It’s been a crazy, hectic and somewhat emotional week.
On the work front, I was dealing with back-to-back significant news stories that took up a lot of my energy and time.
And — Laura chipped a tooth while eating a salad (Exhibit 104 of why you should avoid salads). The ensuing emergency dental visit put a nice little ding on the bank account.
We struggled with getting the camper ready for the season, and could not figure out why the battery was not charging. It’s fixed now. Also, the work week was evenly framed by two Saturdays of rain. Nice. I am already way behind on my outdoor chores.
And then there is always the plentiful criticism, the wailing and gnashing of teeth from people who are upset about me being one of the admins on the Biddeford + Saco Community Facebook page. What else is new?
My friend Liz Gothelf, publisher of Saco Bay News, was also there to cover the story, but I doubt that she experienced any of the emotional baggage that I felt walking back into that building for – presumably – the last time.
I would not be who I am today if I didn’t shit my pants in the first-grade.
You see, I was a first and second-grade student at JFK, just before my parents bought their home in Saco.
Liz and I left the press event at the same time. On our way out, we spotted a large canvass hanging in the hallway. Apparently, it was used to take pictures of the students. The banner read: “Be Awesome Today! We Are So Proud of You.”
We simply could not just walk past that photo opportunity. We took pictures of each other under the banner before exchanging goodbyes in the parking lot.
I quickly walked back to my truck, trying to hold back the tears welling up inside of me. I didn’t want anyone to see me crying.
All I could think about in that moment was a little six-year-old boy so afraid of his surroundings and the teacher that he literally shit his pants instead of asking the teacher to use the bathroom.
It might be okay if that was an isolated incident. Accidents happen, more literally: shit happens. But this was just a symptom and sort of encapsulated how I continued living my life.
For as long as I can remember, I have always been afraid. Always.
I was afraid of the other kids. I was shy, terrified of gym classes with Mr. Stanley at Young School in Saco. I was terrified of storms, I believed my parents were intentionally trying to poison me.
This carried on into high school. I was a shy basket case. I went through the motions, almost completely disconnected from my classmates. In fact, you cannot find a photo of me in our senior yearbook.
It’s as if I was invisible, and that’s how I liked it.
The fear thing continued into my very brief stint in the Air Force and followed me to college and later as I rather aimlessly shifted about the country. In and out of psychiatric facilities in Arizona, Tennessee and Oregon.
Things didn’t really change until the late 1990s when I was hired by the Biddeford-Saco Courier. All of a sudden, I had both a purpose and a personality. A couple of years later, I met Laura.
Today, I am not afraid of public restrooms. I’m not afraid of the teachers or even the principal.
Almost 55 years later, I was telling the teachers and staffers where to stand and how to pose for the photo. People listen to me — and for reasons I do not understand – they seem to respect me.
I wish I could go back in time and tell that terrified, little boy that he doesn’t have to be afraid; that very good things are coming his way. I wish I could tell him, ““Be Awesome Today! We Are So Proud of You.”
But you know what?
I would not be who I am today if I didn’t shit my pants in the first-grade.
Randy Seaver is a cranky, nearly insufferable malcontent living in Biddeford. He may be contacted by email: randy@randyseaver.com
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There’s no denying it. This is not your father’s news industry anymore. That’s good news, but it’s also very bad news.
I’m writing this because there were three significant local changes in the news industry that happened in just the last two weeks.
More about that in just a moment.
Traditional, legacy media outlets are no longer the sole guardians of truth and justice, and that fact — like it or not – will impact you — and it might even hurt you.
For centuries, newspapers, (and then later) radio and television news operations kept an immeasurable amount of gravitas in their pants’ pocket, like so many nickels and dimes. The publishers, editors (and oftentimes the reporters) took your trust in them for granted.
Nearly 300 years ago, Edmund Burke, a member of British Parliament, reportedly coined the term “Fourth Estate” to describe the press, pointing out its obligations as a check in government oversight and its responsibility to frame political issues as well as to be an advocate for the general public.
Pretty big responsibility, eh?
The industry that was once the trusted and almost sole gatekeeper of vital public news and information is now scrambling, desperately trying to find a way to remain relevant or at least financially solvent.
