For many years I was disgusted and embarrassed that the
East Boston Times was my neighborhood weekly newspaper. It was poorly designed, badly written and filled with narrow-minded points of view. When the Independent Newspaper Group came along and purchased the
Times there was hope that the Revere-based company would improve the local rag. Alas, it was not to be.
The East Boston Times remains one of the worst examples of a weekly newspaper that I’ve ever seen. What qualifies me to make that statement? My word is certainly not the be-all and end-all, but I do know a little about this field. I have a degree in journalism, and I worked as a writer and editor for a company that owns eight weeklies in suburban Portland, Maine, where I won three first-place awards for stories I’d written. I attended newspaper conferences where we saw examples of papers from around the country. Let me tell you: None that I saw are as bad as the Times.
I also wrote a column for this outfit when they first came to this neighborhood with a paper known as the East Boston Independent. Personally they treated me well, and I was grateful that they made space for me each week. I wrote the column for one year. It didn’t take long for the Independent to buy out the East Boston Sun Transcript, which was an attractive and well-written paper, and from there they came after the Times and then sunk the operation down to the lowest common denominator.
Week after week the East Boston Times has little news and most of what they do publish is dull stuff about the procedures of local government and fluff pieces about how great the local politicians are. There are nearly 40,000 people in this neighborhood, and you mean to tell me that none of them are doing anything worth writing about? There are stories everywhere each and every day. However, no one at the Times is looking for them.
Last week one of the stories in the Times about the current campaign for state rep said this: “It doesn’t appear that issues mean very much in this special election.” Issues might not mean much to those at the Times, but they mean a great deal to quite a few voters. The Times has abdicated its civic duty by dedicating absolutely no space to a discussion of the issues and the candidates' positions on them. Shouldn’t that be the job of the local newspaper? My humble little blog has far outdone the weekly in a discussion of issues, as well as taking a look at who the candidates are.
The same piece in the Times offered this gem: “The winner will pull out the winning vote on Election Day.” Brilliant. A friend of mine sent me an email after reading that story online (at their awful web site) and said: “I cannot believe an adult wrote this. It is pathetic writing. It reminds me of some of the worst writing I saw as a teacher.”
Very few newspapers -- and none with any integrity -- allow advertising on the front page, yet the Times front is mostly advertisements. In fact, look at this week’s paper. There is one story and one photo among 12 ads. That’s outrageous. A quick measurement shows that 79% of the space below the nameplate is advertising. Where’s the beef? At least the old Times -- backwards though it was -- filled the pages with stories. This week the Times has three full pages and three half pages covered with photographs -- mostly static shots of people standing still.
The most frustrating part of this is that the Times is easily the worst of the 10 weeklies that the Independent Newspaper Group owns. Check out the Revere Journal, the Chelsea Record, the Charlestown Patriot Bridge or any of their other newspapers. They could put out a better product for the people of East Boston, but they consciously choose not to.
For many years I was disgusted and embarrassed that the East Boston Times was my neighborhood weekly newspaper. It was poorly designed, badly written and filled with narrow-minded points of view. When the Independent Newspaper Group came along and purchased the Times there was hope that the Revere-based company would improve the local rag. Alas, it was not to be. 
80 comments:
I agree.
Jim, you started a war that your going to probably regret. You know thay are going to come hard at you now. What were you thinking?
I considered that, but there are times when you can't just sit there and watch, y'know?
The pretentions of The Hubster are a perfect metaphor for his beliefs, which are carefully shrouded in a lingua franca which only he understands, and which impresses about 50 members of the neighborhood who find solace on this website from time to time.
The Times is an easy target. The blogger has made his best effort at humiliating our effort to remain connected with the neighborhood.
Anyone who knows those of us affiliated with the newspaper understand that the Times does not have an agenda. We are not attempting to hide anything. The newspaper's op-ed page remains open to anyone who wishes to air their beliefs or to sound off about the neighborhood's problems.
We tend even to respect those unhappy people who believe the newspaper is the problem, which of course, is their right.
