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Protect journalists with the same laws that protect us all

Gene Policinski First Amendment

Gene Policinski
Inside the First Amendment

Gene Policinski is chief operating officer of the Newseum Institute and senior vice president of the Institute’s First Amendment Center. He can be reached at gpolicinski@newseum.org.

Follow him on Twitter:
@genefac

I understand the motivation behind the just-proposed Journalist Protection Act, which would make it a federal crime to attack those involved in reporting the news. The legislation comes at a time of particularly vocal attacks on news operations and individual reporters, many of which stem from the highest office in the land.

I admire the goal — preventing or penalizing misguided thugs who would censor through violence. And I salute U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, for introducing it in an era in which support for journalism is at an all-time low.

But some part of me — the free press advocate in me — hopes the proposed act never becomes law. Not because journalists don’t need protection, but because I fear unintended consequences. As the old maxim goes, “No good deed goes unpunished.”

The great power, and the proper position, of a free press has always been that it represents “the people.” The press is — simply and magnificently — not a group apart, but part of that group. It is not made up of “elites” or players united in some grand conspiracy to control the news or steer the nation, as some grandstanding politicians claim, but a disjointed gaggle of vocal, well-informed fellow citizens, who are employed to report on behalf of us all. Those who would damage democracy’s checks and balances by isolating the “watchdogs on government” from fellow citizens would like nothing better than to have journalists themselves give credence to such a separation.

In a Feb. 5 news release, Swalwell makes his good case for the Journalist Protection Act: “President Donald Trump’s campaign and administration have created a toxic atmosphere. It’s not just about labeling reports of his constant falsehoods as #FakeNews — it’s his casting of media personalities and outlets as anti-American targets, and encouraging people to engage in violence.”

Swalwell, while conceding that not all attacks against journalists in the United States can be connected to Trump, said nonetheless that “such antagonistic communications help encourage others to think, regardless of their views, that violence against people engaged in journalism is more acceptable.”

Journalism groups also noted, in the news release, the dangers their members now face.

Broadcasters in the field often work alone or with a single colleague, said Charlie Braico, president of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians. “With their expensive and cumbersome equipment, they are easy and tempting prey for anti-media extremists and thieves.”

“Dozens of physical assaults on journalists doing their jobs were documented by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in 2017,” said Rick Blum, director of News Media for Open Government. “Physical violence and intimidation should never get in the way of covering police, protesters, presidents and other public matters.”

The tracker that Blum refers to is a new database, launched and operated by the Committee to Protect Journalists, which logs arrests, harassment and physical attacks on journalists. As of Feb. 7, it showed that since January 2017, 30 reporters in the United States have been attacked while covering protests and two reporters had been assaulted by politicians. (Note: The Newseum is among the journalism groups supporting the database project.)

Globally, the situation is much grimmer: According to Freedom House, an international freedom advocacy group, barely 13 percent of the world’s population lives in nations where the press is considered free. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports two journalists killed thus far in 2018, 262 imprisoned since 2017, and 58 journalists missing around the world.

So to all those critics who already are attacking Swalwell’s bill as unneeded or rooted in partisan politics — sorry, but the threat to journalists is real from those who consider violence an acceptable form of press criticism.

Still, we should be wary of giving journalists a special place in the zone of laws that already protect us all from assault, battery or worse. Granted, the proposed act could be an alternative when local officials refuse to follow up on an attack — or do so ineffectively. But I like the old newsgathering maxim that “journalists have no more rights than anyone else … but also have no fewer rights.”

Better to encourage police and prosecutors to do their jobs zealously when an attack occurs. Better we hold accountable politicians and others who — for political gain or other unscrupulous motives — choose to simply taunt the news media rather than doing the hard work of legitimate, fact-based criticism.

The Journalist Protection Act is prompted by sincere and worthy motives — and there is a sickness in the land today that condones and encourages threats and violence against journalists. But a free press is better protected by laws that protect us all.

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Dailies, weeklies view digital benefits differently

Kevin Slimp technology

Kevin Slimp

Kevin Slimp is director of the Institute of Newspaper Technology.