So, what are the threats and challenges facing both you as a news consumer and traditional media outlets?
First and foremost, social media platforms are taking over the distribution of news and information. There are no more paperboys and even newsrooms are shifting away from brick-and-mortar structures.
In survey after survey; in poll after poll, one fact becomes abundantly clear. Consumers want their news on their schedule (on demand). Readers also try to skirt paywalls, no longer seeing the value of paid news subscriptions.
Readers today gravitate toward click-bait headlines and “news” websites that match their own political ideology.
Photo: The Death of the Newspaper Industry | John W. Hayes)
Never-ending competition, a 24-7 news cycle and the disturbing rise of AI (artificial intelligence) all remain as threats to established and not-so-established news outlets.
And to top it off, reader trust in traditional news outlets is plummeting faster than shares of K-Mart stock.
In his Nov. 29, 2022 opinion column, Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby pointed to a recent Gallup report, which revealed that just one out of three Americans claimed to have a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of confidence in the media.
We could talk all day about the national news scene and the spiraling demise of legacy media, but let’s take a deeper look at the news on a local level, right here where it hurts the most.
Today, almost everyone is a journalist – or so they believe. All you need is a keyboard and an internet connection and it’s off to the races.
While I love certain aspects of “citizen journalism” it does sort of invite a Wild, Wild West approach in reporting news.
While I love certain aspects of “citizen journalism” it does sort of invite a Wild, Wild West approach in reporting news.
These citizens journalists typically do not have editors or the resources of an editorial board. They have no professional training. Ethics and objectivity are now electives, no longer requirements.
In other ways, however, these pesky citizen journalists and their social media followers do keep some much needed pressure on those Fourth Estate guys, the traditional legacy media outlets.
We’re not in Kansas anymore
Speaking of legacy, traditional media, the Bangor Daily News (BDN) – Maine’s preeminent source of political news – decided last week to shut down its editorial board. The paper will no longer have an Op-Ed (Opinion-Editorial) section.
I found that news strange. It struck me as counter-intuitive, especially since so many people are saying that readers are flocking toward opinion and away from objective news reporting.
In a Jan. 24 column, the BDN described the move as “the end of an era.”
Susan Young, the paper’s opinion editor, said the news was “bittersweet.”
“Far too few people read opinion content, so we have to try different things,” Young told me during an online conversation, saying the decision was influenced by the paper’s digital analytics.
The BDN’s decision will also mean the end of rigorous and highly regarded opinion columns from people like Amy Fried on the political left to Matt Gagnon on the political right.
Still closer to home, the publishers of the Biddeford-Saco Courier announced on Wednesday that they will now offer their subscribers a digital weekly update via email.
That “announcement” dropped exactly two weeks after I formally launched the Biddeford Gazette, a free digital newspaper dedicated to covering Biddeford news, opinion and events.
For more than 30 years, the Courier has relied upon free delivery of its print publication at newsstands or tossed into the driveways of private homes.
The Courier was founded and locally owned by David and Carolyn Flood. A few years ago, the paper was then sold to the owners of the Portland Press Herald who also own a number of weekly and daily publications.
Courier reporter Sydney Richelieu announced the “inaugural edition” of “Biddeford-Saco | Now” in an email sent to subscribers. The move, she said, is designed to offer readers another option in finding out what is happening in their community.
I have some unsolicited advice for Sydney and the Courier’s editors, please stop printing press releases and then labeling them with a byline of “Staff Reports.”
Otherwise, I am quite pleased that you guys finally want to step up your game in covering local news.
To be honest, I have a bit of an advantage over the other guys. I’m a Biddeford native and resident, and I have been covering Biddeford for nearly three decades. I have a stockpile of sources and lots of time on my hands.
Just a few days ago, a close friend of mine remarked that other local publications are now starting to pay more attention (deservedly so) to the city of Biddeford, since I launched the Gazette.
That’s actually really good news, especially for the people of Biddeford.
The other guys may not like the fact that I am now in the mix, but they should remember the folks at the Journal Tribune were none too happy when the Courier was launched in 1989; and the folks at the Courier were none too happy that Saco Bay News came along in 2019 and showed off the nimble advantages of being a digital publication.