The Hubster is a voice unto himself. His voice is the best voice, the only voice by his own convoluted reasoning.
He ridicules how the Times looks. He ridicules its content. He is prone to ridiculing others while setting himself up as the self-annointed savior of the community.
His notion of morality, however, is not ours. The Hubster's superiority complex is his own.
Wasting Times is The Hubster's Bluster.
About the special election ... I reiterate, there are no issues except that of popularity. The most popular candidate is going to win. The voters of this neighborhood can bet on that. They can take it to the bank.
Either Jeff Drago, who the The Hubster favors, or Carlo Basile, will be the winner when all the votes are counted.
The Hubster blog serves a purpose - to give enhancement to the writer's sense of self-importance. In this respect, it is a great success. He has worked for newspapers which have won awards. He has won awards. He studied journalism in college. Ergo, he is better than us.
Very well.
Our crucifixion by him in this column is welcome.
After all, we are all Jesus Christ and we've all been crucified.
Josh Resnek, who posted above, gave me the job at the EB Independent / Sun Transcript. He paid me to write a weekly column, I did so for a year, and I appreciated the opportunity. The decision to stop writing the column was mine, as I moved from this neighborhood for a few years. Everyone at the paper was exceedingly nice to me. I have no ax to grind against them, and I made sure not to mention any names in my comments today.
Beyond that, readers can take what they want from his comments.
JUst what most of us thought, Jimmy you do favor Drago and as a responsible Journalist(as you mentioned yourself), you should not post anything about the election starting immediately.
A responsible journalist would suspend himself or hersel until the election was over.
Don't try to deny who you are supporting
JImbo, at least Mr.Resnick gave his real name! What's yours
I am no longer a journalist. I am a citizen who started a little blog that I believed no one would look at. I came into this election not sure who I'd vote for, but instead determined to find out the candidates' stands on the issues. I have been unable to find out any of that via the local weekly, but the candidates responses and their interviews have helped me a great deal. My hope is that they've helped other residents as well.
I think Josh Resnick hit a nerve with Jimbo? I also agree with him that he Hubster favors Drago because he constanly deletes stuff about Drago and lets people persecute Basile without any solid information.
Try explaining that Jimbo
I believe you are lieing because who would start a blog if they didn't want it to be sucessful. Don't give us that bull Jimbo.
Jimbo, you are just as bad as the Times, if not worse. You pick and choose which comments to post. You have not posted atleast 3 of mine and My friends claim their post weren't printed either. Where's the beef to that, Jimbo?
Comments have been submitted that say offensive things and make unsubstantiated implications about the candidates, their families, their campaign workers, others who've posted comments, and me. As the number of comments have increased, it's become more difficult to monitor all of them. I am trying to do so, while also attempting to let as many opinions as possible get through.
The line is also a bit murky. If someone says, "He lied about this," that will probably make it, while if someone writes, "He's a liar," I'm not so sure. Sometimes comments have slipped through because my reading wasn't thorough enough, but generally the only person I am comfortable opening up to random accusation is me. Of course, I'd rather everybody discuss only facts, issues, ideas, etc. and leave personal attacks aside.
Jimbo thats makes as mush sense as my 3 yr old. You will post if someone says a person lied about something but not if he calls him a liar?
If you lie about something doesn't that make you a liar??? And you are a teacher?
Jimbo, don't want to tell you what to do but if your going to screen than you should screen. Don't rush to put comments up there for the sake of having them up.
If there's something negative about someone you should delete it, don't let some go and not others!
I think Jimbo should buy a newspaper and give Mr. Resnick some good competition! Any thoughts out there about that?
Jimbo, how about you and I start a newspaper for here in East Boston?
This is a serious offer. I think we can give the East Boston residents what they want. Of course your views are way too left but I'm sure we can come up with a compromise.
It appears to me that Jimbo hit a nerve with Joshua Resnek. I have no idea what Joshua read, but I didn't see anything close of self-annointing or moralizing. On the contrary, it appears that the Times sees itself as much beyond criticism as the Good Lord. I'm not a religious scholar, but I believe it is highly presumptuous to compare oneself to Jesus Christ.
