DIY Education: Save some dough and take our classes!

Published in the Portland Phoenix; these are my contributions to a piece co-written with Deirdre Fulton and Nicholas Schroeder

In light of recent budget cuts in average Americans' bank accounts, and the increasingly skyrocketing cost of higher education, Phoenix University (we regret the acronym, but University of Phoenix was taken) has opened its (paper) doors. We will be offering the following classes for the fall semester. Enrollment is free, homework is optional, tests may involve life-threatening danger, and credit is not redeemable for actual university degrees. Nevertheless, what you learn here at PU will help prepare you for the rest of your life.

Here's our list of syllabi. (You didn't think you'd ever see that word outside "real" academia, did you?)

Underwater Basket Weaving

After years of use and abuse as a joke gut course on campuses throughout the English-speaking world, Phoenix University is offering this as a real class.

• First you'll need to learn the basics of weaving baskets.

Basic Basket Making: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started edited by Linda Franz, Stackpole Books, 2008.

Weaving Country Baskets by Maryanne Gillooley, Storey Publishing, 1996.

• Then you'll need to get familiar with spending time underwater.

Scuba Diving by Dennis Graver, Human Kinetics, 2009.

The Certified Diver's Handbook: The Complete Guide to Your Own Underwater Adventures by Clay Coleman, International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press, 2004.

• For more advanced reading, or if you plan to spend extended periods of time at this activity:

Ocean Outpost: The Future of Humans Living Underwater by Erik Seedhouse, Springer, 2010.

Diver Down: Real-World SCUBA Accidents and How to Avoid Them by Michael Ange, International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press, 2005.

• Getting to know the underwater materials that may be available:

Illustrated Key to the Seaweeds of New England by Martine Bohnsack-Villalard, Rhode Island Natural History Survey, 1995.

Seaweeds by David N. Thomas, Smithsonian Books, 2002.

Seaweed Biology: Novel Insights into Ecophysiology, Ecology and Utilization edited by Christian Wiencke and Kai Bischof, Springer, 2012. (Particularly Part V, which relates to economic and industrial uses of seaweed.)

• Should you wish to take your efforts beyond the introductory level, consider choosing your work location from this book.

Fifty Places to Dive Before You Die: Diving Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations by Chris Santella, Stewart Tabori and Chang, 2008.

Advanced Burger-Flipping

A lab course, this involves not only lecture on the physics of momentum, friction (those burgers are slippery!), and thermodynamics (you have to cook with something), but also extensive on-grill work to ensure those who complete the course are proficient at keeping themselves safe, hygienic, and healthy while serving simulated food to paying members of the public.

• We start with the basics:

Hamburger: A Global History by Andrew F. Smith, Reaktion Books, 2008.

The Hamburger: A History by Josh Ozersky, Yale University Press, 2009.

Hamburger Heaven: The Illustrated History of the Hamburger by Jeffrey Tennyson, Hyperion, 1995.

• We also survey the hamburger landscape:

Hamburger America: Completely Revised and Updated Edition: A State-by-State Guide to 150 Great Burger Joints by George Motz, Running Press, 2011.

• We explore the economic and nutritional issues at hand:

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser, Harper Perennial, 2005.

Chew On This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast Food by Charles Wilson and Eric Schlosser, Houghton Mifflin, 2007.

Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer — And What You Can Do About It edited by Karl Weber, Public Affairs, 2009.

• Then we delve into direct workplace preparation:

Fast Food, Fast Talk: Service Work and the Routinization of Everyday Life by Robin Leidner, University of California Press, 1993. Still the classic study of McDonald's Hamburger University. (No, credits don't transfer!)

In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules by Stacy Perman, HarperBusiness, 2010.

• And finally we discuss recipe innovation:

Burger Bar: Build Your Own Ultimate Burgers by Hubert Keller and Penelope Wisner, Wiley, 2009.

Architecture 201: Illuminating Basement and Garage Dwellings

Architects are known for spending lots of effort placing and sizing windows. But many spaces have limited daylight available. We explore the theory and practice behind providing ample illumination in otherwise dark spaces.

• From the foundations:

Lighting Design Basics by Mark Karlen, James Benya, and Christina Spangler, Wiley, 2012.

The Architecture Of Light: A textbook of procedures and practices for the Architect, Interior Designer and Lighting Designer by Sage Russell, ConceptNine, 2008.

• We build to specifics of residential areas:

The Home Lighting Effects Bible: Ideas and Know-How for Better Lighting in Every Part of Your Home by Lucy Martin, Firefly Books, 2010.

Studio Lighting Anywhere: The Digital Photographer's Guide to Lighting on Location and in Small Spaces by Joe Farace, Amherst Media, 2011.

• And then narrow to basements and garages:

Basement Ideas That Work: Creative Design Solutions for Your Home by Peter Jeswald, Taunton Press, 2007.

Ultimate Guide to Basements, Attics & Garages: Plan, Design, Remodel by the editors ofHomeowner magazine, Creative Homeowner, 2007.

• With an ending on the topic of how to light the ultimate dark room, a theater:

Stage Lighting Design: The Art, the Craft, the Life by Richard Pilbrow, By Design Press, 2000.

New Techniques in IPO Promotion: Standards and Practices of Cardboard Sign Usage

If you're going to stand on the side of the road asking passing drivers to invest in your latest lifestyle opportunity, you need to know how best to present that opportunity. Most people are discerning about which initiatives they back. We explore the successes — and failures — of seeking public investment via cardboard sign.

