The Maine Media is a Mess

Standby for The Crash Report’s Major Expansion

It’s gotta suck being a reporter for ANY of the “Legacy Media” outlets in Maine. Imagine a job where — day in and day out — you’re expected to always produce more content for the same pay while a cloud of imminent doom lingers overhead. Not to mention, your bosses make tons more cash than you while having no friggin’ clue how to adapt to a changing industry. Which, for reporters, means job insecurity and career uncertainty, all because their chosen profession teeters on the edge of collapse.

That’s gotta be the vibe for staffers at the Portland Press Herald and the other media folks laboring in the trenches for the various Maine entities owned by the “National Trust For Local News.” The NTLN is the Englewood, Colorado non-profit that, in 2023, bought the whole kit and caboodle of Maine weeklies and dailies (including Kennebec Journal in Augusta, the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, the Lewiston Sun-Journal and Brunswick’s Times Record) from the eccentric Reade Brower, a direct mail marketer turned Maine-media titan.

I’ve always been skeptical of non-profit media companies. I’m not saying non-profit media outlets are always doomed, but it takes a whole lot of skill, brains or cash to do real journalism. And, for better or worse, the “for-profit” model (with a handful of exceptions) in general have the most success.

The non-profit outlets that do succeed USUALLY have an honorable and unique mission or are simply tools of evil rich weirdos with a reprehensible agenda. (More on that later.)

Press Herald’s Top Dog Make Big Bucks, Lays Off Freelancers, then Quits

It was announced on Jan. 29, via a Press Herald story, that NTLN CEO Elizabeth Hansen-Shapiro, the actual big boss for most of Maine’s media workers, was resigning just four years after founding the non-profit and a year-and-a-half after taking over the Maine media chain. No reason given, other than gobbledygook.

“We have built something extraordinary together, demonstrating that a new model of stewardship is possible – one that honors both preservation and innovation while proving that local journalism remains vital to our communities,” Hansen-Shapiro said in a written statement according to the Press Herald story. “I am deeply grateful to our team, partners and supporters who helped bring this vision to life and I look forward to continuing to support local journalism and championing its future in new ways.”

Hansen-Shapiro, btw, earned a whopping $370k in 2023, up from $231k in 2022 and $116k in 2021, according to the non-profit’s 990 IRS filing. We won’t know until later this year what she earned in 2024, but by then her reign of error at the PPH et al will be a distant memory.

As someone who has worked in the Maine media for over 30 years, I can say, without a doubt, there’s no chance in hell that she deserved such a huge paycheck and pay hike of $100k annually. Especially since last month, the PPH laid off all the local freelance columnists like gardening guru Tom Atwell and longtime sports-scribe Tom Caron, who, I’m pretty sure, got paid a pittance for their local knowledge and well-written essays.

The non-profit’s 990 also provides a rare glimpse behind the curtain of newspaper revenue and budget numbers and we can see very basic but specific earnings numbers and expenses for the non-profit’s Maine endeavor. According to the 990, the Maine media conglomerate brought in $18,822,837 with $25,702,709 as “end of year assets.”

What’s that mean? I dunno. I’m not an accountant and the NTLN IRS filings aren’t a simple profit and loss statement. However, according to the 990, NTLN received over $25,000,000 in grants in 2023. From whom? Who knows? There’s no mention of the source for such largesse. One thing is for sure, though. They didn’t use the cash to beef up the staffing levels and expand reporting.

Instead, Hansen-Shapiro made sure the executive staff was well compensated. The total salaries for she and her five person team, according to the 990, was $1,090,853. To put that in perspective, the average reporter salary in the PPH newsroom is around $50,000. Meaning the earnings of the non-profit’s six person exec team could pay for about 22 reporters.

The current Press Herald news staff, according to the newspaper’s website, is 26. And that’s the total writing staff for the news, sports and arts coverage.

For context, when I started in the biz in 1993, covering So Po and Gorham for the American Journal, the PPH newsroom was gigantic. Close to 70 staff writers. There was a full-time reporter for almost every municipality in southern Maine. Plus, several reporters in the State House, a couple in the courts and one or two covering various cop beats. Not to mention arts, culture and business reporters.