I agree with Jimbo's assessment of the Eastie Times. How come the Eastie Times didn't report that E3C, the local youth environmental justice crew, gave a national presentation in D.C. in March about the good things they do here in Eastie? I almost never see a story about anything happening at the Social Centers or EBECC or ABCD. Why did the Department of Neighborhood Development think they had to pay to put a notice for a community meeting about the Welfare Building in our local newspaper? Why doesn't the newspaper have those relationships? These kinds of things speak to the quality of commitment to reporting on things that are going on in the neighborhood.
With regard to the current election, I agree with Jim that the Times' reporting has been less than stellar. I would go further and question the objectivity of the newspaper. I noticed that they have reported on the campaign events for Drago and Basile within the week of their occurrence, but it took two weeks to post pictures of Mota's and Berninger's kickoff. In the age of SLR camera's, are you telling us that you couldn't get those pictures up there sooner? Did you even have people at those events? If the advertising deadlines are 5 pm Monday, why couldn't Mota's and Berninger's 8/18 (Saturday) and 8/19 (Sunday) events have been reported in the 8/22 edition? Do you think that your readers don't notice that kind of thing.
I am really disturbed that a person who works for this newspaper asserts that this election is a popularity contest and not about issues. What is this? High school? This is one of the dumbest and most insulting things I've heard in a while.
I have a newsflash for your Joshua, at least half of Eastie's residents have moved into this neighborhood within the last five years. The average homeowner moved in in 1996. The average voter registered in Eastie in 1996. Many of us don't know any of the candidates personally, and if we do, we might know one or two.
It appears to me that the Eastie Times is doing its best to ensure that issues do not get discussed at all. I am really bothered because I heard that Joshua is moderating the debate next Saturday. What kinds of questions to you plan to ask? How many potential dates to the senior prom each candidate had?
So far, The Hubster has been the only place where residents could get an understanding of where the candidates stand on specific issues. Were it not for the Hubster I would not have known about Drago's involvement with the fiasco with the Leone's. I wouldn't have known about how thoroughly Republican Basile is. I certainly would not have known that Berninger really is a single issue candidate and slightly xenophobic.
I, for one, am grateful for Jim's blog. I know that my neighbors and I actually discuss where the candidates stand on the issues. The Eastie Times has given us nothing to help make us make this decision.
Intelligent women: Mota and Berninger. Anyone want to wager that some are still uncomfortable with that in this town.
If you haven't figured it out yet, this is a blog. Unlike the Eastie Times, this is not a newspaper. There are no illusions of objectivity here, nor should any be expected.
Jimbo is doing us all a favor by providing a space to discuss the election or whatever else he wants. It is HIS blog. He can post anything he wants and delete any comments he doesn't like. Because it is HIS blog.
If you don't like the way he runs his blog, start your own.
you guys are bashing the Times because they don't give the "women' in this race the same coverage.
? Look at this blog Jeff's interview as of right now has 256 comments. Mary's blog has 20....this blog is just as bad. Stop picking on the times
I think its sad that EB will decide this election based on personality. Others must be laughing at us that we cant discuss the real issues.
I wouldn't vote for Mota if she was the only person in this race. The only voters that will vote for her are guilt riden liberals. You liberals are the reason why a man, who isn't even from Mass. and was involved with the biggest predatory lending company could get elected. He comes to this state and says "TOGETHER WE CAN" and all you liberals bought into it.
Lets see what Patrick does about adding toll booths on 93 and other highways. Great guy that he is. And what happened to the 1000's of more police officers he was going to hire? He sold you guys a bunch of hogwash and you bought it. Maybe you can vote for Obama for President.
Me: I will vote for FRED THOMPSON
If anyone out there is serious about providing competition for the local weekly I am certainly interested. I am unable to contribute financially, but I do have experience as a writer and editor, as well as limited skills in photography and layout.
Anyone with any serious ideas on the matter can email me at the address in the right column of the home page of this blog.
