Finally, Brindisi – which a year and a half earlier welcomed Independence to the city – announced that the city employees will no longer respond to any questions from the store unless legally required by the state of open records and until a resolution is heard. arrive Brindisi has lifted the ban, but this is the second order in three months.
Disputes between governments and libraries are a regular part of local media, but the story in Plymouth is a stark example of what can happen in communities that haven’t been given local stories recently, with city office to adjust research authors from new buildings. Another challenge for news outlets is trying to build an audience for independent reporting at a time when trust in news is low, and news outlets are struggling. to build sustainable businesses in the digital age.
“We are in an environment where people in positions of power feel that they can twist the Constitution to suit their needs, forgetting that their responsibility is to serve the public. ,” said Mark Pothier, a former Globe reporter and Plymouth resident. currently leads the Independent as editor and CEO, and wrote a column about the recent ban, to which Brindisi wrote a response.
While Plymouth is still covered in news by South Shore radio station WATD, its main source of local information is the more than 200-year-old Old Colony Memorial newspaper. Pothier was previously the chief executive of his parent company. The paper is still printed weekly under Gannett’s ownership, but the staff is small and recent editions have included few stories about Plymouth.
(Gannett said in a statement that its staff at Old Colony Memorial “remains the quality, local media that our valued community and readers rely on.”)
Tensions have been brewing between the city and Independence for months, over whether reporters can record public meetings and the interpretation of petitions. Email records from the campaign. The city’s police chief, Dana Flynn, also would not be contacted by Independence, citing concerns about Independence’s insurance policy and its “non-stop questions” and requests for information.
“You ask a question, I answer. It wasn’t good enough,” Flynn said.
Pothier defended the Independent’s ad, saying it was “doing what any news organization would do.”
Brindisi said in an interview that he had problems with several Independent articles, including one fat trap requirements for local restaurants, which included a line that said two business owners declined to comment for fear of retaliation from city officials. He described the Independent report as “a sign.”
“If we have made mistakes, we, myself included, we are open to criticism and answer. We have nothing to hide,” said Brindisi. “We need to make sure that the information being provided is fair and accurate, and that’s where I’m afraid the Plymouth Independent has missed the point.”
Brindisi told the Select Committee on December 22 that, until the dispute could be resolved, he ordered “all town appointees to cease all communication with Pl.” The ban was lifted on Wednesday.
“My hope is to get this out of the way,” Brindisi said, adding that he and Pothier spoke on the phone for about an hour. “We both agreed that neither of us was going anywhere and we had to work together.”
Local media outlets are looking at the situation in Plymouth as the latest example of the obstacles local business owners have faced as they try to enter the civic life of their communities.
Kelly McBride, a media analyst at the Florida-based Poynter Institute who reviewed articles and a piece written by Pothier about the communications ban, said the announcement sounded familiar and Brindisi may not have understood it. some reports.
“This local office seemed a little bit humble and a little bit inexperienced in the media,” McBride said.
If city officials need positive messages, that’s the public relations director’s job, McBride said.
“The news doesn’t exist to serve their interests,” McBride said. “Serving the citizens of the village”.
Sam Mintz, the founding editor of Brookline.News, which launched in 2023 after the closure of the city’s first newspaper, the Tab, said he had first-hand experience working on a difficult application of government and city records, which they finally solved.
And Mintz pointed out that some healthy practices and local offices are only natural for an independent news organization.
“The truth is, if you have a perfect, 100 percent happy and friendly relationship with the city as the editor of a local newspaper, I wonder if you’re doing your job to the best of your ability. possible,” added Mintz, who wrote recently. about how communities should adapt to local news for the Nieman Lab press release.
Pothier defended the Independent’s reporting and its staff, which included former Globe reporter Andrea Estes and former WBUR reporter Frederic Thys.
“We know how to report local news,” he said. “What he calls biased or unbalanced reports are just stories that may have opinions and opinions of people who disagree with them.”
Brindisi’s problems with the Independent’s coverage are often related to the description and framing, rather than the accuracy of the facts reported in the stories. For example, he felt a story about a canal project too much focus has been placed on cost overruns and environmental benefits have not been addressed. That’s why he called the store the “Plymouth Enquirer” in emails, a nod to the National Enquirer tabloid.
“I question what message they are trying to send to our community,” Brindisi said.
Other city officials, including Vice Chairman Kevin Canty, are “cautious and hopeful” that the relationship can be repaired over time.
“I continue to see the importance of having a professional relationship between the city and Independence,” Canty said. “The two institutions, by their nature, are not 100 percent yes, but they are still an important resource for our community and it is an important part of a healthy democracy to have a news in the local.”
Pothier said the donations have gone through, and the Independent — which he said has more than 23,000 newspaper owners in the city of about 65,000 residents — has published several letters from readers praising it. the shop and criticized Brindisi for his recent ban on communication.
“It’s really the last thing I want to do,” Pothier said of dealing with the ban. “From the very beginning, the purpose of the Plymouth Independent was to help foster a sense of community and address a wide range of issues.”
Aidan Ryan can be reached at aidan.ryan@globe.com. Follow him @aidanfitzryan.
#Plymouth #dispute #news #startups #city #officials #daily #reports #Boston #Globe