Increased competition does not help the Courier, Saco Bay News or the Biddeford Gazette, but it does keep a fire lit under our asses; and that is good news for readers.
The people of Biddeford should not have to rely upon just one reporter for the news that matters to them.
Competition keeps reporters motivated, but more importantly – it keeps them in check.
The Biddeford Gazette is not trying to put anyone else out of business. In fact, the opposite is true.
The Biddeford Gazette uses its own social media pages on Facebook, BlueSky and X to round up and share local news stories from other media companies. No one else does that.
You read that right. We take the time to share news from the other guys on our social media pages. And when you click to read those stories, you are not directed to our website, instead all the postings will link automatically to whatever source produced the news, whether it’s Saco Bay News, the Courier or WGME-TV.
Please visit our new Facebook page and follow us to experience a new level of local news coverage.
Whenever or wherever news about Biddeford is published, we will be there to make sure you know about it.
That’s my mission. That’s my passion.
I value your trust.
I will not stop.
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Today – almost 44 years later – I still enjoy telling the story about the first time something that I wrote was published.
It was 1981. I was 16 and a high school junior. We were required to do a one-week work-study project, exploring a career field that seemed of interest.
I thought I wanted to be a newspaper reporter. So, I called the Journal Tribune —then this region’s daily newspaper – to make an inquiry. The editor (Eric Reiss) agreed to let me shadow a couple of reporters and work in the newsroom.
Back then smoking was allowed in newsrooms. So was coffee, profanity, screaming matches and the constant hum from a chorus of IBM Selectric II typewriters.
A typical newsroom in the 1970s (Chicago Tribune)
It was a marvelous time, especially for an enthusiastic high school kid with dreams of grandeur about becoming the next Bob Woodward.
Near the end of the week, I was allowed to occupy an empty desk that was closest to the cranky city editor, Bob Melville – a man who wore his glasses perched low on his nose.
Mr. Melville would later become a well-known real estate agent and was repeatedly elected to serve on the Biddeford School Board after his retirement. In real-life, Bob had a great sense of humor and was well-regarded as a hard-working, respectable man of intellect and integrity.
But for me, a skinny 16-year-old kid with stubborn acne, Mr. Melville was like the Wizard of Oz, and I was a combination of the Cowardly Lion and The Scarecrow. I had neither brains nor courage.
I was just sitting there at that desk, wondering what I should do. Phones were ringing all around me, but I was not allowed to answer them.
Our deadline was looming. If you have ever worked in a newsroom, you know that editors become increasingly grumpy with each passing second closer to deadline.
Melville, clutching his phone, suddenly turned to me, staring at me over the glasses that remain still perched on the end of his nose.
Mr. Melville was like the Wizard of Oz, and I was a combination of the Cowardly Lion and The Scarecrow. I had neither brains nor courage.
“Kid!” he barked. “Line Two.”
I was shocked, excited and terrified. The city editor was giving me a story. Finally! Something I could actually write! I was on my way now!
Oh, the places you will go
Turns out that the guy on ‘Line 2’ was a local funeral director. He was calling to give me a last-minute obituary for that afternoon’s newspaper.
I took copious notes on a legal pad. I do not remember the name of the gentleman I was writing about. I only remember that he belonged to about every social club you could imagine: The Elks, The Eagles, The Lions, Rotary . . . the list seemed endless.
The deceased also had roughly 250,000 nieces, nephews, cousins and grandchildren.
I hung up the phone and loaded a fresh sheet of paper into my typewriter. I had never written an obituary before, but Mr. Melville gave me a stack of some recent obits as a guide.
I put my very best effort into writing that obituary. I pained over each word, doing my best to avoid split infinitives and ending any sentence with a preposition.
Melville kept glancing at me and then the clock on the wall. I could tell he was becoming impatient.
I tore the copy from my typewriter and proudly placed it in a wire basket on Melville’s desk before returning to my chair.
I watched as he began to read my masterpiece. His brow furrowed and his posture stiffened. He grabbed a red pen and was waving it across my piece with an almost gleeful abandon.
After several painstaking seconds of anticipation, he finally turned to me and asked: “Where do you go to high school?”