No coincidence that Deval Patrick had his sign read Together we can and Mota's say moving forward together.
You go Jimbo!
Also, my brother told me Joshua Resnek did not grow up in Eastie? Is this right I have no idea?
Jenni
Start the presses JIMBO, Drago loses by a landslide will be your first edition.I hope you do start a newspaper Jimbo
Jimbo, we can call our newspaper The eastie connection or the eastie source or The east boston gospel or the eastie pride or the eastie melting pot
I like the East Boston Times, it's very informative and reports a lot of local news that the Herald and Globe forget about in our community--like the recent sexual assaults. For the blogger that said the Times doesn't cover enough is obviously not reading the paper-espeically Jimbo. In the past few weeks there have been features on NOAH's summer camp, Piers Park Sailing Center, a campaign roundup-where all the candidates were represented, a front pager on a guy that is historically renovating homes in Eastie and news stories about stuff you don't get in dailies.
If you look at the paper that John Lynds gut seems to write about 90% of the stories and takes most of the photos--that can't be an easy task.
I've met him at several community meetings and I understand he has a wife and daughter at home but he's out and about all the time--just look at the paper.
I think he's a good writer and okay photographer that cares about Eastie--you should read the Eastie Watch beacuse there's some passionate stuff about Eastie in there from time to time.
Anyone who thinks they can do better should pick up a note pad and camera and get to work.
As for the look of the paper I assume beacuse we've been in a campign cycle in Eastie with special elections some ads moved to the front or rearranged to make space for the candidates half and full page ads every week.
I thought this was semi-serious until I got to the comment from "a right winged democrat."
A a right winged Democrat is nothing more than a closeted Republican. Just avoid those toilet stalls, I hear they're a career killer when you drop your sunglasses and have a wide stance that causes you to rub against the foot of the guy in the stall next door.
PS: Jimbo, doesn't the NYTimes have front-page adverts? Or did you mean just in the print edition (where the NYTimes doesn't do front page ads).
East Boston Times needs an overhaul an upgrade, this- I mean new writers,
Political, local arts writer, movie listings, person of the week, I'm seeing pictures of the same miserable people week after week, the paper needs to be appealing to the New residents which include 156 porter residents, and the future pier 1 condo sophisticated residents, and they should definitely add a latino writer to
Everything you have outlined is what I endure at work. I work for a small paper that rivals another of Resnek's and I am sickened by how many ads I have to cram into such a small space. Our frontpage tends to be covered all the way above the fold in ads. It's upsetting to me because I take pride in my work and I can't stand have to spend my weeks working on such a tacky "news"paper.
I think if more people took a stand like this, advertisers would take notice. Thank you for this post.
There is 1 reporter for the Eastie Times?! If John Lynds is the reporter, who is Joshua Resnek? Why is he responding?
I'm sure that John Lynds is a nice guy. And if he is Mr. Boston, I would like to credit him with being less a reactionary xenophobe than some others in this community.
But John being a nice guy with a family does not excuse the East Boston Times for publishing such a poor quality newspaper.
I agree with the other comment who said that the newspaper needs to have more articles that appeal to the newer residents who are moving in to the neighborhood.
I'd argue that Mr. Lynds has more knowledge about the goings on in this neighborhood than some yuppie that only has an address here but works, eats, shops and plays in oher yuppie enclaves.
This is a community newspaper and it's about supporting the community not about tearing down any group, person or politician.
There's planty of news in the 20-24 pages and those commenting should look beyond the front page and read the entire newspaper.
I enjoy the E.B. Times. They publish 10,000 copies a week and you can't find one by Friday.
They must be doing something right.
I agree with Mr. Resnek and Jim 'Bernstein' Correale should be a little more humble. What makes him a journalism expert?
A degree in journalism plus a buck fifty might get you a coffee at Starbucks.
Jim should ease back because for years there's been websites, other publications and blogs and the Times has been classy enough to welcome the competetion not attack it.
If Mr. Correale is so disturbed by the local paper maybe he should exercise his right as an American and nt read it.
