Category Archives: The media

Point of Spousal Privilege

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I’ve been told that Governor Shumlin’s wife is a fan of this blog. Oh well, let’s alienate another regular… 

Apparently when you’re married to the governor, you get to use his ceremonial office as a sounding board for your pique.

That’s the lesson I drew from Katie Hunt’s art installation, on display in hubby’s ceremonial office at the Statehouse. There are two works, each comprised of a set of papier mache figures. And it’s hard not to see them as Hunt’s own personal Festivus celebration with the Vermont media as the recipient of her Airing of Grievances.

Deets, and pictures, after the jump.

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But why, VPR?

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Vermont Public Radio is the most richly endowed media operation in the state. It sits securely atop the nonprofit world as well, and many nonprofits privately bemoan VPR’s ability to suck all the oxygen out of the room.

It does a lot of good stuff. But once again, it has taken a step that makes me question its civic-mindedness. We think of VPR as a news organization; but when you look at how it spends its time and resources, you have to conclude that what it really is, is a lifestyle brand for comfortable white folks. VPR has three primary functions, in this order:

1. Outlet for NPR and other network programming. Carriage fees eat up a large percentage of VPR’s budget.

2. Producer of infotainment programming aimed at those near the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy.

3. News organization.

The latest emission from Your Favorite Lifestyle Brand is a podcast entitled “But Why?” It’s a platform for children to submit questions about anything and everything, and provide engaging and easily digestible answers.

This follows VPR’s other recent infotainment initiatives:

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Keith Knight!!!!

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Drove down to Dartmouth College today for a talk by one of my favorite comic artists, a guy who ought to be much more well-known than he is: Keith Knight, creator of three (count ‘em — three) syndicated comics. Hardest-working man in the funny papers.

Knight, for those tragically unaware, is a young black man whose work features a rich and dynamic mix of political commentary, true-life narrative, goofball humor, and a visual style that’s bursting with energy.

I first came across his original creation, The K Chronicles, in the comics pages of Seven Days. Unfortunately, a couple years ago the paper revamped its comics and dropped the strip. I don’t know if it was too black or too funny or what, but it was a great loss. Fortunately, you can find his work online and he’s published a half-dozen compilations, some of which are still in print.

The subject of his talk is a sadly recurring theme in his work: police violence against African-Americans. It was entitled “They Shoot Black People, Don’t They?” which is also the title of a published collection of his work on the subject. “I’ve been doing comics about police brutality for 20 years. I’m sick of it.”

A recent example after the jump.

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Shoot the Messenger

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As its final months drag onward, the Shumlin administration is remaining true to one of its core principles: Shoot the messenger. We have two prime examples of this time-tested strategery today: a top state official slams a respected media outlet, a move that has backfired big-time in the past; and the administration puts a big fat price tag on transparency.

First, Lawrence Miller, Vermont Health Connect czar, has beef with VTDigger.

[Miller] testified Wednesday in the House and challenged the veracity of a VTDigger story that said the state has been unhappy with its current Vermont Health Connect contractor and is negotiating with another company.

… [Miller said] that any frustration he expressed in emails was a normal part of negotiations.

Digger’s earlier story had quoted emails from a state official expressing dissatisfaction with VHC contractor Optum. Which would be noteworthy, since Optum was supposedly the savior of Vermont Health Connect. Miller pooh-poohed the story’s assertion, saying that a certain amount of “friction” is a normal part of the process.

Maybe that’s true, but here’s the problem. This is the same “Lawrence Miller” who was in charge of the Agency for Commerce and Community Development when it was happily attempting to both promote and regulate the ill-fated EB-5 program. He headed ACCD from 2011 to 2014, when he was tasked with cleaning up the Vermont Health Connect mess.

In other words, Miller has been hip-deep in two of the Shumlin administration’s signature disasters. Is it possible he negotiated Shumlin’s original land deal with jerry Dodge?

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You can’t blame the ethics issue on the media

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Jeanette White never wanted ethics reform.

The Putney Democrat and chair of the Senate Government Operations Committee made that clear, over and over again. And she blamed a tried-and-true scapegoat for bringing it up:

The issue of ethics and the lack of an ethics commission has been of great interest over the last year or so to the media. How many Vermonters are passionate about the issue is not clear…

Which was obvious bulldookie at the time. But now I’ve got evidence from an unexpected source.

Researchers at Illinois State University have been involved in a lengthy study of corruption in state politics. They took an unusual approach: seeking the perceptions of reporters covering state politics and corruption issues. They reasoned that corruption cases are handled differently in different states, so rates of indictment and conviction might be grossly misleading. Just because, for instance, New York has pursued several high-profile cases doesn’t mean its politics are more corrupt than, say, New Jersey’s. Perception-based studies have their own limitations, but it’s a different way to evaluate what’s going on.

Turns out that in Vermont, reporters see the state as fundamentally clean, untainted by political sleaze. Vermont ranked near the top in most categories, and overall was one of the “cleanest” states in the country in the eyes of our own allegedly cynical media corps.

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Bull Invited to China Shop

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Lock up your daughters, good people. Yours truly will be a panelist on tonight’s edition of “Vermont This Week,” Vermont PBS’ often-somnolent weekly news-in-review show. (It tends to proceed at a stately and predictable pace, as if trying to hike through the forest without breaking any twigs.)