Email questions to him at
kevin@kevinslimp.com

During a keynote speech at the Kansas Press Association convention in February, I presented the results of my latest annual survey of newspaper publishers in the United States and Canada for the first time. With roughly 15 percent of publishers in those two countries participating in the survey, it’s a good bet that the results are representative of the industry as a whole.

In a previous column, the first in a series concerning survey findings, we discussed some of the differences between healthy newspapers and newspapers with diminishing health during the past three years. Today, I’m going to take a look at the differences in how daily and weekly newspaper publishers view the benefits of their digital efforts.

After visiting thousands of newspapers during my career, and speaking to thousands more at conferences, there’s not much that catches me off guard about our industry these days. But I was a little surprised by the vast differences between the way daily and weekly newspaper publishers view the benefits of their digital efforts.

In response to Question 10 of the survey, “How do you feel about the following statement: “Our business would do just as well or better without a print version,” both daily and non-daily publishers agreed that they wouldn’t survive without a print version.

Differences arose, though, in response to Question 11, “How do you feel about the following statement: “Our business would do just as well or better without a digital version.”

A whopping 59 percent of daily publishers responded, “That’s ridiculous. We would be in worse shape without a digital/online edition.”

But 68 percent of responding weekly publishers said it either “is” or “might be” true that their paper would do just as well without a digital version. When you add in the number of folks who responded “other,” then wrote that they didn’t have a digital presence, you have well more than 70 percent of responding weekly publishers wondering whether there is any advantage to having a digital edition of their newspapers.

The differences of opinion between publishers of “healthy” newspapers and “unhealthy” newspapers is not as glaring. Fifty-nine percent of responding publishers who rated their paper’s health as “very healthy” or “relatively healthy” indicated that their papers might be better off without a digital version; 54 percent of publishers who rated the health of their papers as “unhealthy” or “near death” felt the same about their digital efforts.

The results are even more striking when publishers were asked about the benefits of social media. Only 22 percent of non-daily (less than four issues per week) newspaper publishers who responded reported seeing any benefit, financial or otherwise, from their social media efforts. Compare that to 60 percent of responding daily newspaper publishers who saw some type of benefit from their social media efforts.

I’m fascinated by the responses to these surveys. As I hear from publishers and others after seeing the results of our past surveys, it’s apparent that folks are often surprised to find their newspapers aren’t so different from others. This is especially true when we look at categories such as newspaper ownership models (a full 50 percent of U.S. and Canadian newspapers are not part of any group, and only 11 percent are part of a large regional or national group) and circulation (average circulation is less than 6,000).

I often hear those at conferences say: “I thought we were different from everyone else.”

There’s some solace, I believe, in realizing that you’re not alone. At the same time, we can gain some benefit from learning what is working at other newspapers similar to our own.

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See the other person’s point of view

John Foust Advertising

John Foust
Advertising

John Foust has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training.

Email for information: john@johnfoust.com

A friend told me about the time his mom took him to the shopping mall to help her pick out a birthday present for his father. He was about six years old at the time, and it was no surprise when he headed straight for the toy store. That gave her a chance to have a little talk with him about the gift selection process: We look for something the other person would like, which is not necessarily what we would like for ourselves. She then guided him to another store, where they picked out a more appropriate gift. All these years later, he still remembers that important lesson.

The adult version of this story happens all the time. I once attended a strategy meeting at a nonprofit agency. The group was discussing ways to express appreciation to donors, and someone suggested framing a list of names and displaying it in a prominent place in the office. The leader of the group said, “That won’t work. I don’t want my name publicized.” Someone pointed out that people could remain anonymous if they wanted, but she stood firm against the idea. It wouldn’t have been a shock if an outsider had made that comment, but she should have known better. If you ask me, it was obvious that the wrong person was leading that meeting.

I’ve heard the same kinds of things in advertising meetings. A retailer refuses to run an ad in the sports section of the paper, because he doesn’t like sports. (He doesn’t understand that his products appeal to the demographic group that follows sports.) A business owner decides against a digital presence, because “digital is only for national news.” (She doesn’t realize that her target audience is relying heavily on digital for local news.) A salesperson hesitates to recommend a higher ad budget, because that advertiser has never spent that much money before. (In reality, the advertiser might have plenty of money to spend on the campaign, but the salesperson can’t think beyond his own perceptions.)