Actually, that year I was attending Rumford High School, but I blurted out “Thornton Academy.”
“Well, don’t they teach English at Thornton Academy?” he huffed.
I was humiliated but could barely wait until the first run of that day’s paper was completed. I anxiously turned to the obituaries page but found nothing that remotely resembled my masterpiece.
In the end, the only two things I got right was the man’s name and age. Basically, everything else had been rewritten. No matter, I was proud.
My mother was proud, too. She cut out that obituary and posted that poor bastard’s obituary on our refrigerator – I was now part of an elite clan: a newspaper reporter who had published something in a real newspaper.
In the mood
More than four decades later, and I am now a semi-retired newspaper editor and reporter.
A few weeks ago, I launched a new endeavor, The Biddeford Gazette. The Gazette is a free, online news outlet that focuses on Biddeford news and events.
A lot has changed in the newspaper business over the last 40 years. For example, you can no longer smoke in a newsroom, but profanity among your coworkers is still strongly encouraged.
For better or worse, more and more people are turning to social media for their news and information. Thanks to technology, today’s news consumers can now custom tailor their news feed almost in the same way you create a music playlist on Spotify or YouTube.
Some of the changes are good, but many of the changes – especially AI (Artificial Intelligence) – are not so good.
Launching my own media source was never intended to become a source of income. It’s basically a hobby, a tool to help provide some handrails on the road of life.
Yes, I still do a little political consulting and some public relations work for clients throughout New England, but none in the Biddeford or Saco area.
The Biddeford Gazette allows me to report news on my terms, when I want and how I want. I’m not here to compete with any other traditional publication, including Saco Bay News, the Biddeford-Saco Courier or the Portland Press Herald.
Up until last year, my website was called Randy Seaver Consulting and provided an overview of the services I offered as a public relations consultant.
My lingering mental health issues, however, played a part in me stepping away from the full-time, stress-packed world of political consulting.
Then, as I began shifting my professional career, I renamed the site, Lessons in Mediocrity so that I could basically do whatever I want: serious journalism, political satire, fiction, local news and a diary of coping tools against schizophrenia, anxiety and depression.
Well, how did I get here?
Today is the first day of 2025.
I am no longer that skinny kid with pimples too afraid to look a girl in the eye. I am once again going to rebrand this website as the Biddeford Gazette.
Up until today, the Biddeford Gazette was a sub-page on my blog. Rest assured, my personal blog will continue – but now as a subpage to the Gazette.
Since launching the Biddeford Gazette just six weeks ago, I have been able to break some significant news stories and also have a bit of fun at the expense of local politicians. (Someone needs to keep them on their toes)
And I am pleased to announce that beginning January 6, 2025, the Biddeford Gazette will publish local obituaries that are supplied by local funeral homes.
Traditional media outlets charge significant fees to publish an obituary. The Biddeford Gazette will publish them for free with the help of some social media partners in the Biddeford and Saco area.
Imagine that, 44 years later, and I am going right back to where I started, doing my best to honor and remember those who are no longer with us.
This change just feels right.
Happy New Year!
P.S. This website is currently being reconfigured.
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There is a right way and a wrong way to resign from public office.
Over just the past few days, folks in Biddeford and surrounding communities got to see examples of how to; and how not to act when you get caught with your fingers in the pudding.
In many ways, being a reporter in a relatively small community is a lot tougher than reporting on issues at the state house or the White House.
Former Biddeford Councilor Bobby Mills/Facebook
Why?
Because in a small town you often know the people you are writing about. They are sometimes your friends and neighbors. Furthermore, if you’re a reporter in a small town, many people also know you.
They know where you live; what kind of truck you drive. They know your wife, your parents and your kids.
Sure, you can tell yourself that none of it is personal, it’s just business, but that’s just not always true. And sometimes, it’s difficult for a reporter, editor or publisher to know exactly where to draw the line.
Journalists are expected to follow a strict set of self-imposed ethical guidelines. Sometimes, we make mistakes. More often, however, we find ourselves struggling to decide what is news and what is not news.
It’s not as easy as it may look, folks.