• Get a glimpse of the life you could achieve:

The Man Behind the Cardboard Sign by Viola Daugherty, FriesenPress, 2012

• Hone your strategy and campaign message:

Getting Results From Crowds: The definitive guide to using crowdsourcing to grow your business by Ross Dawson and Steve Bynghall, Advanced Human Technologies, 2011.

CrowdFund Your StartUp!: Raising Venture Capital using New CrowdFunding Techniquesby Rupert Hart, CordaNobelo, 2012.

Unlocking Kickstarter Secrets: Crowdfunding Tips and Tricks by Mario Lurig, Amazon Digital Services, 2012.

How I Raised Over $35k in 30-Days To Write My Book by Jim Kukral, Digital Page Launch, 2012.

The Crowdfunding Revolution: How to Raise Venture Capital Using Social Media by Kevin Lawton and Dan Marom, McGraw-Hill, 2012.

• Get technical, and go beyond the basics:

Initial Public Offerings: A Practical Guide to Going Public by David Westenberg, Practicing Law Insititute, 2011.

The Entrepreneur's Guide to Raising Capital by David Nour, Praeger, 2009.

Progress on a Shoestring: Introductory Non-Profit Management

In the event your existence feels like a non-profit for some time after graduation, we delve into the important issues relating to making a difference even when you're not making a living.

• We learn to make the best with what you have right now:

Living on Angel Hair Pasta: How You CAN Live on a Thinner-Than-A-Shoestring Budget by Joy Eclaine, Discover, 2007.

Life on a Shoestring: Living Within Your Meansby Julia Reece, CreateSpace, 2012.

• We look at ways to further your education and live even better, and more cheaply:

How to Go to College on a Shoe String: The Insider's Guide to Grants, Scholarships, Cheap Books, Fellowships, and Other Financial Aid Secrets by Anne Marie O'Phelan, Atlantic Publishing, 2008.

Living Homes: Stone Masonry, Log, and Strawbale Construction by Thomas Elpel, Hops Press, 2010.

• And then we delve into building your resources for the future:

Nonprofit Kit For Dummies by Stan Hutton and Frances Phillips, For Dummies, 2009.

Leap of Reason: Managing to Outcomes in an Era of Scarcity by Mario Morino, Venture Philanthropy Partners, 2011.

Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals by Darian Rodriguez Heyman, Jossey-Bass, 2011.

The Nimble Nonprofit: An Unconventional Guide to Sustaining and Growing Your Nonprofit by Trey Beck and Jacob Smith, Trey+3 Media, 2012.

Starting & Building a Nonprofit: A Practical Guide by Peri Pakroo, Nolo, 2011.

Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability by Jeanne Bell, Jan Masoaka, and Steve Zimmerman, Jossey-Bass, 2010.

• We close the semester by studying how others move from shoestrings to shoe leather.

The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy by Thomas Stanley and William Danko, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2010.

Deal Dyamics: Sociological Implications of Groupon, Coupons, and Bargain Hunting

The core course in economics required of all students, this class will teach you how to get the most for your dollar.

• Introduction to extreme couponing and economizing:

Coupon Quick Start Guide - The Easiest, Fastest Way to Serious Savings and Free Groceries by Angela Newsom and William Chad Newsom, Family Lore Publishing, 2011.

Coupon Millionaire: How to Save Money and Make Money with the Art of Couponing by Nadine Brown, Amazon Digital Publishing, 2011.

Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey: Learn Coupon Strategies to Save $1000s at the Grocery Store (2nd edition) by Joanie Demer and Heather Wheeler, Krazy Koupon Lady, 2012.

The Lazy Couponer: How to Save $25,000 Per Year in Just 45 Minutes Per Week with No Stockpiling, No Item Tracking, and No Sales Chasing by Jamie Chase, Running Press, 2011.

Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America's Cheapest Family: Includes So Many Innovative Strategies You Won't Have to Cut Coupons by Steve Economides and Annette Economides, Thomas Nelson, 2010.

• Learning about Groupon and social marketing:

The Trend For Using Coupons, Groupons And Incentive Cards To Save Money And Stimulate Business In This Unstable Economy by Lee DeAngelo, Webster's Digital Services, 2011.

Groupon's Biggest Deal Ever: The Inside Story of How One Insane Gamble, Tons of Unbelievable Hype, and Millions of Wild Deals Made Billions for One Ballsy Joker by Frank Sennett, St. Martin's Press, 2012.

To Group Coupon Or Not: Small Business Guide to Groupon, Google Offers, LivingSocial and Others by Rags Srinivasan, Amazon Digital Services, 2011.

Groupon: You Can't Afford It — Why Deep Discounts are Bad for Business and What to do Instead by Bob Phibbs, Beyond the Page Publishing, 2011.

Inside Groupon: The Truth About The World's Most Controversial Company by Nicholas Carlson, Business Insider, 2011.

• Turning your bargain-seeking mindset into cash:

Barcode Booty: How I found and sold $2 million of 'junk' on eBay and Amazon, And you can, too, using your phone by Steve Weber, Weber Books, 2011.

• Extra credit: If you wish to explore the five-finger discount savings methodology, please first read Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Then explain it in one sentence, of between 14 and 30 days.

Driving Expenses: Not all toll hikes are created equal

Published at thePhoenix.com

The Maine Turnpike Authority has decided to increase tolls, starting November 1, to raise $21 million in additional revenue for highway maintenance and debt repayment. The steepest hikes will be for commercial trucks, but most drivers will take a hit. That said, depending on what routes you drive, you might see no increase at all. And if you switch from paying cash to getting an E-ZPass, in some cases you can even lower your toll rate from what you pay now.