Henry Ford said, “If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.”

Yes, anyone can see things from their own point of view. But it requires special talent to see things from the other person’s perspective.

Advertising requires its practitioners to follow Henry Ford’s advice on many different levels. Salespeople have to see things from their advertisers’ perspectives. Then they have to help those advertisers see things from their target audiences’ viewpoints. Along the way, they have to help their production departments create audience-relevant messages.

It’s human nature to believe that everyone will like this new business proposal … or that headline … or this ad schedule. That’s why it takes discipline to understand what the other person thinks. In the end, you’ll develop better advertising, better marketing partnerships and better internal working relationships.

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A writing journey we’ll take together

Bart Pfankuch

Better Writing
with Bart

Jim Stasiowski, a veteran writing coach whose superb writing advice appeared in the Bulletin for many years, has retired.

Beginning with this column, Bart Pfankuch, an investigative reporter for South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit public-service news agency online at sdnewswatch.org, will offer his excellent writing advice. He can be reached by email at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.

We all know what they say about riding a bike, but I always wondered if the same holds true for writing.

During the past month, I’ve had the opportunity to find out.

After spending the past 12 of my 28 years as a journalist in the editing chair, I’m adjusting to a new gig in which I’ve returned exclusively to reporting and writing.

Here is my long story short. I’m a Wisconsin native who reported at newspapers in Madison and Eau Claire, Wisc., then in Jacksonville and Tallahassee, Fla. I edited two lifestyles magazines before serving as city editor in Sarasota, Fla. In 2012, I became editor of the Rapid City Journal in South Dakota. I left there last fall and in January, I took a job as investigative reporter for South Dakota News Watch, a new nonprofit, public-service journalism news service.

So that’s me in a nutshell — other than being a decent golfer and barbecue cook who is married to a drama publisher and who owns three dogs, a cat, a guinea pig, a chinchilla and a talking Amazon parrot.

One constant in my career has been my devotion to developing, honing and sharing my skill set as a reporter, writer and editor. While I cannot fully stand in the shoes of Jim Stasiowski or match his bounty of facial hair, I will note that I launched my first writing-coach program at the Jacksonville paper in 1998 and have presented at several newspaper conferences around the country. I have some coaching chops, so no need to worry that the only reason Staz “hired” me as his replacement for this column is because I can hold my liquor and possess a mean wedge on the golf course. Staz, by all reports, is fully enjoying his retirement — visiting friends across the West, sunbathing in Maui with his wife, Sharon, and playing golf poorly a few times a week.

I must admit that despite decades of newspaper experience, this new reporting job has me occasionally shaking in my loafers and facing some tough questions.

Can the editor write, and not just edit? Can the teacher do, and not just teach? Can I rediscover my voice among the cacophony of other writers whose thousands of words I have edited?

The answers — while true but certainly unsatisfying — are yes and no.

Using techniques honed through years of practice — methods I will share regularly in this monthly column — I feel I have been able to write with some coherence and clarity. My stories so far have a defined beginning, middle and end. They contain a few strong, telling details and interesting characters. I believe they make sense.

To accomplish those basic goals, I engaged a few of my tried-and-true methods. First and utmost, I did extensive research before I approached a source so I could confirm the essentials and spend more energy discovering the unknown, the story behind the story. I thought deeply about how to move a story forward and then developed a reporting strategy to generate fodder for great writing.

This approach worked well on my first assignment. I traveled to Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota to do a scene-setter on a fire that burned 54,000 acres in and around the park a month earlier. After a clip check, I settled on a “tick-tock” approach in which principal players in a dramatic event retell the story in a minute-by-minute fashion. It allows a writer to get in their heads and forces them to reflect on what they did, why and how it felt. I hoped it would be a fresh approach to a month-old news event.

The key to success was letting all the sources know of my plan in advance and cluing them in on specifically what I hoped to accomplish. A very helpful public affairs officer then arranged a table-top interview with the three key players, whom she prepped by sharing my tick-tock strategy days in advance.

Once I arrived, the sources were off and running. At times, they shared how they had double-checked facts in the days prior so they wouldn’t misspeak. They had thought through what the firefight was like and were prepared to share with me in fine detail what they did and when. After a 90-minute interview (which I taped for accuracy) and a drive with them through the fire zone, I had my tick-tock.