Yesterday (April 18) I got called onto the carpet by many people for what appeared to be some bias in my reporting regarding the separate resignations of former Biddeford City Councilors Bobby Mills and Julian Schlaver.
In some ways, my critics were right. But there are some circumstances you should know before claiming that I was nicer to Schlaver than I was to Mills.
So, let’s back up a bit and consider the bigger picture.
Mystery Achievement
In the interest of clarity, let’s follow a chronological order of the events that detail the reasons behind the resignations of both Bobby Mills and Julian Schlaver and why those resignations may look the same, but are so much different.
Former Biddeford City Councilor Julian Schlaver/City of Biddeford
Although it’s hard to believe, it’s important to remember that these are two completely separate matters.
Despite astronomical odds, these two middle-aged, white guys; who live within three miles of each other; and who were both elected in November; both resigned their seats on the Biddeford city council after receiving criminal summonses from the Biddeford Police Department within a period of nine days.
You can’t make this shit up.
So, let’s start at the beginning. On the evening of April 7, when then City Councilor Bobby Mills was involved in a non-reportable motor vehicle accident downtown. Mills was given a criminal summons for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
Roughly two days later, Mills decided to resign his position on the city council and his position as the York County treasurer.
So far, so good right? I mean we all make mistakes.
I begin receiving text messages from a slew of people who apparently closely follow every incident listed in the public police log.
I called Bobby Mills to ask for his side of the story and his explanation about why he resigned. Mills never called me. He did however, begin sending me several text messages, a virtual paper trail.
Mills knows me. He knows I am a reporter. We are not friends. We never communicate about anything other than city business. His first text to me outlines some very personal, family issues. There is no need for me to publish anything about Mills’ family or friends.
I then called my publisher Liz Gotthelf at Saco Bay News. I explain the story, and told her that I don’t think there’s any need to include mention of the summons that Mills was given by police.
Why?
I’ve known Bobby Mills for nearly 20 years. I have often roundly criticized his performance as an elected official. But I feel bad for the guy. Based on his first few text messages, I determine he already has enough on his plate. He doesn’t need more public shaming.
Saco Bay News does not regularly publish a police blotter or other OUI charges.
But my biggest reason for not including Mills’ OUI charge in my first story is the fact that Bobby has resigned. He no longer has any influence or potential influence in public matters. Also, he has been charged, not convicted.
Within an hour of filing my first news story (click here), I wrote a complimentary blog post about Mr. Mills, his public service and my sometimes-harsh criticisms of his political antics. (Click here to read that blog post).
Mills then sends me a text message, thanking me for what I wrote. He tells me he thought “it was nice.”
So, that’s where the story ends, right? Mills resigned for personal reasons. The city will need to hold a special election to fill his seat. Time to go to bed, relax and get a good night’s sleep.
Not so fast. We’re just getting started.
The Tragically Hip
It’s Wednesday, April 17. Eight days after Bobby Mills announced his resignation. It is about 2:30 p.m. I am with Laura, enjoying a late lunch at Mulligan’s.
My phone begins to vibrate on the bar. It is an incoming text message from one of my confidential sources. The message has only two words: “Schlaver resigned.”
I was stunned. I trust this source. How could this be true? A late April Fools joke because I included Schlaver’s wife on my list of the 20 most influential political figures in Biddeford-Saco?
What the hell?
I immediately call Schlaver. Laura picks up her phone and logs onto the Biddeford Police Department’s dispatch log.
Julian Schlaver does not answer immediately. I look at Laura. She is shaking her head. “Look at this,” she says, pointing to her phone.
According to police records, Councilor Julian Schlaver was given a summons by the Biddeford Police Department on a charge of an alleged assault at approximately 11 p.m. on Saturday, April 13.
Julian returns my call moments later. He explains his side of the story. He says he thought resigning his position on the council was the right decision. He expresses “sincere regret.”
Laura and I return home. I go into my office and lock the door. I begin making telephone calls; first to my publisher, and then Mayor Marty Grohman. My original plans for that afternoon were shot.
I begin working on the next story. As I did the previous week with Mills, I once again decided not to include the criminal charge because Julian resigned and no longer had power or influence over the citizens of Biddeford.