You probably guessed a toll hike was coming, what with the reports on Maine Turnpike Authority fiscal excesses dating back many years (see "E-ZPass on Ethics," by Lance Tapley, August 4, 2006) and the more recent jailing of 23-year MTA head Paul Violette for stealing between $150,000 and $230,000 in MTA funds to subsidize an extravagant lifestyle. Present MTA executive director Peter Mills swears the latest rate hike has nothing to do with those misdeeds, but many of his board of directors, and many of his employees, are holdovers from that era (see "Many Maine Turnpike Enablers Still in Power," by Lance Tapley, August 5, 2011).

So what's changing? Right now, the major barriers on the Turnpike charge $1.25 at West Gardiner, $1.75 at Gray/New Gloucester, and $2 at York. They'll go up to $1.75, $2.25, and $3, respectively. E-ZPass users pay on a more varied scale partly based on the distance they actually travel on the highway, but apart from the free trips between Lewiston, Auburn, and Sabbatus, everybody pays at least 50 cents per trip. (E-ZPass users are guaranteed at least the same toll rates as cash payers, so you'll never pay more, but often pay less.)

We broke down the numbers to find some interesting tidbits.

• Of the 314 total variations on trips on the pike (from every exit to every other available exit, northbound and southbound), 92 — just shy of one-third — won't see any toll increase at all. Most of these are trips in the greater Portland area, such as driving to Gray from Rand Road on the Portland-Westbrook line, though some no-increase trips cover a lot of ground, like going from the "Portland North" exit 53 to exit 19 in Wells.

• And 94 trips, including 46 of those seeing no increase at all, will cost the same whether you use cash or an E-ZPass. So if, for example, you drive from Gray to Kennebunk, you'll pay $1.50 no matter what. And driving from Kennebunk to Gray will cost you the same $1, cash or E-ZPass, before and after the rate change.

• For 76 trips, nearly a quarter of the possibilities, converting to E-ZPass as the new rates take effect will actually save you money over the cash payments at the current rates. (A driver entering the Turnpike by driving south on I-295, heading to New Hampshire or Massachusetts, at present pays $3 cash — $1 at the 295-Pike interchange, and $2 in York — or $2.50 E-ZPass. The new rate will be $4 cash or $2.85 E-ZPass. So you can drop that $3 to $2.85 by switching.)

• For an additional 11 trips, switching to E-ZPass will let you avoid an increase and keep the same toll rate you had when paying cash. For example, driving to Portland North from Lewiston, Auburn, or Sabbatus will cost $2.25 cash or $1.75 with E-ZPass; the old rates were $1.75 cash and $1.50 with a pass.

• On long trips, E-ZPass savings increase. Driving the full length of the Turnpike, for example, from Augusta to York (or vice-versa) at the moment costs $5 in cash, or $4.80 with an E-ZPass. Starting in November, it will run you $7 cash or $6.45 E-ZPass. Rather than saving just 20 cents, you'll save 55 cents per trip.

• Very short trips can have wide cost variations depending on how you pay. At present, if you go from Wells to York, you pay $2 in cash but just 80 cents with an E-ZPass. That difference will only grow with the new rates: $3 cash, or 90 cents E-ZPass.

• Some trips that previously saw no savings will see modest breaks for E-ZPass users under the new rates. Drivers who used to enter at the Gray tolls heading to the Portland area didn't see any benefit to using E-ZPass, because they paid the same amount either way. Now, they'll save at least 10 cents each time.

If you're considering switching from cash to an E-ZPass, you should know a few more things:

• If you get an E-ZPass, it costs $10 plus 5 percent tax for the device. New Hampshire charges $8.90; Massachusetts gives them out for free.

• As in other states, you have to pre-load the device with at least $20 in credit, with tolls deducted from your balance as you drive, rather than shelling out cash. (There's a certain irony about paying up front to an organization so it can pay down its debts.)

• By the time the toll change takes effect, you'll be able to order an E-ZPass online in Maine — a new initiative, though New Hampshire and Massachusetts have had it for years. MTA spokesman Dan Morin says states with online ordering have significantly higher E-ZPass participation.

• If you want to sail through a toll area at highway speeds, you'll still need to go to New Hampshire for that modern convenience. In Maine, E-ZPassers have to sit in the traffic jams just like everyone else.

Press Releases: It's an online world now

Published in the Portland Phoenix

The Portland Press Herald editorial crew needs some lessons on online communication and Internet copyright law. This is clear in the wake of a recent dustup the paper had with a woman who took a photo in October 2010, posted it on Flickr way back then, and was very surprised to find at the top of the PPH's front page, and prominently online, on August 7.

The picture was the crux of a Press Herald story covering part of the ongoing revelations about Reverend Bob Carlson, who killed himself in November 2011 when allegations began surfacing that he sexually abused minors. In this development of the matter, which is being covered exhaustively in other media, former Husson University president William Beardsley (now the state's conservation commissioner) confronted Carlson in 2006 about an allegation of some sort of sexual misconduct. The reverend resigned from his post as campus chaplain; Beardsley claims he told Carlson not to return to campus. The photo is evidence that Carlson did visit campus for official events after that conversation.

Having learned of the photo's existence on Flickr, the paper downloaded the photo from the online site to run in print and online, describing the photo as taken by "the former administrative assistant to Rodney Larson, dean of the School of Pharmacy."

It appears, then, the PPH knew the identity of the person behind the camera. And the photo was clearly marked on Flickr as "© All Rights Reserved" But the paper never contacted that person, despite the contact-the-photographer button Flickr provides on every page.

The post-publication exchange with the shooter in question, Audrey Slade, raises questions about the paper's understanding of good online conduct.