As I approached a keyboard and blank screen, it was clear my planning paid off. The structure was chronological, and the tension of the fire was abundant. I’m pretty happy with the piece, which begins with a dramatic cliffhanger. Perhaps most importantly, my editor and wife both liked it.

Still, I know I’m not in form just yet. I am conversational but wordy. I telegraph transitions and routinely break comma rules. My attributions are at times clunky. I was guilty of notebook dumping on an investigative piece about railroad safety.

As a writer, I am on an excursion of rediscovery. My hope is to provide a monthly column that writers and editors will enjoy but also find useful in honing their craft. We’re on this journey together, and I think it will be quite a ride.

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How social media teams can and should combat fake news

Bulletin photos by Jonathan Polen
‘If one person on a social media team is deciding on his or her own what to respond to, or what’s valid and what’s not, that is a little disturbing.’
— Jane Elizabeth, Director of accountability journalism, American Press Institute

How social media teams
can and should combat fake news

By Jess DeWitt
Bulletin Staff

In an era beleaguered by fake news, having a strong social media team is the best way for newsrooms to combat the spreading of misinformation, according to Jane Elizabeth, director of accountability journalism for American Press Institute in Arlington, Va.

Elizabeth, who researched newsrooms after the 2016 election, said she wants news outlets to use social media teams better and to give them a bigger role.

“One thing that we kept noticing is that the social media team … really had very little to do with the elections and with finding the fake news that really arose during early 2016 and the run-up to the election,” Elizabeth said. “Which was very confusing to me because the social media team is on the front lines of these issues. There is no one in the newsroom that would know more about what’s happening on social media, about who’s sharing fake news, and how it spreads.”

Elizabeth gave a presentation, attended by about 30 people, on “Accountability Journalism” at the New England Newspaper and Press Association winter convention Saturday, Feb. 24.

Elizabeth noticed that not many newsrooms were using their social media team properly. She said creating engagement opportunities, doing live events, finding influencers in the community, and finding misinformation and correcting it, were the four main objectives on which social media teams should focus. But she said many of them are failing at that and instead are focusing on getting viewers.

“The thing that (social media teams) do most is post links,” Elizabeth said. “Post links to content, photos and stories, obviously. They are always, always posting things.”

They are also tracking clicks to find out how well those stories are doing in viewership, and responding to online comments.

“They were searching for stories that were doing really well from other media outlets, and seeing if they could match it,” Elizabeth said. “They were looking for click-buzzy stories out there that their competitors had, and then posting those links.”

But nobody was really responding to misinformation that was spreading online, which Elizabeth asked about in the newsrooms she researched. Those she asked said they rarely engaged commenters spreading misinformation because they said the comments were unfounded, and that they ignored them and instead focused on their news outlet’s mission.

“I wonder who is making that decision, if there is some sort of strategy for determining what is a valid comment, or what to respond to. If one person on a social media team is deciding on his or her own what to respond to, or what’s valid and what’s not, that is a little disturbing,” Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth said social media teams can improve on tackling that issue by making sure they have a deep understanding of metrics, a deep knowledge of existing and up-and-coming platforms, and have the skills of the most experienced reporters.

She ended with a question she has asked herself since doing her research: “What if social media teams had a strategy to spot and correct misinformation (during the 2016 election)?”

Speaker Jane Elizabeth advocated improving how newsrooms use their social media staff to combat fake news more adeptly.
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Obituaries

Henry Frankel

Henry Frankel, 84, of Peabody, Mass., and formerly of Burlington, Vt., died Feb. 6 in Danvers, Mass., of complications from Parkinson’s disease.

Frankel owned community newspapers, which he later consolidated into The Burlington Citizen, which covered politics, local history and community events, and published editorials in Burlington and Chittenden, Vt. The Citizen went out of business in 1986.

He leaves his wife, Helene; three children, Donna, Alan and Steven; two grandchildren.

William Alfred Dempster Jr.

William Alfred Dempster Jr., 85, of Williamsburg, Va., and formerly of Hudson, N.H., and Chelmsford, Mass., died Feb. 9.