It sounds like the owner of this blog was part of a newspaper group that has grown by leaps and bounds and now he's a little jelous he jumped ship before the windfall.
Plus, his replacement at the paper, Mr. Lynds, is an effective reporter that knows the community. Perhaps Jim wants back in the East Boston newspaper game. It's a shame he's been able to do nothing but attack the company that once fed him through this blog.
I like the hubster but if it is as good as Jim thinks it is and a real work of journalism it would have stood on its own without having to attack a weekly newspaper. Sounds like a little desperation to me.
Just to correct a couple of small errors on Rebecca's part:
I was not a reporter for any of the ING's papers, including the Times, and therefore Mr. Lynds is not my replacement.
I never said that this blog was "good" or a "real work of journalism."
The problem with the Times is that it has no competition. Hopefully that will soon change!
Josh Resnek is Mr. Boston
Rebecca, why can't a person have an opinion without being called jealous. I have known Jim for over 30 years and although I don't agree with all his political views, he is a good hearted person. I agree with him that the Times is a lousy paper. Just look at the Times yourself, the front page is mostly ads.
I'm sure Jim and I will be voting for different a candidite in this race but that doesn't mean that I don't respect his views.
Yup Mr. Lynds, I agree take a ride up Bennington street where you can learn how to have parking tickets fixed, have your neighbors addition torn down, how o sell fireworks and how to get rid of your car and do an isurance job. I'm sure there is alot more you can learn there too.
First off, This is the first time I have read the blog attacking the newspaper I work for.
Second, my wife did not make those comments, although her name is in fact Rebecca. Her google screen name is far different.
I respect Jim's comments on our paper and he is the expert on his own opinion. There is no right or wrong opinion and that is what makes this country great.
I've always encouraged people to write into our newspaper with comments, suggestions, and criticism.
Please feel free to send any letter or op-ed to my e-mail and I'll be more than happy to publish it.
I thank those that have praised the work I do and I also thank those that have suggested a different approach becuase criticism will help me to be a better journalist and make our paper stronger.
There's is so much news in Eastie and not all of it can be printed by me alone in a weeks time in a paper that ranges from 16-24 pages. I do my best and have been for 7 years now. Sure, some things take priority over others.
However, I think we've done a good job printing the news, promoting business and development and highlighting the good people doing good work in this community.
Also, I think Jim has done a good job providing space to many residents to air thier opinions in a respectful forum. I have met Jim on several occassions and find him to be a nice guy. So it came as a bit of a surprise to see his attack on the newspaper--considering the fact I was planning on contacting him and featuring his blog as a success story and one of the only blogs in Eastie.
That idea, I may have to reconsider seeing as he thinks we are a 'Waste of Time'.
I to have a degree in Journalism and would argue that our newspaper is very similair to many small community newspapers in the region.
If Jim thinks he can do better I suggest he picks up a pen and a camera and puts in the same hours I do week in and week out--hours spent away from my wife and daughter, hours spent because I care about the community in which I live, hours spent because I'm a homeowner and lifelong resident invested in East Boston, hours spent beacuse I believe East Boston is a great place to live and raise a family.
Shame on anyone that thinks we as a newspaper or I as an individual could care less about the community in which we print.
I'm proud of the work I do and the work I do is fueled by my love for East Boston.
If I was an outsider looking in I could see the beef but I'm your neighbor with the same concerns.
-John Lynds
Mr. Lynds, so you are doing this all for free, right? The east Boston times is a non-profit newspaper, right? What non-sense.
How come it cost so much money to place a small black and white ad.
You and the Times are in it for the money and the money alone.
I want to thank John Lynds for his take on the East Boston Times and also for commenting thoughtfully rather than attacking me personally. As he indicated, we've met a couple of times and he's been nothing but nice on those occasions.
In regard to the previous comment, John Lynds doesn't own the Times and he doesn't set the advertising rates. He works for the paper. I was a reporter (in Maine), and I know the salary structure. There's no windfall of riches there.
