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stardust
Member since May 23, 2014
Recent Comments
Re: “Rutland Herald Fires News Editor Over Coverage of Paper’s Woes”
Have read the Herald since childhood when Bellows Falls was Southern VT Bureau with Barney Crosier heading it up. So a very sad day for everyone.
A year ago Grapevine reported circulation @ 9,000 unclear if this was for both papers.
Height if memory serves was '94 w/circ of 24,000.
Anyone who has had dealings with the Herald even on the customer level knows that this has been a slow-mo but steady decline which started following the passing of Bob Mitchel in '93 who along with the fine reporters, editorial page & VT press Bureau made it what it is today, or was yesterday more like it. John the younger just doesn't have the same soul. Decline in news quality seemed to follow departure of John Van Hoesen, now at VPR. Randall Smathers never filled the shoes.
Posted by
stardust
on 08/06/2016 at 1:08 PM
Re: “Media Note: Rutland Herald Staffers Revolt Over Payroll Problems”
During the legislative session of 2013 a law was proposed that would allow independent contractors (delivery drivers) to collect unemployment. John Mitchell the T-A & Herald owner lobbied the legislature claiming it would put the paper out of business.:
" ... John Mitchell, the publisher of the Times Argus and Rutland Herald, who has been a daily presence in the Statehouse this legislative session.
http://vtdigger.org/2013/04/26/amendment-t…
Following the failure to pass it, Herald then stopped signing contracts with their drivers while assuring them their jobs were secure.
Placed an ad in the paper looking for drivers & began systematically pulling their routes out from under them by stealth, filling them with drivers who agreed to less than the already paltry pay due to a vastly decreased circulation, a couple of them had been with Herald for decades.
So this story while somewhat surprising is not news for anyone having past dealings with the heavy-handed ruthlessness of Mitchel & Nelson.
Posted by
stardust
on 08/06/2016 at 12:18 PM
Re: “Media Note: Newly Named Rutland Herald, T-A Publisher Cited for DUI”
Black eye for a "newspaper" when forthcoming is absent and story buried or better yet- nonexistant. Gentrified and very special VIP treatment -- for "alleged" drunk driving of all things breathtakingly appalling, esp for a newspaper when stories including glossy pics are standard fare. Nice try in dragging it through back-to-back holiday news cycle and onto the weekend news dump folks! Blogosphere wins this one (again). What a surprise and how convenient -- a sudden promotion Soo, now the "real story" becomes...a promotion! Oh and in the TA/Herald version Ms. Nelson is quick to point out that "I wasn't arrested", IOW not one of those common low-brows littering our fine news product we make our living off of reporting. Way to take responsibility ma'am!
BFP spins at as a mere aside:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/m…
But oh no not drunk driving or leaving accident scene but "suspicion of drunk driving". Move along folks nothing to see here no siree. Nothing in Reformer/Banner or Valley News. Poetic justice for Digger as the one who broke story after Catherine Nelson canned Ms Galloway from TA and who went on to start Vtdigger.
Rutland PD FB had nothing yesterday 12/29 and latest posting was 12/25/2015. What - no pics??? Must have broken their heart to get it in there today:
https://www.facebook.com/RutlandCityPD
Herald FB has the story buried beneath supposed "real story" of a happy promotion complete with smiling face. We gentry certanly can't share the page with the three killed up the road in Killington accident or the bank-robber-of-the-month mugshot.
Times Argus before it's safely buried behind paywall:
http://timesargus.com/article/20151230/NEW…
Posted by
stardust
on 12/30/2015 at 8:25 AM
Re: “Finally Cleared of Murder, Man Dies in Car Wreck”
Grega was never "exonerated" nor was his guilt disproved - he was freed b/c the DNA of another was found in her body. A new trial was ordered however the guest list was destroyed in Irene hurricane and prosecution couldn't come up with the additional evidence in the time frame given by the judge. She was sodomized & suffered severe internal injuries. Whatever she was sodomized with could have been touched by anyone - even a beer bottle or picked up DNA from where they were staying depending on where it was located.
The state could have repoened the case at any time new evidence was discovered however after all of the years the wherabouts of those whose DNA is relevant are unknown. The "painters" were exonerated, as were any other supects.
"Tracy Kelly Shriver, the Windham County state's attorney, filed a response saying that despite the new DNA analysis, there was "overwhelming circumstantial evidence" linking Grega to the crime. She cited his changing stories to investigators and the fact that the condominium had been cleaned before police were called"
http://truthinjustice.org/john-grega.htm
More;
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20130…
He did it:
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/vt-supreme-cour…
I believe Mr Grega a consummate liar, egotistical sociopath who arrogantly claimed her internal injuries were due to "rough sex" & that his penis is so large that even prostitutes refused him. Uh huh!
Anyone who has lived an abusive lifestyle would note his oddly jocular assertions, recognize that there was no one that wanted her dead but her alcoholic husband who actually bought beer while claiming they were on a trip to salvage their marriage while seeing through the sheerness of his lies with ease.
We've seen this movie before & survived only b/c we escaped the oh-so familiar chase scene.
Posted by
stardust
on 02/22/2015 at 3:24 PM
Re: “Rutland Herald Fires News Editor Over Coverage of Paper’s Woes”
Steady slide started like 10 years ago with the hiring of Catherine Nelson imo who began the culling of reporters. Monty Morin who was the Springfield columnist left, deets unclear but was not replaced. Local selectboard meetings stopped being covered except for Rutland & local news for southern VT finally dropped down to a couple of stories a day if anything at all, like maybe one from Bennington & one from another star-of-the-day lucky backwater.
Exodus of customers chose a crappy substitute, NH paper, the Eagle Times, simply because they covered local news & sports. Though Nelson saved her boss Mitchell, a pile of money this is the result. Cutting off a limb or two to achieve rapid weight loss works great but results are drastic & permanent.
Difficult to observe the disconnect & resultant missteps even from a distance & tragic result. Would like to see the conglomerate which owns Valley News, which in contrast is doing very well & has much of the same circulation area, buy them out, print in W. Leb, keep everyone & rebuild their customer base.