Dempster was advertising director for five different newspapers and was northeast director of Multi-Ad Services, based in Peoria, Ill. He also had been employed with the former Minuteman Publications, which covered Lexington, Acton-Boxboro, Concord, and Bedford, Mass.

Before Dempster retired in 1998, he had covered all of New England, New York, and Eastern Canada for Multi-Ad Services.

Dempster also was employed with the Malden Observer and the former Medford (Mass.) Mercury, and had covered the rag market for the former Boston Record American.

The New England Advertising Executives Association awarded him a lifetime membership on his retirement.

Besides his involvement in the newspaper business, he was the parks and recreation commissioner for Chelmsford.

He leaves his wife, Audrey; two sons, Wayne and William III; a daughter, Linda; three grandchildren; a brother; a sister.

Eliot Hallowell

Eliot Hallowell, 94, of Kingsland, Texas, and formerly of Concord, Mass., died Feb. 16 at CelesteCare in Llano, Texas.

Hallowell was a newspaper editor for the Montachusett Review, based in Fitchburg, Mass., and an advertising salesman for The Public Spirit of Ayer, Mass.

He also published a book of his poems titled “Dry Martini & Other Poems.”

Hallowell leaves five children; Jane, Beth, Anne, Joe and Kate; five grandchildren, Joanna, Paul, Koji, Sam and Lily; six great-grandchildren.

Barbara (Butler) Carroll

Barbara (Butler) Carroll, 87, of Southington, Conn., died Feb. 14 after a lengthy illness.

Carroll retired as human resource manager after 45 years with the Southington Step Saver.

She leaves her husband, Richard “Dick”; two sons, Patrick and Michael; four grandchildren.

Bill Beardsley

Bill Beardsley, 85, of Mashpee, Mass., died Feb. 21.

Beardsley was a sales manager for The Wall Street Journal. In 25 years with the Journal’s then-parent company, Beardsley headed its book division, Barron’s, the National Observer and The Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly. He also was president of the stateside and international divisions of the Sales Promotion Executive Association.

He was a member of the Outdoor Writers Association and wrote a regular fishing column for the Falmouth (Mass.) Enterprise. He also broadcast fishing reports for WCIB-FM in Falmouth, Mass., and had stories published on various topics in many publications.

He leaves his wife, Marilyn; two sons, Bruce and Brian; four grandchildren.

Anne T. Corcoran

Anne T. Corcoran, 66, of Quincy, Mass., died Jan. 29 at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth. Mass.

Corcoran was a supervisor in the editorial department of The Boston Globe for 25 years. She was also a union activist and served 10 years on the executive committee of the Boston Newspaper Guild, formerly The Boston Globe Employees Association. Corcoran was president of the Boston Newspaper Guild in 1987 and 1988.

Corcoran was involved in Quincy politics. She assisted in campaigns for the late Paul Harold, a Democratic state senator in Massachusetts.

She leaves two sisters, Kathleen and Maureen; a brother, Patrick; six nieces and nephews; four great-nieces; a great-nephew.

William Joseph Whitney

William Joseph Whitney, 84, died at Mercy Medical Center in Springfield.

Whitney began his newspaper career on the copy desk of what is now The Republican of Springfield when it was known as the Union News and Sunday Republican. He was employed there for 25 years, and he eventually became city editor before retiring in 2002. He was known for writing the Sunday Drive Column and Just Browsing, both popular because of their humor.

He leaves his wife, Andrea; a brother, Pat; three nephews and nieces; two great-nephews.

Nino S. Secchi

Nino S. Secchi, 91, of Westport, Conn., and formerly of Greenwich, Conn., died Jan. 31.

Secchi joined the Greenwich Time as sports editor, then moved to the Port Chester (N.Y.) Item three years later. He was sports editor and a columnist there, and soon became the suburban editor of the Item.

In 1960, Secchi joined Greenwich-based American Machine & Foundry, where he handled a corporate newsletter, public relations and communications.

After he retired, he was a columnist for the Greenwich Time.

Secchi served with the Greenwich town meeting for 14 years. He was an alternate member of the Greenwich Planning and Zoning Commission. He was a member and treasurer of the Greenwich Republican Town Committee.

Secchi leaves three children, Lou, Steven and Joseph; three grandchildren, Taryn, Tristen and Taylor; two great-grandchildren.