She wrote twice to PPH brass, asking them to take the photo down. On August 9, managing editor Steve Greenlee wrote back, claiming the paper "could not, by deadline, determine who the photo belonged to" and saying the paper determined it could use the photo in part because it was "on a public site (Flickr), available for anyone to view, with no obvious indication of ownership." Greenlee also claimed "there was no contact information for the account holder on the Flickr page."

In a blog post about the situation, Slade wondered about the ethics of basing an entire article on her photos, and all but identifying her, without contacting her, either for comment or for permission. She noted Flickr's message button, and added, "perhaps since they were able to see my name attached to my flickr page, they could have googled me, thus finding . . . my email address." She also noted that her job title was nowhere to be found on Flickr, so the paper clearly had additional information about her identity.

The paper answered with a post of its own, admitting the reporter "neglected to click the message button on Flickr." (That button is how I reached Slade to speak to her about this situation.)

After admitting sin by omission, the paper then gave three reasons it published the photo without contacting her and without credit: "The photo was viewable by the public with no privacy settings. The image was central to a story of great public interest. Naming the photographer without her permission would have pulled her into a controversy unnecessarily."

The second one is true, and the only excuse of the three that's even reasonable. The third reason might hold water if the article hadn't all but named her. As for the first, the Press Herald's own photos are "viewable by the public with no privacy settings" — but we can be sure the PPH would send its lawyers after anyone who used them without permission or credit.

The paper later took the photo down and told Slade it would pay her $300. She wrote back, saying it had been four days, and therefore $400 was in order — as well as a public apology. She's gotten a check for the full amount, but she's still waiting on the apology.

Community Building: Mosque welcomes visitors

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Don't believe what you read or hear in the news about Muslims. "Instead of taking it from the media, it's better to take it from people who are educated in the religion," said imam Mohamed Ibrahim, speaking in Somali and using a translator, at an iftar gathering Monday night at the Maine Muslim Community Center in Portland.

Attending were not just the community center's regular congregants, but community members, neighborhood residents, and city officials (whose ranking member was Police Chief Mike Sauschuck).

The iftar breaks the fast that observant Muslims keep between sunup and sundown during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (when the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Mohammed). The community center, which includes a mosque, has been in its location at the corner of Fox and Anderson streets since 2007; it was in May 2011 that the members were able to buy the building, and renovations finished last August. So the gathering marked an anniversary of sorts — as well as an opportunity for further engagement between the Muslim community and the wider population of Portland.

Recalling the support the group found when, shortly after the building was purchased, it was defaced with graffiti in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden by American troops, board president Mohamud Mohamed said the center wants to welcome neighbors all the time, not just in crises. "We don't need the people only the difficulty day," he said.

The solution, he proposed, was one laid out in a proverb he translated as: "The animal they understand each other when they sniff each other. The people understand each other when they talk together."

The gratitude to those who attended from among the Muslim leaders was palpable — and oft-repeated in remarks from several of them — and the welcome was genuine, filled with smiles and excellent food. (A surprise: lasagna, which entered Somali cuisine through Italian colonizers.)

But there was an element of defensiveness as well. While inviting attendees to return, and noting that any community members who are interested may visit at any time, Imam Ibrahim cautioned against believing stereotypes and fear-mongering. "Islam is a religion of peace," he said.

This was perhaps most vividly represented when, partway through the meal, the muezzin's call resounded through the building, and worshipers stood up from their plates or came in from outside. Lining up on the carpet, facing the mihrab (the niche in the wall indicating the direction of Mecca), roughly 70 men and boys (women pray separately) bowed and knelt, pressing their foreheads to the ground while whispering prayers.

This weekend will see the observance of Eid al-Fitr, the really big feast and community gathering marking the end of Ramadan; the exact timing depends on when the crescent moon is first sighted here in Portland, and the location of the observance is still being determined because of scheduling conflicts at the Portland Expo, where celebrations have been held in the past.

Press Releases: Avoiding the issues

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Governor Paul LePage's "Gestapo" mess has largely subsided, but ripples remain — among them key insights into the squeamishness of Maine journalists, and the information thereby denied to the people of the Pine Tree State.

By now, we've all heard that the guv's July 7 radio address equated the IRS with the Nazis' secret police. He got thrown under the bus by his own press aide for personally changing his scripted radio address, failed to apologize by expressing regret for others' offense (rather than for his own misstep), repeated and embellished the comparison when approached by a Vermont reporter, and then ultimately issued an actual apology in his July 14 radio address — as well as, we're told, private ones to members of Maine's Jewish community.

The first remarkable thing was the conduct of the reporter, Paul Heintz of the Burlington alt-weekly Seven Days. When LePage said the IRS was "heading in the direction" of becoming an agency dealing death (during a July 12 fundraiser for a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Vermont), Heintz asked the question so many of us here in Maine — LePage fans and haters alike — wanted to ask: "Are you serious?" (LePage was, and kept digging his hole deeper.)

Maine reporters aren't really known for asking uppity questions of this — or any — governor. It's not just a LePage thing, though the guv has regularly bullied journalists to a degree unheard of in prior administrations. We all remember his campaign-trail threat to punch a reporter in the face, and telling another her question was "bullshit." But reporters are generally known for standing up to bullies — even at risk of their own lives. Not here.

And of course LePage's communications staff shields him from the press pretty completely. Can you think of the last time LePage held a press conference with questions from the media — or even a public question-and-answer session where his staff didn't filter the inquiries? And his performance on transparency is abysmal — he and top administration officials don't even take notes in meetings any more, concerned that those documents would be available to the world under public-records laws.