Thank you Jim,
I have been a reader of your blog since I first heard of it a few weeks back and thought it was a great way to get info to residents. I just wish you had not attacked the newspaper beacuse your blog was a great and welcomed addition to community news and information sharing and I was seriously considering doing a feature story.
In the end I feel very strongly that our newspaper fairly and accurately prints the news of the week while highlighting specfific individuals in the community for the great work they do.
To reiterate Josh--we have no agenda but to be the voice of the community and if some of those voices feel muted by all means send an e-mail or letter, signed, and we will print it.
I will continue to read this blog and hope in the future that if there is a good article or feature in our newspaper you will highlight that with the same zeal you highlighted our blemishes.
-John Lynds
Mr. Lynds, I give you alot of credit for your post but be serious will yeah. If you were considering doing a story on Jimbo's blog then you should do it. Jimbo just stated his opinion. He didn't attack you personally, did he? You will be a bigger man, if you do the story on Jimbo's blog.
it's silly to threaten not to do a story because he voiced his opinion.
Isn't that what the East Boston Times is all about?
You are asking readers to write you emails but are you going to print them if you disagree with their opinion?
If not, don't do it to Jimbo, and do the story.
In the long run, I probably will do a story on Jim's blog--once the fallout from the attack on the newpaper subsides.
I hold no grudges.
-John Lynds
Well Mr. Lynds then I applaud you. It would be nice to have the story done before the election. Don't you think?
I'm glad Mr. Lynds is reading this. I would also like to know why it took two weeks for the EB Times to print the pictures of Gloribell Mota's and Mary Berninger's campaign events? And why weren't they covered? They are just a bunch of pictures with no context.
Also, why was the announcement about the date, time, and location of the candidate's forum on the editorial page? It seems to me that this deserves front page coverage.
You may not make those decisions, and if so, let us know.
Also, have you followed up on what is going on with the Welfare Building?
And what about the development that is supposed to be going on up on Border Street?
Given the way some people have reacted, you would have thought that Jim suggested we take our copies to Day Square and burn them. I agree with many of his opinions. Until the race came up, I had given up on seeking out the EB Times. If I happened to see it, I might have picked it up. But since it never notified you of events going on in the community, like community meetings around the many developments going on in the area, it was not worth the effort.
Even with the race, I haven't seen anything printed that is going to help me make a decision about who to vote for, except the IBEW ad that shows Carlo Basile contributions to the Healey campaign. I would have thought that information should have come from the local newspaper. Instead, I read from Mr Boston that Carlo and Jeff "are good kids" and "will make good candidates." Not at all helpful.
Politics 101: when your losing, go negative....try to deflect what's wrong with your campaign..
When polls say something like they have in this race Jeff has no other alternative but to use someone(ibew)to go NEGATIVE.
The proof is in the pudding
ANOTHER jIM SUPPORTER WHO POSTED AT 5:18:
iT's OBVIOUS THAT YOU ARE A mOTA SUPPORTER. wHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE In THE TIMES. face it, the race is between the boys.
Anonymous at 6:19 pm - Are you upset about something? Why the caps?
You mean someone writing into this blog supports one of the candidates?! What a shock! And here I was thinking this was polite discussion about the quality of the East Boston Times. Silly me. Silly me.
Your right, lets talk about the EB Times! what would you want to discuss?
Still waiting jimbo, for your interview with Carlo and Gloribell.
People are just tired of being told who to vote for. This election will send shock waves to the insiders! Trust me i work there
I have interviewed Gloribell Mota and Carlo Basile, but I am a bit overwhelmed with work right now. I will post the interviews as soon as I finish transcribing them.
Mr Lynds, the issue i have is your paper is backing Basile and giving him a lot of coverage becasue of that and the fasct that he buys ads. So basically, people who can take out ads or are supported by the people who run the paper can get even more coverage. And Carlo Basile has both. That makes me feel bad.
