance they voted for.

LPJ is also on its next step, and I’m hoping it’s a step upwards. I started the blog because I knew I’d need to have one if I ever want a job somewhere else. I don’t want a job somewhere else, but someday I will and now is the time to prepare. Well, the next step after a blog (and a Twitter account) is a website. Check. Granted, I’ve still got more work to do, but it’s passable. I particularly like the header—it reminds me of this great place I go from time to time.

LPJ launch

LPJ has been alive and well for about nine months now at lastprintjournalist.blogspot.com, but I thought it was about time to do something with lastprintjournalist.com. I’ve owned the site for several months, and I just needed a rainy day to put it togther. The site will house my blog, which hopefully will continue to be popular with people interested in media and northern New Hampshire. I don’t intend to go anywhere, but I’m hoping I can open up some exciting new opportunities in the future that can both expand my professional opportunities and help me become a better reporter.

Stuck in the Snow

My job is weird and great. I was late to the police station today because I got caught behind a plow going over the notch, and now I’m kicking it outside White Mountain Community College poaching Internet, despite the fact they are closed for the holiday.
It’s guaranteed to be an interesting day in Berlin, with the council transition and all, but everything is closed, it’s 9 a.m., and the next real thing I’ve got to cover is at 6:30 p.m. Without an office it can be tough to figure out just what to do with myself, because I don’t even have a warm place to sip coffee.
Although I do sort of have an office—ask any WMCC student or employee and they can tell you where it is—it just is closed for the holiday.
So I guess my point is, get out and have some fun today while the weather and work allow it. I know a bunch of people out playing today, while I’m in a sweater and nice shirt typing against my steering wheel. Journalism is quirky and fantastic, but not for those easily riled.

And a quick update on Haiti: I have been trying to make connections, but it doesn’t look like I’m going right away. The ones I have made have not been sufficient for me to have confidence I could go safely. But I’m still working on it, and I may be able to make something happen in the coming weeks. Hopefully the scene there improves; it makes Somalia almost look like a vacation destination right now.

Haiti Express

So I’ve barely been back a week, and I’m thinking about leaving again. My wife is encouraging me to go to Haiti, to help with the relief effort and to look for stories. I have a contact there who I sent a message, to see if I could help. And I found a $400 airplane ticket, which isn’t cheap but isn’t expensive. During 9/11 and Katrina I considered going to help, but I never got off my butt and went. This time, however, if I can work it out I’ll go. I was thinking a week, but I’ve got to see if I can get the time off.

These last few weeks have been hectic, and I admit I’ve been neglecting LPJ. It took days to resettle after Mexico (including a trip to New York to retrieve the dog from the father-in-law’s house). Honestly, I’d like to just kick into the old Berlin Reporter routine and feel like I’m back in the swing of things, but when a city is destroyed its hard not to notice. It’d be worth another week of minor stresses.

And just as so many interesting things are happening in Berlin. Laidlaw submits its proposal for EFSEC review; CPD gets pressure from residents to do the same. The CPD/PSNH matter should have a next step soon. Fraser is looking for a buyer for the Gorham mill, and a city council transition is about to take place. It’s an exciting time, and I’m glad to be in the middle of it.
I’ve got interesting things going on as well. I’m trying to find out more about that U.K. hero who saved a Berlin resident, so I can put that in the paper. I’m hoping to turn that story into a radio piece as well. I may also do some work for the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, which was recently launched to provide investigative reporting for Maine. It a non-profit, and I would get valuable experience digging for stories. That’s experience I hope to transfer to the Reporter. Berlin undoubtedly has a wealth stories that require more expertise than I’ve got, but hopefully not for long.

So my next few weeks are up in the air, but my next few days are not. I’ve got a couple of stories I’m digging into tomorrow, though at this time I’m still looking for more. I have to admit, I still feel out of the loop. The running around all over the place has kept me from sensing Berlin’s pulse. If I wind up in Haiti, it’ll probably be a few more weeks; otherwise it’ll be a few more days. I’ll let you know how things develop and if I’m going. In the meantime, if you hear anything, let me know!

Update: I’ve got the OK from work to go to Haiti. I’m still waiting to hear about some leads there to make it feasible.

Update: I’ve contacted a prominent Haitian from the Manchester area who is going back to Haiti with a small group. He’s agreed to let me come along. I’m still looking for some more contacts to ensure my safety and sufficient material to keep me occupied for a week. Most of the humanitarian groups I’ve heard on the air and on the media are saying they need money at this time, not volunteers, but I’m trying to reach several that are looking for people to go.

Logic Gap?

I tried something today I thought worked pretty well. It’s something new for LPJ, and I think it will be a great addition to the site. I spend a bunch of time in the car heading back and forth from Glen to Berlin, and now I’ve got a way to put it to better use. Check it out:

I’m putting in two versions to see which people like better as well. One is YouTube and the other is Vimeo.

This is the first installment, I think, but it seems worth continuing. Again, as always, this is my blog, not the Berlin Reporter’s, just for clarity sake, so don’t expect breaking news or a newspaper’s objectivity. I try to be open to both sides, but I’m doing this for fun without an editor looking over my shoulder. Read it for pleasure and feel free to contribute.

I’m looking for a name for the the video segment; if you have any good ideas let me know. I was thinking Logic Gap, because down south notches are called gaps, and I plan to do it over that drive. I am not always logical, but I thought it worked. Let me know your thoughts on the video, which one you like, and your thoughts on the Logic Gap name.

Thanks.