Lately, watching the PPH et al is like watching a slowly sinking ship. Most of the top editors and many of the talented bylines have left for academia, public relations or flacking for big biz and gov’t. Which means lots of historical references and institutional memory have vanished. Meanwhile, the remaining competent reporters and editors worry — rightly so — that despite doing good work and publishing important stories — their future is uncertain.

Until there’s drastic change, the layoffs will continue, with jobs slashed until the last reporter is replaced by a ‘bot.

If the NTLN is willing to give me a shot at running the whole shebang, I’d create a super-paper by merging all the properties together to create one powerful and aggressive news-gathering apparatus. I’d make sure there was staff across the state, especially in Aroostook and Washington Counties, two under-reported regions with tons of stories and scoops for the taking. This monster-media would be all digital, except for a print edition of the Maine Sunday Telegram that would feature stories not published on-line until the following week.

Just kidding. I don’t want to work for the NTLN. They can have the mega-paper idea for free.

Bangor Daily Fires Opinion Columnists, Gives Politicians, Lobbyists and Weirdos Free Booze to Promote New Product

Unfortunately, Maine’s only for-profit daily newspaper isn’t doing a better job navigating the media landscape. Last week, the bosses at the Bangor Daily News decided to fire all the local opinion page columnists, including political scientist Amy Fried and longtime chud-enabler and host of the “WGAN Morning News” Matt Gagnon. According to an explanation written by Susan Young, editorial page editor, “interest in newspaper opinion content has waned significantly in recent years, not just here, but nationally. While we have deeply appreciated its dedicated, but small, following, we realize we are not serving the majority of people who read the BDN.”

I’m not buying it. As a longtime observer, I can assure you tons of folks read the opinion pieces — even the chuddish agitprop by Gagnon — and look to the columnists for trusted insight about complex issues. If the bosses don’t get that, they’re even more disconnected from readership than I’d thought.

Which makes me think the real reason for killing the opinion page has to be fiscal. And that means times are tight at the Bangor Daily, because these writers were paid weekly in chicken scratch and/or peanuts for their columns.

Another sign of the bad times ahead for the Bangor Daily newsroom is the introduction of their new-and-improved “Maine Politics Insider,” a five-day a week “premium politics newsletter for Maine.” That’s right, for a mere $35 per month, you get to read exclusive content penned by staff that, in the olden days of media, would have been provided to all readers of the paper as part of the basic subscription that’s currently set at $19.99 per month.

Here’s what the BDN is promising:“Maine Politics Insider [is] a product targeted at policymakers, lobbyists, the private sector and anyone else who counts themselves as an ardent follower of news about government, policy and elections.”

The Insider, apparently, will “round up the biggest political stories for [sic] our political team with commentary and provide exclusive access to tips, responsibly sourced gossip and data that we track. We will also have a calendar of events and other information useful to political observers.”

Not sure what “responsibly-sourced gossip” is, but in journalism, when you have two sources confirming the same story, it’s called “news.”

I’m not sure readers are gonna fall for that sales pitch. It’s not like the BDN gets lots of scoops in their political coverage and def not enough to merit 15 bucks more than the normie monthly subscription. Plus, the super-subscription is a dangerous precedent and a step towards making access to content even more exclusionary.

Another weird thing about the BDN’s new product was the launch party for the endeavor, held Tuesday night in Augusta at Cushnoc Brewing, featuring free booze, pizza and appetizers. The newspaper promoted the event as a “pre-game” to Governor Mills’ “State of the State” speech.

According to the invite for the event, party-goers would be able to “dive into the state of Maine's politics while enjoying great company and delicious drinks. This in-person event promises to be a fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow political enthusiasts and discuss the latest happenings in the state. Don't miss out on this unique chance to be part of the Maine politics scene - RSVP now!”