That may have been a bad call, but I was shooting for fairness and consistency. Was I wrong? Maybe.
But, wait. It gets weirder. Much weirder.
Cold Wind Blowing Over Your Private Parts
Just before filing my news story about Schlaver’s resignation, my phone chirps again.
Another confidential informant tells me that Bobby Mills, the man who resigned his seat on the Biddeford City Council eight days ago, is now planning to be a candidate for that seat in a special election scheduled in June.
What? Are you kidding me?
Now the kid gloves come off. The voters need to know what is happening. All of it. Bobby Mills could likely be back on the city council in June.
It is now almost 4 p.m. on Wednesday (still April 17).
I call Mills to confirm the news that he is planning to run in the special election. He sends me a text message in reply.
This is what he wrote: “Sorry I missed your call (sic) bud. I’m swamped at work. In case you were wondering, I am running, eager to head back to the council.”
I reply with my own text message: “We need to talk!”
A few minutes later, Mills sent me yet another text message: “I decided last night (April 16) that I would run in the special election and seek to return. I believe in our community and want to be there to continue the fight for the people that don’t speak out. I’ve been that way for a very long time.”
I have my story. It is unbelievable, but it is documented. I quickly back up my phone’s data and copy the files to two external drives. Why? Because I know Bobby Mills.
I call Liz Gotthelf, the publisher of Saco Bay News. I explain the latest developments. She is flabbergasted. We agree that we have no choice now but to include the police report regarding Bobby Mills and a criminal OUI charge.
Why now and not before? Because Bobby Mills has announced his candidacy and his intention to run. It’s a new ball game.
But what about Julian? Should we go ahead and include reference to his entanglement with police? Liz and I talk about it. I make the case that Julian is not seeking a return to public life. Liz agrees.
We file the story online. Almost immediately, I began to receive a slew of angry text messages from Mills. Not a peep from Schlaver, however.
I also start to get some angry messages from a few people who don’t exactly like Julian Schalver. They say, I am being biased by printing the police info about Mills, but not Schlaver.
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, they argued.
In retrospect, I think I made a mistake, a judgment error, in both cases. I should have included the police records in the first story about Mills’ resignation, and I should have included the police records in the story about Schlaver’s resignation.
I own those errors.
But wait. There’s more:
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Beginning early Thursday morning (April 18) Mills continues to send me text messages. He talks about contacting his lawyer. He lashes out at me. He says he is tired of being “attacked” by me.
He thinks it is outrageous that I finally included information about his April 7 police incident.
His words: ““I have a job, career and family. I don’t need your consistent (sic) badgering. Just like you were before. I thought you changed. But your complete goal is to (sic) obviously to harass and ruin people’s lives.”
I send a reply text to explain that I changed gears simply because he is once again seeking the public spotlight. My exact words to Mills:
“You are now a candidate for public office,” I wrote. “People in the community have a right to know about elected officials. I am bending over backward to give you an opportunity to publicly present your side of the story.”
Mills responds: “I am not a candidate! Nothing has been filed! So (sic) your attacking me is unwarranted. You need to get your information correct!!!!!! No one is a candidate unless something is filed. Apparently, you don’t know that I am a private citizen and you keep attacking me.”
Huh? What?
Mills apparently forgot that 18 hours prior, he wrote to me (a well-known reporter in Biddeford), saying, “I decided last night (April 16) that I would run in the special election and seek to return.
Now he’s not a candidate?
For more than 15 years, Bobby Mills has been injecting himself into the public spotlight. He rarely misses an opportunity to run for office. (Check this prior blog post). He ran for the Legislature, switched parties, switched back and still lost. He has been on the city council for the better part of the last decade.
Up until 10 days ago, he was the county treasurer.
And now, he wants the luxury of being a “private citizen?” He is now outraged that the media is actually paying attention to him?
The media is ruining his life? Really? Maybe it had something to do with his poor decisions? Maybe?
Here is the ultimate irony.
Beginning yesterday, more than two weeks after Mills was arrested and given his OUI summons, the story about the resignations of Mills and Schlaver have now appeared in most every major media outlet in southern Maine.
I was the only reporter who tried to give Mills a break.
LESSONS IN MEDIOCRITY 