But then again, LePage appears at all kinds of public events, announced in advance by press releases from his office, no doubt hoping for positive coverage highlighting whatever it is that he's doing. If Maine's reporters really wanted an answer from the governor, they know how to find him, on schedule and in person.

The second remarkable thing was the fruit that reporter's questioning bore for a public interested to know what their governor thinks on key issues of the day.

As was revealed under Heintz's questioning, the Gestapo comparison is clear evidence of LePage's deep misunderstanding of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Sure, LePage knew what the Gestapo did ("they killed a lot of people"), but more to the point, he thought the IRS was going to end up doing something similar by somehow forcing health-care "rationing" on Americans. (Side note: He appears either to approve or be unaware of the rationing we now experience, in favor of the rich.)

Heintz's interview broke the news that LePage subscribes to a much-discredited right-wing claim that failure to comply with the ACA's requirement to get insurance or pay a fine could land a person in jail — though the ACA itself expressly prohibits any criminal penalty.

If you add that to LePage's previously reported belief, shared by only a select few Republican governors elsewhere, that the Supreme Court's ACA ruling allows him to throw tens of thousands of Mainers off MaineCare, we begin to see a picture of the width and depth of the policy confusion experienced by His Excellency the Governor of Maine.

That's the kind of insight into our governor's thinking local audiences expect from our own media. Sadly, we're more successful seeking it in sources from away.

ACA ruling proves Roberts #SCOTUS most politicized in history

Published at thePhoenix.com

The Roberts Court is — it can now be said most confidently — the most political in American history. Today’s surprising — to almost everyone — upholding of the Affordable Care Act is proof that it’s even more politicized than we thought.

If the decision had gone the way most people expected — with Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. siding with the majority to overturn large portions of ACA (or the whole thing entirely), Democrats and Republicans would have (rightly) viewed the Roberts Court as an arm of the Republican Party’s ultra-conservative wing.

The Court’s standing in public opinion, and the respect for the institution across America, would have collapsed. Its impotence might have echoed the darkest days of the Marshall Court, when President Andrew Jackson apocryphally said of the 1832 Worcester v Georgia decision, “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it.” (That’s not actually what Jackson said, but it’s close.)

Roberts is a scholar of Court history, and knows well the perilous ground on which he treads. So in a startling move that landed him far to the political left of Justice Anthony Kennedy (who uncharacteristically took up an absolutist right-wing opinion), Roberts moved to save his Court — and his reputation — from certain denigration with the epithet “politicized.”

Unfortunately, the nature of his decision — because it was based not on Constitutional scholarship nor case law nor even the arguments in the case before the Court — was political, and most cravenly so. He ruled on a major issue of law and principle for reasons of reputational and political ends.

So in seeking to protect the Court from allegations that it was overly political, Roberts has in fact confirmed what he sought to disprove.

Press Releases: Back to the polls

Published in the Portland Phoenix

The debate about how to phrase the same-sex marriage question on November's ballot has just begun, with Maine Secretary of State Charlie Summers proposing a very simple option: "Do you want to allow same-sex couples to marry?"

Of course opponents have objected, saying those words don't say anything about the societal catastrophe they are sure will follow its passage. But more oddly — and, it turns out, potentially against their self-interest — supporters of same-sex marriage also want the question revised. Specifically, according to Mainers United for Marriage leader Matt McTighe, they want it to ask: "Do you favor a law allowing marriage licenses for same-sex couples that protects religious freedom by ensuring no religion or clergy be required to perform such a marriage in violation of their religious beliefs?"

The polling to date suggests Summers's version of the question is (perhaps unintentionally, given his open opposition) better for marriage proponents. In March, Public Policy Polling asked, "In general, do you think same-sex marriage should be legal or illegal?" Results were 54 percent in favor, 41 opposed, and 5 percent unsure (with a 2.8-percent margin of error). In April the Maine People's Resource Center asked people's opinion on "allowing same-sex couples to be legally married in Maine" and found 58 percent for, and 40 percent against (with an error margin of 3.1 percent).

The March PPP poll also asked the question McTighe's way, and found less support (as well as less opposition and more undecideds): 47 percent for, 32 percent against, and 21 percent not sure. The WBUR poll earlier this month also asked McTighe's question, and also found support weaker than Summers's more straightforward version: 55 percent in favor, 36 opposed, and 9 percent declining to answer (with a margin of error there of 4.4 percent).

So advocates appear, at the moment, to be requesting a ballot wording that gives them less support, in hopes that the lower opposition and greater undecided pool will allow them to prevail over the religious opposition. Maine media, so far, have treated the two questions — in poll terms, at least — as functionally the same. They're not. McTighe knows it, Summers knows it, and most importantly, the people facing the questions know it — that's why they answered differently to the different questions. Sadly, it's journalists who appear last to find out.

Maine political writers are also overlooking a major flaw in the WBUR poll (which has gotten criticism for other reasons, but not this one): Andrew Ian Dodge isn't one of the options. In a different question, pollsters asked: in the Senate election, "if the candidates were Independent Angus King, Republican Charlie Summers, or Democrat Cynthia Dill, for whom would you vote?"

The name order was rotated in the actual questioning. But Dodge should have been there. He's the Tea Party-backed candidate who dropped out of the Republican Party to run as an independent, and was first into the race, setting up to challenge Olympia Snowe before she announced her retirement.

While he's widely believed to have little chance of winning, the Tea Party vote is least likely to migrate to any of the other three, and shows an element of the Maine electorate that — whether you agree with it or not — holds sway in some areas.

