The executive editor of Maine’s largest paper has taken a page from a former Democrat White House aide who famously said “never let a serious crisis go to waste.”
Carolyn Fox used her oh-so-special column Sunday to boast that, amid the Portland Press Herald’s fine coverage of the ICE protests across Maine, the liberal rag has seen “an uptick in donations.”
Fox also gave her readers a big hug in the column apparently designed to prevent them from getting mad at her ICE coverage.
Claiming to be a seasoned journalist, Fox averred that “family and friends seek me out for reassurance that everything is going to be OK.”
Thanks, Dr. Phil!
“Note from the editor,” her column was headlined. “Coverage of ICE is as complicated as it is important.”
If the editor were trying to claim ad nauseum that her paper is picking no favorites in the ICE fight even as it performs a wonderful, selfless public service, she actually overplayed her defensiveness.
As for Fox’s mentioning that the paper is enjoying increased financial support from her fawning liberal readers, it sounded like Chicago Democrat Rahm Emanuel, then-chief of staff to President Obama.
“Never let a serious crisis go to waste,” was Emanuel’s famous 2008 line when the Obama/Biden administration was navigating the minefields of a national financial crisis.
Judging from the fact that the Portland Press Herald’s parent company has been losing money since buying the paper in 2023, it’s perhaps no surprise that Fox is cosplaying as a Biden-era character to drum up financial support as she hemorrhages readers to the growing prominence of the new kid on the block – known as The Maine Wire.
Fox, who traditionally puts a paywall blocking freeloaders, is now suddenly offering all stories about ICE free of charge to any reader, paid or unpaid, as part of her campaign to bump up the numbers.
“Become a supporter of the Maine Trust for Local News,” is the headline she now puts above every ICE story. “Support our work so we can expand our coverage and access of essential public information.”
“Never let a serious crisis go to waste.”
As reported last week, The Maine Wire has far eclipsed the entrenched Portland Press Herald in the number of Facebook followers – 124,000 vs. 92,000.
‘Never let a serious crisis go to waste.’ – As reprised by Carolyn Fox, editor, Portland Press Herald