Willie Wright Jr.

Willie Wright Jr., 82, died Jan. 23 at home in Manchester, Conn.

Before his retirement from The Hartford (Conn.) Courant, he was a circulation supervisor there for many years and a newspaper carrier there for more than 20 years.

He leaves his wife, Hilda; three sons, Willie III, Rickey and Mark; four daughters, Cathy, Helen, Betty and Pennie; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren.

Helen A. (Johnson) Douglas

Helen A. (Johnson) Douglas, 94, of Athol, Mass., and formerly of Orange, Mass., died Jan. 30 at Quabbin Valley Healthcare in Athol.

Douglas was a reporter a total of 12 years for the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, Mass., for the then-Springfield (Mass.) Union News, and for the former Orange Enterprise and Journal.

Douglas leaves a daughter, Susan; three grandchildren Michael, Gina and Megan; six great-grandchildren; a sister.

Peter Sudarsky

Peter Sudarsky, 88, of New York City, died Jan. 27 in the Mease Dunedin (Fla.) Hospital.

He had been a reporter for The Hartford (Conn.) Courant.

He leaves his wife, Roseanne; four children, Julie, Laura, Jennifer and Noah; six grandchildren; two brothers.

Fruma Dara Efreom

Fruma Dara Efreom, 72, of Warwick, R.I., died Feb. 17 at Kent Hospital in Warwick.

She was a reporter for The Kent County Daily Times, based in Wakefield, R.I.., and wrote for Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine, based in Barrington, R.I.

She served on the Lincoln Park Cemetery Board in Warwick.

She leaves three children, Alana, Yael and Avi, and three grandchildren, Leo, Chloe and Jerome.

Horace ‘Rambo’ Bacon Jr.

Horace “Rambo” Bacon Jr., 81, of Springfield, Mass., died Jan. 26. at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Bacon was a machinist for The Republican of Springfield for many years. He retired from there in 2002.

He leaves his wife, Blanche; two sons, Horace and Malvin; a special son, Seymour; two daughters, Sarah and Pauline; a special daughter, Lizan; 15 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; three brothers; seven sisters.

John J. Thompson

John J. Thompson, 66, died Jan. 25 at Twin Oaks Nursing Home in Danvers, Mass., where he had received care for the past seven years after a lifelong battle with a variety of disabilities.

He had been employed on the sports desk at the Boston Herald.

He leaves his life companion, Lori Henry; three brothers, Clifford, Michael and Glenn; five nephews and nieces; several cousins.

Janice (Brennan) Sprogell

Janice (Brennan) Sprogell, 99, formerly of West Hartford, Conn., died Feb. 3 in Needham.

Sprogell was the first female proofreader at the then-Springfield (Mass.) Daily News.

She leaves three daughters, Katherine, Sarah and Mary; four grandchildren, Agostino, Dominic, Sarah and Charles; six great-grandchildren.

Erna Jane ‘E.J.’ Silke

Erna Jane “E.J.” Silke, 73, of Westbrook, Maine, died Feb. 9.

Silke was a local news correspondent for Cape Elizabeth, Maine, for the Portland (Maine) Press Herald,

She leaves her partner, Jeffrey; three children, Christopher, Brendan and Rachel; four grandchildren.

Robert Finley Delaney

Robert Finley Delaney, 92, formerly of Newport, R.I., Venice, Fla., and Washington, D.C., died Jan. 28. He also had lived on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

Delaney wrote columns once a month for Newport (R.I.) This Week, a weekly newspaper that covers Newport, Middletown and Jamestown, R.I., and for a Washington-based magazine about defense policy. He also wrote, edited and contributed to a dozen books, including “Your Career in the Foreign Service.” He wrote about 100 articles on international affairs for magazines and professional journals. He often wrote under the pseudonym David Finley.

He leaves five children, Flynn, Nancy, Carrie, Deirdre and Sarah, and seven grandchildren.

Margaret A. Coulombe

Margaret A. (Martin) Coulombe, 67, of Taunton, Mass., died Feb. 19 at Morton Hospital in Taunton.

In the 1980s. Coulombe was a suburban news correspondent for the Taunton (Mass.) Daily Gazette.