The BDN, a fairly conservative newspaper that repeatedly editorialized against legalizing cannabis for years, gave FREE BOOZE and food to so-called influencers BEFORE going to hear the governor speak about the lousy shit going on in America. Gotta say, that doesn’t sound like responsible civic journalism. Responsible civic journalism would have held the party after the speech, as a way to give political junkies and journalists from other news orgs a chance to drown their sorrows on the BDN’s bar tab.

Unfortunately, for the BDN, the event wasn’t well attended. In addition to a bunch of newspaper staffers, several sources guesstimated the actual number of guests to be around 35, including lobbyists, lawmakers and a couple weirdos.

I only have one confirmed chud sighting at the BDN soiree. According to multiple sources, State Rep. Laurel Libby attended the bash, before heading to the Governor’s speech. No word on if she partook in free librations or chow, but it’s not like she needed any fuel for her fire. Per usual, Rep. Libby encouraged Maine chuds — via email and Facebook Live — to turn out in full force to protest the gov’s speech.

The chuds were pissed, btw, because access to the balcony was restricted to invited guests. But that didn’t stop the dummies from yelling and screaming from the lobby, loud enough that their petulant man-boy antics could be heard inside the legislative chambers. There were so many state troopers and Capital cops scattered throughout the State House, though, that not even the biggest MAGA moron would dare try to burst their way through closed doors.

RE: MAGA morons: Probably no surprise to longtime Crash Report readers that Nick Blanchard, aka Corn Pop, aka the freakazoid I wrote about last week, was part of the Maine GOP's attempts to disrupt the evening’s proceedings.

The Maine Liar

Speaking of last week’s Crash Report about the mistake I made while messing with Blanchard, the chud harassing school board members and teachers across the state… The non-profit Maine Policy Institute’s hate-site, aka The Maine Wire, picked up on my mea culpea and re-packaged it as click bait, which was then regurgitated by the Daily Mail, a British on-line tabloid owned by Jonathan Harmsworth, the 4th Viscount of Rothermere, a member of the House of Lords.

Thing is, both the Maine Wire and Daily Mail got the details all wrong. Despite being a Bowdoin College grad, Maine Wire “editor” Steve Robinson must have poor reading comprehension (or he’s an intentional fabulist) because he published a piece claiming that I somehow got Blanchard — “young activist and Trump supporter” fired from his job at Dunkin.

For the record, Blanchard is a 35-year-old father, who moved to Maine five years ago, and has been harassing non-chuds ever since.

I have no clue where Robinson got that juicy morsel about me getting the chud canned from donut selling. All I reported, in connection to Dunkin, was that Blanchard was let go from the store manager-trainee program after the franchise owner ran a background check and learned about his shoplifting and criminal trespassing record. And the franchisee also probably found the Maine Wire stories reporting on Blanchard’s numerous attempts to disrupt school board meetings and mess with teenagers.

Next, the Daily Mail got involved, amplifying Robinson’s false narrative. And then Blanchard called into InfoWars to complain about me getting him fired from Dunkin.

Which (and I’m typing this slowly so the chuds understand) is not true. I had nothing to do with Blanchard getting dismissed from the donut store.

That being said, why would the Maine Policy Institute — a non-profit with an alleged mission to "expand individual liberty and economic freedom in Maine” decide to attack me for reporting on Blanchard, a J-6er with a penchant for being a disgusting asshole towards women and the LGBTQ community?

Who knows, but it’s pretty friggin’ stupid. And (according to pals who read the Maine Wire so I don’t have to) the comments accompanying Robinson’s story called for my castration and deportation from the United States.

What’s even more lame, though, is that for the last four years, the non-profit Maine Policy Institute’s Maine Wire has been spreading bullshit and lies about LGBTQ folk, New Mainers, school board members and teachers all on behalf their dark money overlords.

A particularly loathsome and racist habit of the Maine Wire, btw, is the recurring publication of mug shots of non-white people, while ignoring most Caucasian criminals.

The Maine Policy Institute, with an annual budget of $1.7 million in tax deductible donations, employs Robinson and several “reporters,” whose daily job is to write clickbait resulting in the harassment of vulnerable Mainers, while spreading public health disinfo and sowing hatred towards people of color.

