The top editor of the largest paper in northcentral Maine apparently feels forced to let you know their staff knows what it’s doing.
Dan MacLeod, top dog at the Bangor Daily News, published on Friday an “editor’s note” headlined “What BDN journalism stands for.”
Not for nothing, MacLeod’s defense coincidentally comes just days after The Maine Wire reported that the paper was advertising for a new political reporter that it said would walk away from any news events covered by the competition.
“Unlike advocacy groups that might fight for a specific policy or political outcome, our daily charge is to seek the truth, report it fairly and present it compellingly to help our readers,” MacLeod writes.
“Thirty years ago, that wasn’t controversial,” he says. “But today the very purpose and practice of reporting is questioned and threatened. We feel that now is the time to address what exactly it is that we’re trying to do here.”
If anyone needs a hint as to what legacy newspapers are up against, they need only read the Facebook comments in response to MacLeod’s column.
One observant reader called the Bangor Daily News the “Biased Daily News BDN,” noting that it accepts “sponsored” stories from Democrat Gov. Janet Mills.
Not to worry, the Bangor Daily wants to know it’s in nobody’s pocket, MacLeod insists.
“Every day, powerful people are hiding information that matters to you,” MacLeod said. “Our first job is to reveal it. Our second job is to cover whatever else is novel and important.”
But yet, Bangor reporters will “leave immediately” from any news events being covered by competitors.
Go figure that one out.