She also was an information editor for the F.W. Dodge Division of McGraw-Hill in Boston.

She leaves her husband, Tom; three daughters, Bonnie, Mary and Carol; three grandchildren; three sisters.

Jack Apfelbaum

Jack Apfelbaum, 93, formerly of Hamburg, Germany, and of Littleton, Mass., died Feb. 1 in his home.

Apfelbaum wrote a column for the Littleton Independent called Thoughts from the Sweat Lodge.

He also wrote engineering texts and two children’s books.

He leaves his wife, Eva; three daughters, Claudia, Ananda and Maya; a granddaughter.

James Edward Bransfield

James Edward Bransfield, 72, of Middletown, Conn., died at Hartford (Conn.) Hospital Feb. 24 of complications from surgery.

Bransfield wrote for the Middletown Press for 30 years. His last column was published four weeks before his death.

He leaves a son, Chris; two grandchildren, Clara and Henry; two brothers.

William Joseph Newman

William Joseph Newman, 94, of Springfield, Vt., died Feb. 22 at Springfield Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Newman wrote a human interest column for the former weekly Springfield Reporter.

He leaves a niece, Catherine; and was predeceased by a brother, Richard.

Rosemarie T. (Buttacavoli) Topor

Rosemarie T. (Buttacavoli) Topor, 83, of North Fort Meyers, Fla., and formerly of Norwich, Conn., died Jan. 29 at the Hope Hospice in Cape Coral, Fla.

Topor had been employed with the Norwich Bulletin before her retirement.

She leaves two daughters, Laurie and Leslie; a son, James; a brother, Thomas.

Francis Gros ‘Lou’ Louis

Francis Gros “Lou” Louis of Leesburg, Va., and formerly of Wilton, N.H., died Jan. 31 after a brief illness.

During his time in Wilton, Louis wrote a weekly column, opinion pieces and editorial content for local and statewide newspapers.

He leaves three children, Cheryl, Melissa and Brian; 10 grandchildren; a great-grandson.

Kristine D. ‘Krissy’ Housel

Kristine D. “Krissy” Housel, 50, died Feb. 15.

For 20 years. Housel delivered newspapers for the Seacoast Media Group, publisher of the Portsmouth (N.H.) Herald, Foster’s Daily Democrat of Dover, N.H., and four smaller newspapers in New Hampshire and Maine.

She leaves her mother, Lynda; her husband, Duane Sr.; two sons; Duane Jr. and Robert; a grandson; four siblings.

Mary Lou Nason

Mary Lou Nason, 62, of Old Orchard Beach, Maine, died March 5 at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough, Maine.

She delivered the Portland Press Herald in Old Orchard Beach for several years.

She leaves four sons, Peter, Jerry, Dennis and Daniel; 13 grandchildren; two brothers; a sister.

Muriel Madeline (Whalen) Deck 

Muriel Madeline (Whalen) Deck, 91, of West Hartford, Conn., died Feb. 13.

Deck was employed after her high school graduation with the newspaper company that publishes what is now The Republican of Springfield, Mass., and its sister Sunday newspaper.

She leaves five daughters, Karen, Kathy, Norma, Theresa and Patricia; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren.

The obituaries were written, at least in part, from published reports by Bulletin correspondents Ajoa Addae, Sydne Garcia, Angela Gomba, Nico Hall, Julia Hutchins, Kaline Langley, Mohammed Razzaque, Casey Rochette and Thomas Ward.

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Transitions

MAINE 

Kate Cough

Steve Fuller has left as city hall reporter with The Ellsworth American to begin a job as assistant to the city planner at Ellsworth City Hall. Fuller covered city hall for five years after joining the American in March 2012. He initially covered the Bucksport area before transferring to the Ellsworth beat. Throughout his time at the American, he covered city government, crime, business and education in Ellsworth and the surrounding area, including the communities of Amherst, Aurora, Eastbrook, Great Pond, Mariaville, Osborn and Waltham. Before joining the American, he was a news reporter, assistant editor and editor during seven years at The Republican Journal of Belfast. His replacement is Kate Cough, who recently received a graduate degree in journalism from Columbia University and who joined the American Dec. 18.

