Volume 59.10

This was a tough issue. 

            How does a newspaper cover a recent former staff member, when many current members are angry, hurt or upset?  

            One staff member told me she felt "violated." 

            Others expressed concern about a conference The Critic had attended, where they had learned to trust the former editor as a professional and as a friend, only to have what they felt as their trust "betrayed." 

            In the article that appeared in Volume 59.10 of The Critic, Eric Blaisdell said he would tell his friends from Lyndon State College that "they know who I am."

            In an interview with Jonathan Davis, Dean of Student Affairs, I asked him what he would say to people who felt "violated." He said he that he would be happy to meet with them. 

           "All I would be able to do is to assure them that we did our homework as far as the process of admission to the college and if we felt they were a risk to the community, we would not have them in the community," Davis said. "If that did not fully address their concerns, I would understand that. That would be, I’m sure, a source of frustration for them. I would hope meeting face to face with them would alleviate some concern."  

            I could not cover the story due to my own conflict, as I had known this information throughout most of his editorship. Some have accused me of withholding valuable information. To those people, I will say that I knew this information the same as they could have known, and the only reason this is a story now is due to the fact there was a debate about his conflict of interest with his current position as a courts reporter. I was not obligated in any way--as a individual, or as a journalist--to reveal this information prior to now.   

           The only option was to select a reporter who had the most neutral feelings on the matter, and run with it. That reporter was News Editor, Tyler Dumont. The Caledonian Record also picked up Dumont's story, where it ran front page in their Nov. 30th, 2012. 

            Feel free to give feedback in the comment box! I always enjoy hearing what readers have to say, even if it is a criticism.