Next Step—NYC

I’m trying to improve and expand my reporting skills and repertoire, so I’ve applied to the John Jay College Center for Media, Crime and Justice Guggenheim Fellowship. I’d go to NYC for a weekend, learn a bunch, then come back and do a big story on something related to police and crime. Here’s my pitch, we’ll see if I get it.

Police departments in post-industrial communities

Berlin, N.H., was devastated by the decline of the paper industry, with economic consequences akin to industrial cities in the Midwest. The streets are lined with boarded up storefronts and burned out buildings, and there were 20 suspicious fires last year. Two weeks ago two men were shot during a home invasion; one died. Officers face challenges usually not associated with a community of 10,000 people in rural New Hampshire; challenges they didn’t face 30 years ago, though the city had double the current population.
I will examine how police departments in cities reeling from industrial collapse react to and combat the rise of violent crime as their cities hollow to shells of their former selves.
This phenomenon isn’t limited to Berlin—Lewiston, Maine, two hours east, is on the same river that supported the same industry. It is going through a similar transition, but the transition phase has become everyday life.
Despite efforts to kick-start their economies, the downward spiral continues. Low property values and an abundance of multi-unit properties have made it profitable for landlords to purchase buildings and turn them into slums. The low cost of living entices poor people to migrate to Berlin, or in Lewiston, African refugees to settle. The cities have been changing rapidly, and longtime residents watched from their porches as the transformation unfolded. The police have watched as well.
They are caught in the middle: remembering the old city, policing the new one. They face problems and situations they are ill equipped to handle, with shrinking budgets, changing demographics and limited support. I will report on what those departments do to make up for the shortcomings, and where and how those efforts are lacking.

Sensational News

After a few comments about sensationalism, and then an opportunity for truly sensational reporting, it couldn’t be a better time to talk about the subject.

This is a photo of the door knob not at the house on Third Avenue, but at the house on Western Avenue where they found the man now in the hospital. I knocked on the door to see if I could find someone to talk to about the incident on Friday, and then I noticed the blood. Not just on the door handle, but on the door, the floor and the window. It won’t appear in the paper, because any blood is too much for a local weekly like the Reporter, but it’s worth posting here for discussion.

What level or “right to know” do people have? What level of self-censorship should papers exhibit? A dead body would never make it into the local paper, but there are heated debates about publishing photos of caskets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. How are those discussions separated? Should they be? The funeral for man who was killed is today, and many papers would expect at least a photo. Is that appropriate? How do you react when you see something like that in the paper?

I have no interest in covering shootings. I love to follow the debates and politics, the policy discussions, and tensions between opposing sides in any forum. It is fascinating the agreements people reach, particularly in a small community, because, as one local public official told me recently, the person you are shouting at during a council meeting might be up pulling you out of a ditch the following night. This is an environment ripe for compromises.
Those debates are an integral part of reporting. They are the essence of politics, and I’m always psyched to cover them.

But then someone gets shot. I am the person covering Berlin for my paper, so of course it is my story. I was knocking on people’s doors at 616 Third Ave. in the rain on Friday, thinking how glad I am this is a rare occurrence in Berlin. I heard facts and details that won’t make the paper, and really don’t need to. What is the public’s right to know in this regard? Why do people care about? As a reporter out asking the questions, I had to wonder.

But as a consumer of news, I want to know what is going on. The incident that unfolded in Seattle yesterday, for example, is powerful and nationally significant, and I hope reporters don’t stop covering such stories. Maybe it’s just the wrong beat for me—I know lots of people who dread sitting through a planning board meeting.

I can’t affect any meaningful change by reporting on the shooting, and so I have trouble seeing the value in my doing it. It isn’t like it’s maintaining the press’ watchdog role to find out who shot who. No additional information about the gunshot wounds or the assault the preceded the shooting will do anything to keep a 23 year old man from having died on the street. The social pressures, the economic disparities, the societal influences that led these men to invade a home interest me; the direct result of the incident does not. Reporting about corruption or starvation or war, where someone can still do something to make it better makes sense to me, but it’s hard to see how this story will help people avoid a similar fate.
Other reporters don’t share my view on this. I heard one colleague got a phone call from a friend congratulating them on covering their first shooting. That would be a call I would not take.

City Manager Pat MacQueen compared Berlin to Mayberry several weeks ago. It’s ironic that so soon afterward there is a shooting that leaves one dead and one in the ICU. How is the local paper supposed to cover that? How is it supposed to tiptoe between the good and the bad in a community?
Berlin has lots of both. I’m constantly impressed with the city’s ability to rise above the devastating circumstances surrounding it, but at the same time I can’t ignore or stop reporting the bad. I would rather be covering the opening of ATV trails and new businesses than covering shootings, but I would be remiss if I did only one or the other. I’d rather be following the debate in city hall than avoiding the blood on Western Avenue.

So what is sensational? What is inappropriate? If some people want to know, and some don’t, who should the paper cater to? Normally these would be editorial decisions I wouldn’t be involved in, but because the Reporter is so small they are part of every story I cover. While most people will agree there is no value in a photo of a blood-stained door knob, what is the value of a story about incident that left the stain? How should the paper cover it? If it humanizes the people involved, does that treat ignore the crime they were attempting to commit? How do you tell the story of the life of the man that was shot to death when committing a crime? People sent flowers to his funeral, so some people obviously still care about him. I find it hard to believe anyone is all bad, but how do you do justice to all sides? How can a paper navigate those treacherous waters?
Those questions ought to be above my pay grade. In a small community like Berlin, however, they aren’t. The questions aren’t sensational, and the answers aren’t easy.