Left In Lowell

Is the Sun cutting back on CC coverage?

24 Responses to “Is the Sun cutting back on CC coverage?”

1. lucythedog Says:
   April 3rd, 2008 at 8:30 am

   these are tough times in the newspaper industry and you didn’t think that new ground-breaking suncast news magazine was going to pay for itself, did you?

2. bobo Says:
   April 3rd, 2008 at 11:10 am

   Doesn’t surprise me one bit. They can’t even compete with LiL for info most of the time. How can they afford to pay people?

   They also used a correspondent today for a story on a fire that left 16 people homeless! Merited all of two paragraphs. You can’t get a reaction quote from more than one person that lost their home? Really busting their tails to get the story there.

   If anyone saw the last season of the show The Wire on HBO you will get a great idea of the struggles the newspaper industry is currently dealing with. They had almost the exact story lines about the lack of experienced staff reporters to build any contacts and relationships with many city officials to cover the ins and outs of local government. They also had an off hand reference about no one being able to cover a story about a fire. A good friend who used to be a reporter said it was dead on. Art appears to imitate life in this case or is it vice versa?

   I am continually amused by the Sun’s requests for editorial columnists. Imagine someone asking you to work for them for free so they can make some money selling ads based on what you wrote! This would not happen in almost any other industry. I guess people must really like seeing their name in the paper.

   I’m sure there are some fans of The Wire on this board, but if you haven’t seen it, you own it to yourself to rent the 5 seasons on DVD. Its not the easiest show to follow if you don’t see every episode, but it is phenomenal TV. It really shows the ins and outs of politics and why there is so much resistance to change, especialy in government.

3. Mr. Lynne Says:
   April 3rd, 2008 at 11:19 am

   “They can’t even compete with LiL for info most of the time.”

   Thats a much appreciated vote of confidence. Just the same we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. None of us is full time on this thing, so if there is excellent information to be had here, its from you the community.

4. waittilnextyr Says:
   April 3rd, 2008 at 11:55 am

   The Sun is reporting that the City has won its case in federal court in the lawsuit brought by James Lichoulas disputing the City’s payment when they acquired his properties in the JAM area. This decision removes a potential roadblock from the Hamilton Canal development plan, although Mr. Lichoulas could potentially appeal the verdict. Although his position on these properties seemed pretty tenous due to the decrepit condition of the buildings and the environmental clean-up risks, we cannot blame him for trying to maximize his return. A recent post of his on the subject of the shelter implies he has good intentions for the area and some remaining interest in it, so maybe that will be sufficient reward for him to not continue to fight the legal battle.

5. Lynne Says:
   April 3rd, 2008 at 11:59 am

   Hear, hear, Mr. Lynne. This place is nothing without everyone who reads and comments. And Mimi. (Our third year anniversary is coming up. I say we throw Mimi a party for all the work she’s done here!!)

6. bobo Says:
   April 3rd, 2008 at 2:34 pm

   Mr Lynne, I’m not trying to hurt anyone with pats on the back, I just think LiL does quite a good job for being unpaid involved citizens. I think I often get as much good info here as I do in the Sun, especially from Mimi with regard to city government. I don’t think the level of depth in the Sun has close to the depth of coverage of some issues here. I don’t go to LiL for breaking police news or horse racing (okay that was snarky), but it definitely fills a gap in some areas of coverage.

   Now for the eminent domain case…

   I don’t blame Lichoulas for trying to maximize his return, I blame him for being a tax deadbeat and letting those buildings go to hell in a handbasket. I think he had a lot of nerve to sue for the city taking something that was blighted and a major threat to public safety after not paying his taxes for so long. The city did him a big favor. Best thing he can do now is sell the rest of his propeties in Lowell and get lost.

7. Mr. Lynne Says:
   April 3rd, 2008 at 2:36 pm

   “I don’t go to LiL for breaking police news or horse racing (okay that was snarky),”

   LOL There is only one paper I can think of for reliable in depth coverage of the horse racing off season.

8. Prince Charming Says:
   April 3rd, 2008 at 2:42 pm

   Mimi: crack pipe again?? Are you trusting the Lowell Sun to be our eyes and ears at the CC meetings? That’s like leaving the elephant in charge of the peanuts.

9. Mimi Says:
   April 3rd, 2008 at 7:01 pm

   PC: Hah! I can see you have not lost your sense of humor. Yes, I do expect independent journalist sto keep an eye on government. As for the Sun, I do not think we can paint all of the staff members with the same brush.

10. Prince Charming Says:
    April 3rd, 2008 at 9:03 pm

    I don’t either, but this blog does quite well in reporting the truth, which is something the paper has a little trouble with.

