At the Rutland Herald, the Medium is the Massage

Every editor and reporter knows what it means to massage a story. At the Rutland Herald, though, they take the M-word literally. See the August 11 post from Darren Marcy at the daily's Vermont Today website:

Massage time

Today is a big day. A huge day. It's massage day at the Rutland Herald.

The company generously provides 20-minute massages for employees once a month.

It may not sound like much, but I look forward to my 20 minutes of horizontal heaven for 29 1/2 days every month.

Today's magic fingers time is 1:40 p.m.

So, if you hear a huge sigh at about 1:42 p.m. today in downtown Rutland, you'll know what is going on.

Longtime WDEV radio man retires, WPTZ weatherman starts BBQ restaurant

Jack Donovan will retire on August 31 after 39 years at WDEV, according to an article in the World newspaper.

Donovan has been a major on-air personality, and for 15 years has also served as program director. He was inducted into the Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2010. Listeners have enjoyed the on-air, tongue-in-cheek adversarial relationship between him and station owner Ken Squier.

"His consistent daily effort six days a week over all those years is extraordinary," Station Manager Eric Michaels said. "The warmth and friendliness of Jack's on-air presentation is an ideal that few announcers achieve." A longtime resident of Plainfield, he and his wife Diane have three children, Heather, Patricia and James.



After more than a decade at the station, Jim Moore will be leaving WPTZ/WNNE-TV, according to an online posting August 11.
.

"It has been an honor delivering the morning weather reports at WPTZ/WNNE for the past 11 years," said Moore. He will be leaving the television business to start a new BBQ restaurant in Plattsburgh, NY. It's been Jim's life-long dream to run his own business.

 

"Jim's been a rock for our morning team over the years," said News Director Sinan Sadar. "His enthusiasm has been a great asset in front of as well as behind the camera. He will be missed."

 

Jim's last day is Friday August,12. WPTZ will announce a new morning meteorologist, shortly.

Is Fair Online Search In Sight?

The controversy continues as search engine fairness, or the possible lack of it by Google, becomes an issue in the online search realm. The FTC has begun an investigation of Google and their recent practices and the US Senate is now following suit.

As Google’s goal of providing consumers with a “free” service turns into a $30 billion organization, many are left questioning Google’s intentions, as “Google can use its control over search to take all of their customers away regardless of how well these other companies do their own jobs,” says Eric Clemons, Professor at The Wharton School.

To read more about why there is reason for investigating Google, click here: http://www.fairsearch.org/search-manipulation/wharton-professor-clemons-google-certainly-worthy-of-investigation

This September, The Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights (incl. Sen. Patrick Leahy) will hold a hearing on Wednesday, September 21^st entitled “The Power of Google: Serving Consumers or Threatening Competition?”

To read more and learn about the details, click here: http://www.fairsearch.org/uncategorized/senate-antitrust-subcommittee-announces-sept-21-hearing-the-power-of-google-serving-consumers-or-threatening-competition

I look forward to learning the outcome of this hearing.

It is interesting that there are three major Vermont public figures at least tangentially involved: AG William Sorrell, Sen. Patrick Leahy, and former gubernatorial candidate and Google executive Matt Dunne. Also, who wins and who loses may seriously affect many web-based Vermont businesses and media, as increasingly search capability is part of their business strategy.

COMING & GOING - Governor's Press Secretary off to law school; another second generation addition to statehouse press corps

Yesterday, vermontpressconnections met Eli Sherman, the son of Bob Sherman, former Vermont journalist and currently a partner with KSE Partners, a Montpelier lobbying firm. An intern reporter for Vermont Digger, he was covering Gov. Peter Shumlin's press conference. They may have been there, but we didn't see any reporters from WCAX - if so that may explain why there's an ad in the paper for a general assignment reporter at the South Burlington TV station.

This morning, we received a note from former WCAX reporter and current gubernatorial press secretary Bianca Slota:

Dear colleagues, friends, members of the media, and more:

As many of you already know, I am leaving my position in the Governor’s Office to start a new adventure in law school. Tomorrow – Friday July 29^th – will be my final day at work.