RHODE ISLAND

Tim Britton, who has covered the Boston Red Sox for The Providence Journal since 2011, has left to cover the New York Mets for The Athletic, a website that covers professional and collegiate sports throughout the United States. Britton also has been an on-air talent for NBC Sports Boston. In the past, he has been a Q&A columnist at Baseball Prospectus and a beat writer for the New York Mets and the New York Yankees for MLB.com. 

Jennifer Bogdan

Jennifer Bogdan and Kate Bramson have left as reporters at The Providence Journal. Bogdan left to become deputy communications director for Gov. Gina Raimondo, and Bramson has become director of policy for the Rhode Island Senate. Bogdan was a health and social services reporter and a statehouse reporter at the Journal. Bramson was an economic development reporter there. Bogdan’s previous experience includes being a casino and tourism district reporter at The Press of Atlantic City, a watchdog reporter at the Utica (N.Y.) Observer-Dispatch, and a freelance reporter and photographer at the Prince George’s Sentinel, based in Lanham, Md. Bramson’s previous experience includes being a writer for the News Service at Brown University, a reporter at the Duluth (Minn.) News-Tribune, and news editor at Budapest Week and news editor at The Budapest Sun in Hungary.

VERMONT 

Michael Kilian

Michael Kilian has been appointed executive editor of The Burlington Free Press and was scheduled to begin managing its digital and print news operations March 5. Kilian has been news director at the Cincinnati Enquirer since 2015, and had a previous stint at the Burlington Free Press as associate editor between 2010 and 2013. His previous positions as a newspaper editor date to 1990 and include employment with McLean, Va.-based Gannett Co. Inc. in Saratoga Springs and Utica, N.Y.; Salisbury, Md.; and Cincinnati. Kilian is replacing Denis Finley, who was fired after tweeting about a plan to add a third-gender option to driver’s licenses in Vermont. 

Gaen Murphree left as a reporter for the Addison County Independent of Middlebury as of December to return to freelance writing. Murphree began writing for the Independent in July 2015. She covered Middlebury College, agriculture, environmental issues, and energy. She also wrote essays for the Independent’s Clippings column, which covered a variety of topics. Murphree has been a freelance writer in the past, writing for Mother Jones, the San Francisco Chronicle, Seven Days of Burlington, and the former Green Mountain Echo.

The Transitions were written, at least in part, from published reports by Bulletin correspondents Nadine El-Bawab, Nico Hall, Julia Hutchins and Thomas Ward.

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Convention 2018

The winners and the audience at the New England First Amendment Coalition’s awards luncheon Friday, Feb. 23, are shown above, clockwise from top left: Todd Wallack, an investigative reporter with The Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team, who received the Michael Donoghue Freedom of Information Award; Jane Mayer, a writer for The New Yorker, whowon the Stephen Hamblett First Amendment Award; the audience applauds an award recipient; members of the Hyde Square Task Force, who were presented the Antonia Orfield Citizenship Award: from left, Ed Harding, an anchor at NewsCenter 5, WCVB-TV in Boston, who emceed the awards ceremony, with task force members Mabel Gondres, Shayne Clinton and Celinda Miranda. The awards ceremony took place during the New England Newspaper and Press Association winter convention, which ended Saturday, Feb. 24, in the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel in South Boston. Please check the Bulletin website in the days ahead for more coverage of the convention.

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Award Winners – Better Newspaper Competition

Access the complete list of award winners and judges’ comments!

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Sean Corcoran

Sean Corcoran is an award-winning print and radio journalist and the Senior Managing Editor for News at WGBH News in Boston. Corcoran is a graduate of The George Washington University and the Columbia University School of Journalism. For the first nine years of his career, Corcoran worked as a staff writer for various New England newspapers. Corcoran moved to public radio in 2005 at WCAI in Woods Hole, where he reported and produced “Two Cape Cods: Hidden Poverty on the Cape and Islands,” a 20-part investigative series that won the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award — the highest award in broadcast journalism. His work has been recognized with various national and regional awards, including a 2016 Gabriel Award and a 2017 national Edward R. Murrow Award. Corcoran is the former news director at WCAI, and executive producer of the upcoming podcast, “The Forgetting: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer’s.” Corcoran also was the editor of the 2015 book, “The Long Haul: The Future of New England’s Fisheries.”

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