I am honored, truly. The show is a little too staid for my taste, but heck, it’s not my show. And I have no plans to wreck the place; the panel’s role is to analyze the news, not burn the house down. Just as, when I sit in for Mike Smith on WDEV Radio’s daily talk show, I treat guests and their views with courtesy and respect.

I will try to enliven the proceedings a bit. But don’t expect any foul language or ad hominem attacks.

Of course, the show is taped a few hours in advance, so if I can’t control myself, the result is unlikely to befoul your living room. If my reputation proceeds me, they might designated a control-room operator to hold a finger above the CUT button whenever I’m talking. Which would be an honor of a different sort.

Vermont This Week, tonight at 8:30 7:30* on your favorite public television station. Also posted online for your convenient viewing pleasure.

*More evidence that I Am A Idiot.

Update from the Free Press: “Never Mind”

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Earlier today, the Burlington Free Press posted an alarming story on its homepage. It quoted Michael Goldberg, the attorney currently operating Jay Peak and Q Burke, as saying the resorts were almost out of money and might permanently close.

I saw that, had the predictable “WTF” reaction, and wrote a post immediately.

The Free Press’ story was a stub, the industry term for a short urgent item that will be updated when more facts become available. And boy, what an update.

The full story confirms that the two resorts are cash-poor — but there’s still plenty of potential for their future, and Goldberg says he will “find a way to keep Jay Peak open, and open Q Burke Hotel in the fall.” He adds that there are already two high-profile hotel chains sniffing around Q Burke.

Well, that’s kinda different.

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Erasing the line at the Freeploid

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So I visited the Burlington Free Press’ website, just to see if they had anything new to report.

And there, in the prime spot on the homepage, the location for its biggest story, I saw this:

Screen Shot 2016-04-08 at 5.41.59 PM

Hmm, I thought. Strange time to be putting a feature article about Q Burke on the homepage, After all, the resort has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately — thanks to Bill Stenger’s continued struggles with state regulators over his EB-5 investment scheme.

And then I thought, well, they’ve got to fill that “Freshies” section somehow, so I guess they’re filling their news hole with a dual-purpose soft feature. Advertiser-friendly, but not outrageous.

But then I clicked on the link and scrolled down through the story. Which is, in fact, a very soft feature about Q Burke. And at the bottom was this note about the writer:

Jessica B. Sechler is marketing manager at Q Burke Mountain Resort.

Aww, jeezus. Really, Free Press? Advertiser-provided content occupying the best real estate on your homepage? Formatted as if it was actual journalism?

I guess their Church/State wall has been reduced to rubble. Hey, advertisers, c’mon down! It’s all for sale at the Burlington Free Press!

Metapost: theVPO on the air

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On Thursday morning, I’ll be guest hosting “Open Mike” on WDEV Radio. Live broadcast from 9-11 a.m., also live streamed on WDEV’s website.

Should be a great show. In the first hour, I’ll be speaking with David Hall, the Mormon millionaire who wants to create a planned community in Tunbridge, Strafford, Royalton and Sharon that could house up to 20,000 people. As far as I know, this will be his first extensive radio interview since his plans hit the news.

My post on the topic, subtly entitled “The Mormons are Coming! The Mormons are Coming!” elicited a response from Mr. Hall himself, which led to an email exchange and, ultimately, his accepting my invitation to the interview. He has denied some of my more outrageous concerns; according to him, this community is based on ideas from Joseph Smith, but it is not intended as a Mormon outpost. Rather, it would be open to anyone willing to commit to a sustainable, planned community.

Second hour should be lively as well. My guest will be James Lockridge, founder and head of The Big Heavy World Foundation, a Burlington-based nonprofit that promotes Vermont music in a host of ways. He’s had his differences with the Burlington and Vermont arts establishment, which he sees as excessively insular and not supportive of new, bold ideas. I also plan to talk with him about the importance of the arts for (1) our economy and (2) attracting young people to Burlington and Vermont.

WDEV’s at 96.1 FM and 550 AM. The FM signal is strong on the I-89 corridor from Montpelier to Burlington; the AM is pretty strong in all directions. Hope you can join me!

Your Daily Free Press, a shell of its former self

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A bit of unintended irony in Friday’s Burlington Free Press. Page A13 featured a nice article about the awards given to the Freeploid by the Vermont Press Association.

Which, okay, whatever. The Free Press ought to take home a bunch of awards from the VPA. It is, by far, the biggest newspaper in the state. For the Freeploid, winning VPA awards is kind of like a 14-year-old faking his age and playing in Little League. Substantial built-in advantage.

But then, on page C3, there was a prime example of the Free Press’ diminished status. The page contained a column of Business Briefs, a series of items ripped straight from press releases and deployed to occupy space on a day when ad sales fall a bit short.

The first of the three started like this:

Walmart gives pay raises to 753 in Vermont

Walmart gave the largest single-day, privatesector [sic] pay increase ever on March 10 to more than 1.2 million Walmart and Sam’s Club employees in the United States, including 753 in Vermont. All employees hired before Jan. 1, 2016, will earn at least $9.60 an hour.

Well, isn’t that nice. How generous of an enterprise not known for its generosity.

But wait. Didn’t Vermont’s minimum wage just go up?

Why yes, in fact, it did. On January 1, the state minimum wage increased to… wait for it… $9.60 an hour.

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