11. K-R-S Says:
    April 3rd, 2008 at 9:54 pm

    It would appear ( and based on reports) that whenever “someone” points out a discrepancy in reporting, they are completely BLACKED OUT. So watch out, if you don’t fit the agenda.

    Furthermore, the “Good Journalists” are consistenlty “squashed” by the those of whom, who have an agenda that have failed to make that personal agenda clear to the readership.
    Consistently there are articles that are sliced and diced to the point of non comprehension! How sad for the Author!

    And yes, based on coverage and “punishment” efforts (when certain folks in City Government complain), it would be safe to assume that the Lowell Sun has pulled back on City Hall coverage.
    With that said, on this blog…some days are akin to taking out the trash AND there’s no charge! Viva La Internet!

    Glad to see you back PC, I missed your commentary!

12. Kpem Says:
    April 3rd, 2008 at 10:43 pm

    As someone new to watching the cc meetings maybe the Sun decided there is not much to cover. Does anyone else think who the heck cares about:

    MAYOR CAULFIELD, seconded by C. R. Mercier
    “Request the City Manager, when submitting the proposed Fiscal 2009 City Budget, list departments in alphabetical order”. In Council, Referred to the City Manager and to the Finance Sub/Committee. So voted.
    BY MAYOR CAULFIELD, seconded by C. Kazanjian
    “Request the City Manager to bring forward, an appropriation transfer to purchase a new speaker public address system for the city’s dedications and presentations”. In Council, Referred to the City Manager. So voted.
    BY MAYOR CAULFIELD, seconded by C. Martin
    “Request the City Manager take the appropriate action to name the corner of Forest Street and Stevens Street for PFC John F. Landry Jr. and that if be referred to the Square Dedication Committee”. In Council, Referred to the City Manager. So voted.

    Am I missing something over the last few cc meetings? I am sure that the cc would like people to hear them while they administer their public addresses about how they are renaming some street corner or parking garage for some worthy person so they can get more votes.
    KRS do us all a favor and do not miss a single park naming, garage naming, or street corner naming(AK was at all of them) These are the issues that the cc are willing to vote on as they know this is how they get their votes.

13. K-R-S Says:
    April 4th, 2008 at 6:53 am

    Based on Kpem’s information, doesn’t appear to be much substance
    I don’t get it.
    Kpem - Unfortunately, being present at the naming of sqaures, envelope openings and park namings is not in the cards as I do not have the luxury of being independently wealthy, retired and/or having grown children.
    The naming of squares has scaled back quite a bit and standard practices put into place.
    BUT, a new public address system? Wow, Happy Days are here again! Better to hear our CC sing the National Anthem with…
    And alphabetizing the budget….Bud, how many years have you been a CC? And how many budgets have you gone through? After all these years, you still don’t know where departments are listed in the budget? The table of contents helps…really.

14. Corey Says:
    April 4th, 2008 at 10:21 am

    To briefly go back to the Lichoulas discussion,I found this yesterday. Makes the guy out to almost be some folk-hero environmentalist! It really makes you appreciate something like LiL because at least now I have more than just The Sun telling me that these poor souls are completely misguided on this guy. A one news source town is a dangerous place:

    http://www.frenchriverland.com/new_page_6.htm

15. middle roader Says:
    April 4th, 2008 at 12:41 pm

    Lichoulas could care less about alternative energy or the environment. He’s been a slumlord for years and is only after the money.

16. Corey Says:
    April 4th, 2008 at 1:30 pm

    Exactly my point - I’d be second guessing The Sun over this if it wasn’t for the fact that LiL has the same viewpoint on him.

17. Lynne Says:
    April 4th, 2008 at 5:38 pm

    I’ll be honest: I’ve met the young Jim Lichoulas, and he seemed to genuinely want to make something of the properties his family owns in Lowell. I suggest that people might want to take a second look. I think he’s aware of his family’s reputation. You all should give him a chance, instead of making assumptions.

    I’ll be the first to admit those old reputations are well-deserved. But let’s not visit the sins of the father on the son, until we have some evidence, OK?

18. bobo Says:
    April 5th, 2008 at 10:23 am

    Lynne the Lichoulas body of work speaks for itself. Period. How long does it take to make something of the properties? Much of the time the Hamilton Canal area sat vacant and threatening the rest of the area the economy was roaring, not struggling like it is now. And I have had direct interaction over some of the properties in question. At best all you can say is he bit off more than he could chew.

    That just happened to blight part of the city and stuck it to us for much needed tax revenue for a long time. He can play victim of circumstance all he wants. I’m not buying it. The rest of us play by the rules and meet our obligations to pay taxes and maintain properties. The sins of the father don’t mean the son gets a free ride either.

    That old turbine is his last grasp to milk some more money out of all of us.

