Thanks goodness for Jenna Fisher at Patch who continues to explore the meeting of eleven female Newton City Councilors that attendees say was “a back yard wine and cheese conversation” about the “appropriateness of the way women were being treated” but is the subject of an anonymous Open Meeting Law complaint, now being investigated by the city solicitor.
In the complaint to the Attorney General’s office, someone alleged all of the women on the Newton City Council who went to a May 20 event violated Open Meeting Law by holding a meeting to talk about council business. But a number of people at the event, described as a back yard wine and cheese conversation, said they did not talk about any official business. Instead, multiple city councilors told Patch the purpose was to talk about decorum during meetings. At least two asked for advice from the city clerk and at least one told Laredo as much in an effort to be transparent, they said. One councilor said after the group met, another councilor said she would circle back to Laredo and share what was discussed at the gathering.
I have read the article and I still don’t understand what “this behavior” means.
The other thing we still do not know is if President Laredo was aware of concerns from female councilors before May 20 and, if so, what, if anything, was done about it then.
Also, I hate to sound like a broken record, but this is another example of why we so desperately need local journalists. Fisher’s beat for Patch includes multiple communities so there’s only so much we can expect. Meanwhile, this week’s story in the TAB only covered the Open Meeting Law complaint, not the issues that appear to really be behind the female councilors’ decision to meet.
@Greg– I’m in total agreement about the community’s need for more local journalists. But it seems like newspapers are nearing the bottom of a long death spiral. I know it’s likely a complicated answer, but maybe you could give me a thumbnail version. What does the future of journalism look like for cities the size of Newton? Is it possible to operate a local newspaper at a profit anymore? Should we expect to see any new publications in Newton, or look more to online forums like Village 14?
@Mike: Concerns about the local news void aren’t limited to Newton. In response, we’re seeing an uptick in new news sites being created nationwide, often as non-profits. Here’s a favorite example.
Village 14 is not that. Our participants are unpaid, volunteers. We make no money. And I think Village 14 should stay that way.
But it would be amazing to also have an independent news site in Newton staffed by professional paid journalists.
The question is: Where does the money come from? There are some grants out there and local businesses that might be interested, but I think we’d need a public broadcasting model where residents dipped into their pockets to pay for it; not just once but annually.
@Greg: I think a non-profit fundraising venture could go quite far in a place like Newton. I’ve long thought that a non-profit paying the reporters to do the actual reporting, but not having to hire staff to do the disseminating, could go a long way. Reporting could be provided with an open license, allowing V14, Tab, and Patch to run it as they see fit.
It’s an interesting idea Bryan, although I’ve always believed media competition is healthy for a democracy. Ideally one would hope that an independent news site with its own professional journalists would inspire the TAB and Patch, and maybe even the Globe, to step up the quality and quantity of their own Newton coverage.
While we’re on the subject: What exactly is the Patch? For a while I followed “Newton Patch” on Facebook, but after one horoscope too many I gave up. Is it a real news source?
@Greg – I agree, media competition is very healthy for democracy. I do wonder if the fiscal reality is that news disseminators can no longer afford to each have their own beat writers for city hall, local interest, etc. and the new reality requires a system that allows for shared coverage resources.
It would really function similar to a localized version of reuters or state house news service.
Thanks for the reply, Greg. I checked out your link to the New Haven Independent. A news site like that would be a wonderful thing for Newton. The advertising circular formerly known as The TAB provides little in the way of real news anymore…
Even though you don’t consider Village 14 to be a “news” site, at this point in time it’s the place many Newtonians [including myself] go to get local news. The opportunity for readers to discuss and debate issues of importance in near real time, is far more powerful than the Letters to the Editor section of a local newspaper. V-14 is a wonderful asset for this city. I am grateful for the news it does provide, and very appreciative for the opportunity to continue speaking my mind.