Stop the whining Donna, look at this weeks Times they both received the same coverage. Jeff can have all the coverage he wants it doesnt matter, he can't win
Anonymous, I'm not whinning. We should not attack each other that way. I'm not voting for Jeff. Your right. He's a done deal. But for the Times to have thier people helping a candidate and giving them extra coverage is wrong. Thats all. I'm not calling Carlo as crook or anything. And by the way, I don't whine. I speak my mind and I don't hide behind ANONYMOUS. This isn't some suburban blog. We are pretty much all from the neighborhood.
Your Right Donna, i'm sorry! I saw the Times this week and I think that the 2 men candidates got equal coverage.
Your also right abot We should all get along and find the rapist who committed horrific acts!
Anonymous, I hope you meant that sincerely. I am going to vote for Mota. I was considering Mary but I'm afraid she lacks the orginization to compete on election day with Carlo or Jeff. Even though he had his problems the Mayor is going to bus people to the polls and has several city staff working for him. Some of the Republican employees are helping Carlo but most of City Hall is with Jeff. Can mary counter that? If so then fine. But I think Mota has more of a chance.
Donna, I agree but we can't have more of City Hall forcing things down our throat. I just hope all you voters don't allow another city hall insider in. That being said I see alot of Basile support, i think he will beat Drago but then again I think Mota will too
Is East Boston going to decide this on whose friends can get more people to hold signs or bring workers to the polls? Guess Josh Resnek was right. Organization, money and popularity are what he said would win this election. Forget about the issues. What a sad day when Eastie will decide the future based on anything other than the issues. Wow are we in trouble.
Does anyone remember the Leone story? Ofcourse they are forgotten about
Anonymous, I undrstand your position and just think that Mota can beat Jeff. If Mota wasn't in the race though, I would support Basile.
Donna, what ever the case maybe. I just hope the City Hall insider doesn't win because there will never be any blance, there will be just another puppet
Can anyone from the Times answer Donna's question: Is the paper's coverage of the candidates affected by the number of ads their campaign purchases?
if you can't raise the money you shouldn't run. Stop complaining about the Times they do a great job
Mr. Resnek contends that about 50 people read this blog. If that is true, than 50 people know more about this election than the readers of his newspaper. He also contends that this election will be a popularity contest. He is right. Unfortunately for us, that is exactly what it will be.
The Hubster has taken on the responsibility abdicated by the East Boston Times. The Hubster asked the questions that the people of East Boston need answers to. The Hubster also did some investigating on his own time to bring out the other side of a story that people had questions about. I think the Hubster has done yeoman’s work in trying to raise the level of this election.
Is he entitled to an opinion, support a candidate, take a stand on issues? Absolutely! It’s his blog. I don’t think it is proper to demand things from someone who did not advertise this blog. I was kind of found by word of mouth. This isn’t exactly a revenue source for him. Do I think he gets a rush out of its popularity? I would hope so, but that doesn’t make it any less of a service.
The East Boston Times, if it wanted to be a leader in this community, could have made this election about issues. For the 5 weeks prior to the election it,(East Boston Times), could have asked the questions the Hubster did and turned over its OP-ED page to the candidates to answer those questions. Mr. Drago and Mr. Basile might have answered the questions in the Times.
What we got from the Times was, Carlo Basile, to know him is to like him. Well that’s enough reason to vote for someone, stop the election now, we found the most likable candidate. I was sure worried we would go through this election having to vote for the candidate that we thought was the smartest, most knowable. The Times cut right through all the election drivel and found us the most likable, thank you East Boston Times.
The East Boston Times has a responsibility to its advertisers, not the citizens of East Boston. I would guess that Mr. Basile and Mr. Drago have spent $10,000.00 with the Times. The Times definitely does not want to upset them by putting them in the uncomfortable position of having to ….. give an opinion.
yea, okay, they do a great job...for CERTAIN people...politics will be politics...it's time for a SHAKE-UP!!!
Regardless of any personal baggage, I think many of of Jimbo's observations on the Times are poignant. I can assume that it must be tough business these days to run a small paper. However, I feel nothing but disgruntled...and a sense of loss to see the state of the Times. I would hope that the folks who run the paper seriously rethink the business. The world is changing and local news entities should try their best to adapt. While tons of people still read real papers, plenty don't and thus a loss of revenue, and loss of funding to support real reporting, etc. Without pointing fingers at persons or assuming that there are maligned editorial agendas, I can wholeheartedly say that the Times is not a relevant news source on East Boston for me.