By the way, the WBUR poll also neglected two other independents: Steve Woods, who has already capitulated to King, and Danny Dalton, only recently located for an interview with the Associated Press — his official address on file with the Maine Secretary of State's office is a Mail It 4U store in Bath.

Their absence was technically incorrect — their names will appear on the November ballot — but had negligible effect on the survey, as they will in the election itself.

Human Relations: Encounter with a racist

Published in the Portland Phoenix

I've never really liked racists. Today, I see a little value in them after all.

Last week, Shay Stewart-Bouley wrote a column called "Let Them Talk," which began, "I have often joked as a Black woman that I kind of like white racists. Well, perhaps it's more that I appreciate white people who are open and honest about racist views they harbor. I don't want to hang out with them, but I want to know about them. When someone is openly racist and drops racist epithets, it saves me the time of wondering what is really on their mind when they deal with me."

When I first read that, it made some sense to me — as a sort of "truth in advertising" concept. I got a chance to explore that idea further this afternoon, when an extremely upset woman called the office, starting right out of the gate by complaining about that latest column.

In a breathless, near-hysterics tirade, this woman — who refused to give her name, so I'll call her Blanche — claimed to have deep roots in Maine and to have never seen "those people" unless she "went out of state." She would not say the words "black" or "African American" for nearly the entire call — saying only vague terms like "they" or "them." I kept pressing her on whom she was referring to with those vague terms, even going so far as to ask if she meant black people or African Americans (or Asian Americans or Hispanic Americans, I wondered). Blanche assured me I "wouldn't like it" if she said who she meant. (At one point she did spell out "b-l-a-c-k," though.)

She spouted several old canards used by racists, including complaining that "those people" have access to housing, health care, and food, when so many "real Americans" are poor, hungry, and homeless. She complained that "they keep having them" — exactly the sort of vagueness that characterized her sustained outburst. A clarifying question from me got the answer "pickaninnies." (If you're lucky enough not to know that word, it's an offensively derogatory term for African American children.)

I clarified a couple of times with Blanche that she was calling to complain about a column discussing the existence of overt, unapologetic racism. And then I told her I believed she was in fact living confirmation of this very point.

In fact, I called her a racist several times during the conversation, and not once did she dispute my assertion. Rather, much as the column that inspired the outburst suggested, it prompted further disclosure of Blanche's prejudices, as she inveighed against treating "those people" like the human beings they are: "It's not right — you know it isn't right."

Blanche asked why Stewart-Bouley "had to write about" racism and discrimination; I explained that the column is about diversity, and she's free to write on any angle of that broad topic, whether positive or negative.

She also attempted to attack Stewart-Bouley personally, saying she "isn't from here. We don't have those people here. We never had those people here." She asked why Stewart-Bouley would live here and choose to raise a child here, as if Blanche's prejudice was not only justifiable but also should somehow act as a black-person repellent.

When Blanche complained about things not being "right," she has a point, though what's wrong is not on Stewart-Bouley's end of things. After spending 18 minutes getting increasingly apoplectic, the rant came to a head with this line: "You tell that woman to get her black ass back to Africa." I told her: "Get your white ass the fuck out of the Dark Ages." I'm not sure how much of that she heard, though, because she hung up on me. Perhaps I should have said what Stewart-Bouley might have in a more philosophical moment: "Thanks for being a senseless relic — and an example of how far Maine still must progress before joining this millennium."

What killed the Jetport’s summer series?

Published at thePhoenix.com

In the wake of near-immediate outcry objecting to the terms of a proposed musical series at the Portland International Jetport, the summer-long program was canceled the day after it was announced. The proposal — and the backlash — brought complaints from many corners of the city’s music scene, and may suggest a possible growth area for the Portland Music Foundation, a non-profit established in 2007 to help musicians improve their business and promotional skills.

But first, a brief run-down of the events. On Thursday, a call went out online and over social media for musicians interested in playing at the Jetport over the course of the summer, with terms laid out on the website of event sponsor Dispatch Magazine, including the compensation: “free parking” and in-airport meal vouchers. Performers could sell their CDs and any other merchandise, but would have to pay 30 percent of the revenue to the jetport’s concessions company, Paradies Shops.

The lack of pay for performance, as well as the high commission rate on sales, quickly attracted objections online. Brian D. Graham, saxophonist of Sly-Chi and the Fogcutters, has two Facebook threads on the topic, each with more than 50 comments; pianist Kelly Muse authored an open letter that was signed by 17 other local musicians. Amid efforts to change the deal to be better for musicians, the jetport “pulled the plug,” Frank Copsidas said Friday afternoon, going on to blame the complainers for the event’s cancellation. (Jetport director Paul Bradbury says there wasn’t time to resolve the “miscommunication issues” before the series’s June 28 start date.)

Graham says he actually liked the idea, until he learned about the compensation terms from the website. And there was some misunderstanding about what the terms actually were.

Portland Music Foundation president Pat May said his group agreed to help publicize the call for artists with the understanding that performers would have their CDs sold in the jetport gift shop all summer long, and “there is some type of stipend.”

Frank Copsidas, the owner of Dispatch Magazine, who also serves on the PMF board, said those were good ideas but became impossible. “We were trying to get a sponsor to give stipends. Nobody will come to the table,” he said Friday, before the event was canceled outright. And CDs could only be placed in the gift shop for a few artists, he said, due to lack of space and the fact that the bar codes for local artists’ CDs were not in the store’s existing database.

Bradbury, at the jetport, says when Copsidas came to him with the idea, the jetport saw it as a way to provide musicians free advertising, while entertaining passengers waiting for their flights. He says musicians didn’t have to sell anything, but if they did, Paradies’s commission would apply.