Sue Allen will handle all press-related matters from here on out. You can reach her at susan.allen@state.vt.us  And Ari Wengroff will be taking over my social media and web responsibilities. You can reach her at ariel.wengroff@state.vt.us  You can reach them both by phone at 802-828-3333.

While it has been brief, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in this position. Being on the “inside” gives you a whole new perspective on things and I have learned so much. Plus, I get to work with amazing people every day.

I will be in Vermont through the weekend but will pack up my things early next week and head to Connecticut. I don’t know if I’ll return to Vermont to live and work but I will certainly come back to play! If you wish to keep in touch my personal email is biancaslota@gmail.com

So long for now,

Bianca

Digger scores six-figure grant from Knight Foundation for investigative reporter

Vermontpressconnections has been busy, but we haven't gone away! The following release from Vermont Digger got our attention -


MIDDLEBURY, VT – The Vermont Community Foundation recently received a three-year, $104,000 grant to build the capacity of public policy journalism in Vermont. The Foundation will partner with VTDigger.org, a nonprofit news website that provides in-depth coverage of statewide issues affecting Vermonters. The funding will allow VTDigger.org to hire a full-time investigative reporter to cover health care and energy issues in Vermont. It will also allow Founder and Editor in Chief Anne Galloway the chance to extend her energies beyond reporting.


“VTDigger.org has grown from a very low budget, all-volunteer operation to a funded news organization with paid staffers in just two years,” says Galloway. “This generous grant will enable us to deepen our coverage of key issues that affect the daily lives of Vermonters and make it possible for us to focus on building the long-term sustainability of VTDigger.org.”

The grant was awarded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as a part of its Knight Community Information Challenge. The challenge is a five-year, $24 million initiative that helps community and place-based foundations support news and information projects that inform and engage residents. The Vermont Community Foundation is one of only 19 foundations throughout the country that was selected to receive a grant this round, and will match Knight’s grant dollar-for-dollar with contributions from their funds and larger supporting organizations.

“Strong democracy depends on strong journalism and informed debate,” said President & CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation Stuart Comstock-Gay. “Vermont stands out as a state with very high levels of citizen engagement, but we still need good information. We’re thrilled that the Knight Foundation has identified our proposal as worthy of funding.”

VTDigger.org first launched in 2009 when a group of concerned citizens and journalists, led by Galloway, came together to create a platform for fact-driven reporting and open debate on key issues impacting Vermonters. Now with 50,000 readers a month, VTDigger.org publishes daily stories on Vermont politics and public policy matters and serves as a critical resource for lawmakers and community leaders tracking down information on key issues.

When asked what sets VTDigger.org apart from other news sources, Galloway says: “Our total focus is on politics and public policy and we tend to write frequently and relentlessly about a given topic. Traditional papers tend to cover the end game of lawmaking, not the process.”

Galloway cites their extensive coverage around health care, broadband infrastructure, and campaign finance reform as particular points of pride for the nascent organization. This summer, VTDigger.org also launched Tipster – a virtual, public newsroom with the functionality of a social networking site like Facebook.

Designed to facilitate interaction among readers and journalists, Tipster users can suggest questions and post tips and source materials for reporters. “Official sources tend to drive the information in the news,” says Galloway. “Tipster is about bringing a more grassroots voice to the surface.”

In November 2010, VTDigger.org combined operations with The Vermont Journalism Trust (VJT), an organization dedicated to the funding of investigative reporting that provides scrutiny to under-covered issues and helps Vermonters make civic policy decisions based on informational integrity. “VTDigger.org is the ideal platform on which to build out Vermont Journalism Trust’s commitment to expanding quality journalism in all media,” said VJT Founding Director Doug Clifton at the time of the merger.

“The Vermont Community Foundation and others like it are part of a growing number of community and place-based foundations working to ensure residents have the information they need to make important decisions about their communities,” said Trabian Shorters, Knight Foundation’s vice president for engaging communities. “Ultimately, our democracy will only thrive if we have informed and engaged communities.”