19. Eleanor Rigby Says:
    April 5th, 2008 at 11:55 am

    I used to know someone who was a Sun “correspondent”, they get paid per story and if I recall, either by the inch or word. The editor knows how much the paper is willing to pay so the story is “edited” for length, not content.

    Couple this move (using freelance writers instead of staffers) and getting “guest” (read that free) columnists and the shrinking size of the paper I predict that eventually they will move to Devens and combine the Sun and Sentinenal and Enterprise into one ‘regional’ paper under one masthead.

    Maybe the Eagle-Tribune will move to fill in the information void although they are also corporate owned now as well.

20. Corey Says:
    April 5th, 2008 at 12:37 pm

    If it is true that that turbine is still there and is runnable, then I do think that would be cool to have on that site instead of just flattening it. But the city is right though - that’s a totally insignificant amount of juice. So, if it’s not practical to keep it, my arm-chair environmentalist self isn’t too concerned.

    According to that page, his turbine is 346 kW. The Main Boott Hydro plant at the University Ave Bridge on the Northern Canal is 17.3 MW (http://www.enel.it/northamerica/powerPlantsDett.asp?reg=ne&sm=1). Boott has four smaller plants elsewhere - I’m guessing those are the ones I’ve heard are under the Boott Mill, the Hamilton Mills, etc for another 7 MW. Compare to the L’Energia plant on Tanner St at apparently a little under 100 MW.

21. waittilnextyr Says:
    April 5th, 2008 at 3:12 pm

    346 KW is not a lot, but it is clean. If that were to be made useful it could be a significant step in making the HCD energy neutral with renewable sources. There is already a heavy use of solar planned for the buildings proposed by Trinity, and maybe a wind turbine for the highest building.

22. bobo Says:
    April 6th, 2008 at 9:04 am

    The Trib, though I think it is a slightly better paper, isn’t great shakes either. After they were bought by a national conglomerate they made an attempt to cut their retirees health care. Their employees tried to unionize and a lot of them were quietly reassigned or decided to move on after that vote failed. The vote failed because all employees under the corporate masthead (so called “regional network”) were lumped together. The paper’s ownership challenged in court to make this so, after the union campaign had essentially been done at the paper’s main office, even though there was no actual connection between employees at the smaller papers and the Trib itself. There was little chance and time for the union organizers to build a concensus or relationship with the other staffers. It was divide and conquer. I know there is another occasional poster on this blog who could probably tell the tale more accurately than I, but that was the gist of what happened to their newsroom.

23. Eleanor Rigby Says:
    April 6th, 2008 at 11:23 am

    bobo, from what I read in Dan Kennedy’s column a few years ago the Sun under the late Paul Sullivan orchestrated a decertification of the union there as well, when it happened most of the quality reporters left and we are now left with kids out of school, a couple of folks hanging on because there is no where left to go, and “correspondents”.

    I understand that the Eagle-Tribune is also corporate owned now, and they did those things, that’s why I’m not optomistic that they will take up the slack, I just wish would.

    As for Kpem’s assessment of the agenda and implication of what’s the big deal if a “correspondent” covers city hall?

    Much of the information about politics etc in the city comes after reporters develop a trust with people outside of the elected few. Those are the folks that have institutional knowledge and know what’s going on and where to look for answers.

    Naming a street corner for a veteran is a nice Sunday story that has made its way into the weekeday paper as “news” because there are no beat reporters developing stories and sources. Only the editor

24. Jim Lichoulas III Says:
    April 6th, 2008 at 1:37 pm

    I really don’t know how to respond to this thread. I guess some people have their opinion and there is no changing it. For what it is worth, I worked on the reconstruction of the water wheel as a 14 year old and it is very important to me and my family. My father was visionary at the time fighting for the water rights and rebuilding the wheel. There is no reason for it to be destroyed despite any construction that could happen at the site. It seems to me that there is a way for all parties to get what they want, but that doesn’t seem to happen much in Lowell. There is a lot more to the story of the Appleton Mill than meets the eye, but I do not see how discussing that history in this type of forum would do anything than bring about additional attacks from prejudiced people.

    Love me or hate me, I am actively involved in the JAMbra organization and I believe that we are making a real difference in our neighborhood. I have many projects under development in the neighborhood and I hope that all of the negative people have an open mind to my ideas. I have met Lynne and hope to meet more of the regulars to this blog. If you are going to continue to rip my family, the least that you could do is stand up and come out from behind your pseudonyms.

    What really amazes me about this blog (in all threads) are the constant attacks to each other. I guess that is what happens in an anonymous forum, but it seems like such a waste of energy to me. If anyone would like to channel that energy into something productive come to a JAMbra meeting. I’ll be there. Our next meeting is this Wednesday 6:30 at Cappy’s Copper Kettle.

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