But there remained the question of whether the musicians would be compensated for their performance. Oddly, nobody had thought to ask if players could put out a hat for donations until after the series was announced. (Bradbury says he’d have to seek legal advice, in part because the performers would be in a secure area of the jetport.)

In any case, Copsidas’s view was that the merchandise sales should be enough. “If they can’t really sell 20 CDs to 1000 people there over the three hours, that’s pretty bad,” he said. “Two percent should be the lowest that you sell.”

He said he was planning to spend about $5000 on a stage, sound system, and a person to run the audio, and was unwilling to spend more to pay the musicians. May said paying each of the projected 28 performers even $100 would use up most of the PMF’s bank account.

And in the wake of the cancellation, Copsidas, obviously upset, took to Graham’s Facebook page, beginning a series of posts with this line: “Brian, you single handedly set back the Portland music scene about a year in getting any kind of corporate support so that shows like these can pay.”

(In an interview with the Phoenix, Copsidas was similarly blunt: “Is it the best opportunity? No. You should be paid” but blamed the lack of funds on local businesses and musicians themselves: “No business in this town is willing to put money behind the artists. That’s a problem the artists have created for themselves in this town.” In a Monday website posting, he suggested applying to the Maine Arts Commission to underwrite such a program.)

May, for his part, wrote a letter of explanation and apology, posted Sunday to the PMF website, admitting that the group didn’t do a good job explaining what the situation was, nor why group organizers thought it would be a good idea. He called it “a case study in how poor communication can wreck a good idea.”

Bradbury says the jetport is very interested in having something like this happen in the future, so perhaps it’s not completely wrecked.

In fact, it presents an opportunity for the PMF that May intends to capitalize on, writing that he wants members’ feedback on how to make future efforts more successful.

Given Copsidas’s statement that “This was meant for younger artists trying to establish themselves. There was no budget for anything else,” and his claim that as many as 25 musicians expressed interest, it seems clear there’s plenty to do.

Graham says those younger artists need to know how to evaluate proposals like this: “The up and coming people are the most important people to be educating. They need to know that if you’re going to perform you need to be compensated. You can’t just give it away.” People who perform for free lower the ability — and rates — for others to get paid, and in the end undercut their own hopes of earning money in the future, he says: “You’re ruining your career.”

But PMF seminars on the topic may not be well attended, given the organization’s history. Some recent sessions have had small audiences, even for opportunities to talk with big names in the music business.

Copsidas says “nobody goes to them. (Musicians) don’t want to hear they have to work.” He went on to say local musicians are "lazy" about taking advantage of money-earning opportunities. He added that negativity can hurt: complaints about "opportunities" like this are "exactly why sponsors won't come on board; because they're afraid (people will) bitch about the sponsors."

Then again, if musicians were getting paid for their performances — and not just for their merchandise — it’s hard to see what the bitching would be about. “People would never think to ask a plumber to work for free. . . . That’s the mindset we need to break,” Graham says.

Summer in the City: In post-drinking death, is anyone responsible?

published in the Portland Phoenix; co-written with Chelsea Cook

Conflicting reports about why exactly Nathan Bihlmaier was asked to leave RiRa on the night of May 19 — whether he was drunk, whether he was behaving inappropriately toward another patron, or whether he stumbled over some musical equipment — leave questions about responsibility on nights out in the Old Port.

Bihlmaier, 31, was due to graduate from Harvard Business School just days after his celebratory evening out with friends; instead he was found dead in the water near Custom House Wharf, leaving behind his pregnant wife.

The police account has Bihlmaier, 31, being asked to leave because he was visibly intoxicated, a condition that under state law requires ejection from a bar. Bihlmaier's two friends did not accompany him when he left.

RiRa security manager Scott St. Ours has claimed Bihlmaier wasn't drunk, but rather was asked to leave after he tripped over some band gear (another early account also alleged Bihlmaier was bothering another customer). Despite the claim of sobriety, St. Ours says he walked "a block and a half" with Bihlmaier and twice attempted to get him a cab. (Sauschuck says security video shows St. Ours and Bihlmaier leaving together, and St. Ours returning to the bar within 30 seconds.)

According to the law, Bihlmaier was responsible for himself. But an inebriated person — particularly if determined to be so by a trained staff member of a bar — by definition has impaired judgment. Leaving an impaired person to their own devices could be construed as negligence. And courts have held that bars that sell alcohol to people who are already obviously intoxicated — are at least partially responsible for any negative aftermath. (Sauschuck has said he does not believe RiRa staff did anything illegal, and has said RiRa employees are assisting with the investigation.)

"It's a shared responsibility, between the person and the bar," says Doug Fuss, owner of Bull Feeney's and president of the board of directors for Portland's Downtown District (PDD). Fuss is also a former chair of the Nightlife Oversight Committee (NLOC), which has been instrumental in making rules for both bar owners and patrons.

The guidelines were established in 2008 based on the feedback of bar owners and security personnel, and include specific regulations, one of which is that management must designate floor staff to look for and interact with visibly intoxicated customers. Maine law says, "No licensee [of liquor] shall permit or allow visibly intoxicated persons to remain on the licensed premises," but isn't helpful about explaining how to eject someone in a way that doesn't incur liability if something bad happens afterward.

Fuss says NLOC, the PDD, and the police have been meeting recently to devise solutions for handling visibly intoxicated patrons. Fuss advocated personal responsibility and the "buddy system," as well as using a cab, while recognizing the complications that could arise in either scenario, as happened with Bihlmaier.