Brian, you are a fool to believe that people don't go searching for the Times every week. Don't get mad or try to play to Jimbo...you are obviously a new comer to eastie and have no idea how things work here.
Don't be mad and you need to Adapt yourself to our Times
Brain/Brian You should feel disgruntled about the East Boston Times Free Press. I think it should be renamed the Menino-Drago Times Free Press. Since Mr. Boston, aka Mr. Resnek, is known to spend so much time with Mayor Menino, we can't expect him to be unbiased in his writings. Calling Basile's supporters Hessians was over the top for someone who should remain unbiased, at least in public. Hessians were mercenaries so I guess Mr. Albano might have thought about joining the Hessians too. Remember that mercenaries serve for pay or reward. Mayor Menino is the paymaster, there's the connection. Let's be honest. The EB Times picked its candidate a long time ago. But they try to tell everyone on the street that they don't have a horse in the race. If we believe that, then we should believe the Mayor when he says he'll work on the litter problem here. That's in the EB Times today too.
Guess what Brian, if you don't like the Times, don't get it. I like it and Ilook forward to reading it every week. I'm sorry that the Times doesn't agree with your ultra liberal views. I bet you haven't lived in Eastie that long. You are probably one of those yuppies that want to change our traditions. I say if you don't like it here ,MOVE
I am a former resident who had finally had enough of the mayors destruction of what was once a great neighborhood. I have asked this question, "Is East Boston a better place to live in now or 15 years ago?" to not only friends, but actual politicians from the area and if the answer you give is "yes" you are so sadly mistaken. Crime is absolutely out of control. Acts that occur on the streets of East Boston today would have never happened years ago. The constant lies put into the liberal rags stating that East Boston is "up and coming" is the biggest joke going. This statement has been repeated over and over again for years now and I still do not see it. Although not a resident anymore, I have still stayed involved on a voluntary way in this community and what has happened so quickly to a neighborhood that was once so tight knit can all be attributed to the mayor and his cronies. The blodd is on their hands.......
Ah what a great day it is today October 1st,2007
I was walking through Central Square today,and bumped in to Mr.Lou Torrone of the Real East Boston Times.
Wow he looks great,must of lost 50 lbs.
I told him how much he is missed.
I have to say,I truly wish he never sold.
I have a question for the current Times owners as a parent of 3 kids I put through Savio.
Why didn't the Times do a single story as to why they closed?
Why didn't they ask the tough questions about the Financial disater,that should of been front page news.
Facts People:Savio was not required to pay a single penny in rent to the Salesians since 1998.
The only condition of the lease from 1998 on was to keep the buildings in good condition.As was disclosed in a press release from the Reverend Vicor Heuser.
To this day no one at the current Times will do a story about this black eye for Eastie.
I know for a fact that many people tried to even pay to get an article done,and were refused.
In my opinion they refused to CALL OUT the last 3 Boards to account for thier money because they are a controled paper,and doing so would of made a lot of connected people very upset,and embarrased.
The board of Savio from 2002-2006 refused to rellease any financial records requested through many Freedom of Information Act requests. They are a 501 c 3 Non Profit,and as such are required to have open books.
So East Boston Times please tell us why you refused to do a story about the money!!!
Now I have two more question,does the Times donate to any East Boston causes ?
What exactly is thier actual printed circulation.?I was told they only print 2000 copies,in a 38,000 person town .
We need another paper so bad its sad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Days to all.
I completely agree.
There is very little news, and the line between editorials and newsstories is very, very blurry.
The paper is not even a forum for local community events. I have young children, and the many happenings at the community centers and other places are not even regularly listed in the Times.
Really. What's the point?
I believe the upcoming years the electoral vote for Latinos of East Boston will grow a lot Latinos are become American citizens, we need a candidate that representing the growing number of Latinos
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