About The Vermont Community Foundation

The Vermont Community Foundation was founded in 1986 with a mission to grow philanthropy in the state and ensure that donors and nonprofits have the resources they need to be effective. Since then, almost 600 individuals, families, businesses, organizations, and private foundations have established funds with us. Our family of funds award more than $10 million a year in grants. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.vermontcf.org or call 802-388-3355.

About VTDigger.org

VTDigger.org is a statewide news website dedicated to coverage of Vermont politics, consumer affairs, business and public policy. Created in 2009, VTDigger.org publishes original news reporting, video, audio and photos, in addition to raw information in the form of press releases and government documents whenever possible. New content is published six days a week, Monday through Saturday.

About The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities, and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more information, visit www.knightfoundation.org.

Contact:

Christopher Kaufman Ilstrup
The Vermont Community Foundation
(802) 388-3355, ext. 295
cilstrup@vermontcf.org
Anne Galloway
VTDigger.org
(802) 441-1016
agalloway@vtdigger.org
Marc Fest
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
(305) 908-2677
fest@knightfoundation.org

Google search algorithm controversy has Vermont players, ramifications

I am vaguely aware that an algorithm is an important part of trigonometry, the high school course I dropped a week into the semester, thus ending my unimpressive career as a math scholar. And I am just tech-savvy enough to know that search engines use algorithms to answer “googles.”

Yesterday I listened to a discussion led by FairSearch.org, an organization of small-to-middling internet based companies committed to, well, fair searches on the internet. It seems there is a controversy stirring about search engine fairness or the possible lack of it by Google, the big boy on the block. Somewhat to my surprise there are three major Vermont public figures involved, or at least connected. Who wins and who loses may seriously affect many web-based Vermont businesses and media.

Fairsearch is concerned about Google’s new search algorithm. In short, this algorithm responds to your search with an answer that is very likely to send you immediately to a website owned by a Google partner, very possibly another internet giant. For example: let’s say you are goofing off at your Manhattan office desk and ask your computer search engine to find “Bed and Breakfast in Cambridge, Vermont.” Does the search engine rush to tell you about a B&B opened recently on Main Street by a friend of mine? Maybe, but it is more likely to send you to a big national or international website that just happens to be a Google partner. The algorithm is making you work harder to find the Little Guy’s website. You can still “get there from here.” It just takes longer.

According to Fairsearch, this is all about big corporate power and control. On the face it, this is bad business for small Vermont businesses – the same folks who buy community newspaper advertising. As their marketing partners, Vermont newspaper publishers want to encourage policies that highlight them. In the old-fashioned newspaper terms that I understand, Google has given a few select advertisers a constant, preferred position on the Front Page. By comparison, smaller internet-dependent businesses are relegated to the gutter. On the left hand side. On page 10.  

According to Fairsearch, a committee chaired by Sen. Patrick Leahy is investigating the situation. Attorney General William Sorrell will chair a panel discussion of this (and other) issues in Chicago next week. At the very least, these meetings should yield information. So, too, might some reportorial Q & A with Matte Dunne, a former Windsor County state senator and candidate for governor who works as a marketing executive for Google. During his campaign, he talked about being on the cutting edge of internet communications. His perspective might be helpful and interesting.

The Wall Street Journal has a story on this; if you have access, “Sites Rotool for Google Effect” is at:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703806304576236983790385202.html. Or, you can reach Vermont's Fairsearch team at 802-223-9160.

Vermont Digger to debut interactive feature June 8

Vermont Digger has a new interactive feature called Tipster, set to begin June 8. The following notice was received today from Editor Anne Galloway:

Tipster is designed to give you an opportunity to communicate directly with reporters and place news information in an open, virtual newsroom where reporters, readers and other PR professionals congregate online.

As a spokesperson, you can post press releases, statements, advisories, tidbits and media placements under a special call-out to readers called PR posts. You can also post events listings.

Like Facebook, on Tipster you can friend members (or not).

You can post events listings, and upload images, links and PDFs as needed.

Nonmembers can view the forum, groups, postings and events, but cannot access complete postings or participate in forums. Profiles of members are inaccessible to nonmembers.

Through the group forums, you can start topics, hold open discussions -- or take a conversation offline in a private message.