All the while, the Maine Policy Institute has promoted white supremacists like Larry Lockman, homophobes like the now-dead Shawn McBreairty and boorish oafs like Paul LePage. They’ve amplified Christian-Nationalists like State Rep. Reagan Paul. They’ve platformed Q-anon supporters like State Rep. Katrina Smith (assistant leader for the Maine House GOP) and been consistent in their constant bootlicking of serial liars like Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham.

The trickle down impact is massive, among Maine chuds at least. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve seen and heard political extremists name-drop the Maine Wire as a way to legitimize their perceived grievance or victimhood. And all they have to do to garner sympathetic coverage is to cry on Robinson’s shoulder about the woke mob in order to garner positive coverage in the non-profit’s “news” site.

In case you’re wondering, the non-profit “news” org is overseen by Maine Policy Institute’s “CEO” Matt Gagnon, whose annual paycheck is $257,983. Yep, that’s the same Matt Gagnon, the columnist canned by the BDN last week. And that’s same Matt Gagnon who hosts the “WGAN Morning News,” where he makes about another 40k. So a non-profit media dude can earn almost $300k while supervising a team publishing hateful bullshit.

In comparison, the Maine Policy Institute make the NTLN and the PPH seem like a competent and well-run news org.

Super-Sizing The Crash Report

For many, these weird days often seem like the End Times. Not the apocalypse, though, that the Christo-Fash have been praying for. I’m talking about the collapse of polite society. The end of the American Experiment. The abandonment of the melting pot of democracy that made the U.S. into a beacon of hope for folks across the planet.

While the end is a legit fear, I also know that many Mainers aren’t ready to give up. Plus, I know people want to understand wtf is going on and how Trump’s executive orders will impact the vulnerable among us. And considering that Maine’s newspapers are on the verge of collapse, I understand that the legacy media isn’t up for the task of adequately explaining the impending doom and gloom.

That’s why I’ve convinced ten smart and talented writers to help shine light into the pending darkness. Hence, in mid-February, we’re going to re-launch The Crash Report, publishing twice-weekly with in-depth reporting from folks with deep knowledge about government, law, mutual aid, politics, economics, the immigrant experience and more, including Wartime Poet, verses by Maine rock icon (and Grammy-winning songsmith) Dave Gutter.

For those familiar with Maine’s legendary alt-papers, I envision The Crash Report as the lovechild of Casco Bay Weekly and Maine Times that grew up curious, defiant and knows how to use the Internet.

Our motto: “Afflict the Comfortable. Comfort the Afflicted.” We will be focusing on details and facts, not hot takes and “responsibly-sourced gossip.” And we’re limiting ourselves to publishing twice-weekly editions, so that we don’t overwhelm you, the reader, with bad news or turn the writers into nihilistic zombies.

To make this work, though, we need your support. I’ll be writing more about our new path soon, with a media manifesto announcing our contributors and features. Be forewarned: In a couple months, there’s gonna be a paywall: $7 monthly or 1/5 of the monthly fee for the Bangor Daily’s “new” product. For a better deal, chose the $70 annual plan, which turns out to be 0.01891891891891892 percent of the annual salary of the former PPH Boss.

(Attention current paid subscribers and those that sign up before 3/17/25: Your $6 monthly — or $60 annual — subscription will NOT increase when we raise the price of admittance.)

Not only will you receive important and illuminating writing about the impact MAGA extremism could have on life downeast, thanks to The Crash Report’s “Chud-Free Chat” (for paid subscribers) you’ll become part of a community working towards beating back the fash while connecting with like-minded concerned humans who care about the future of the great state of Maine. And you won’t have to deal with trolls, knuckleheads and MAGA morons.

If you appreciate words and work, please become a paid subscriber now to receive The Crash Report for six bucks monthly or $60 annually. Subscribe now and avoid the price increase on March 17, all while supporting my journalism and storytelling that goes places other media won’t.