Laurence Kelly, owner of Brian Boru, shared ideas as well, including a potential helpline or phone number that would act similarly to Homerunners, a designated-driver car service.

"Talking to and assessing the customer's state is the best way. If we see someone staggering or not responding, take them outside and stay with them," Kelly says. A more out-there idea apparently batted around was the laughable — and ugly — idea of putting a chain link fence around the harbor. Either way, it's time for patrons and bar owners to bridge the gap between law and common sense.

Celestial Update: This brief transit

Published in the Portland Phoenix, the Boston Phoenix, and the Providence Phoenix

Back in the 18th century, observing the Transit of Venus took a ridiculous amount of effort, involving ships, draft animals, wagons with wooden wheels, and telescopes made by the best optics engineer in the world. Today — say it with me — there's an app for that.

In 1716, Edmond Halley (yes, the comet guy) asked the world scientific community to mount massive expeditions in 1761 and 1769 to watch Venus cross in front of the Sun. He expected that by comparing the observations from different points around the globe (called parallax), astronomers would be able to calculate the Earth's distance from the Sun.

As detailed in historian Andrea Wulf's recent book, Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens (Knopf), European nations (and the American colonies) took Halley up on his proposal in 1761 and again in 1769, sending astronomers to the far reaches of the planet.

The expeditions took years, and assembling the results and making the calculations took even longer. It wasn't until 1771 that the British Royal Society was ready to declare a result: 93,726,900 miles. That's less than one percent different than the present calculation of 92,960,000 miles.

We don't need your help measuring anymore, but if you want to attempt to re-enact just the observational challenges (for long, dangerous journeys, you're on your own), visit transitofvenus.org and download the free app, for iPhone and Android. It'll give you some simulated runs so you can perfect your timing, and be ready to go. (See below for your local observatory's viewing activity.)

You should take this opportunity — it's the last chance you'll have to see the Transit of Venus. (You caught the last one, in 2004, right? Yeah, neither did we.) The last pair happened in December 1874 and December 1882, and the next will be in December 2117 and December 2125. So mark your calendars.

Transit of Venus | dome show + viewing in the field (weather permitting) | Southworth Planetarium, 96 Falmouth St, Portland | June 5 @ 5 pm | Free | 207.780.4249 | TransitOfVenus.org

Transit of Venus | live telecast | Museum of Natural History and Planetarium at Roger Williams Park, 1000 Elmwood Ave, Providence | June 5 @ 6 pm | $8, under 12 free | 401.331.8575 x36 | TransitOfVenus.org

Transit of Venus | viewing + live telecast | Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St, Cambridge | June 5 @ 5 pm | free | 617.495.7461 | harbor cruise + viewing in the field (weather permitting) | Spectacle Island (ferries from Long Wharf), Boston Harbor | June 5 @ 5 pm | free | 617.222.6999 | TransitOfVenus.org

Press Releases: Ask questions

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Portland residents concerned about the drowning death of Nathan Bihlmaier saw the advantage of having competing news organizations last week, and may yet continue benefiting from this as the investigation continues. (See "In post-drinking death, is anyone responsible?" for a run-down of some of the issues involved.)

With both the Portland Press Herald and the Bangor Daily News working sources on the street, in the bars, and at the police station, reporters scooped each other and responded to each other's revelations with follow-up stories on successive days. This is how journalism is supposed to work: rather than either ignoring each other's reporting, or simply getting the same information for reprinting a day later, the reporters on this story are digging in, with each paper's crew asking questions raised by reports in the other paper.

When newspapers understand readers have a choice about where to get their news, coverage improves, responds, comes alive. For too long Maine's dailies have believed themselves to be impregnable fortresses, must-read publications by definition, rather than by merit. This has led to stagnation, which the papers would do well to stir away. Perhaps the coverage of this tragedy is an example of good things to come, as economics force greater competition.

Can Maine support three major dailies and five smaller dailies? Does the demand exist to justify the supply? To that end, the big dailies (the PPH, the BDN, and the Lewiston Sun Journal) have taken steps to dispel the popular belief that print is dead.

They've chosen an interesting tack, though: simply claiming the opposite. They staged a panel discussion where they claimed that Maine's papers are different, are is escaping the national trends of dropping ad revenue and circulation. Then a panelist, a moderator, and another speaker wrote a boosterish opinion piece whose most revealing statement was this: "So what does the future hold for Maine's newspapers? The precise answer is unknown. What is known, however, is the future exists — despite gloomy predictions to the contrary."

In two very lengthy blog posts (at thePhoenix.com/AboutTown) I've examined the ideas expressed during the discussion and in the opinion piece, and have explained why simply claiming "the future exists" is hardly evidence that Maine's daily newspapers are any different from the national trends.

If the competitive success evidenced in the Bihlmaier case is a harbinger of a revitalized approach to reporting and publishing the news, then Maine's dailies might have a fighting chance. But it has to be a sustained effort, not just once in a while.

Which is why it's disheartening to have learned that such a level of persistent inquisitiveness is missing when it comes to election coverage. Our candidate questionnaire this year accidentally uncovered the fact that candidates aren't used to getting direct, strong questions from the media. (See "GOP runners for federal office get squirrely; Dems and independents share answers.")

A classic example is how Keith Shortall's Maine Public Broadcasting Network interviews with all of the candidates in the US Senate primary are described: the candidate is "asked why he [or she] is running for office and which issues he [or she] believes are most important to the citizens of Maine." Or, in other words, "We'll hand the candidate a microphone and let them talk about what they want, without subjecting them to serious questioning."

In Shortall's defense, some listeners who called in to those shows asked pointed questions. But too much coverage of the major races in Maine has boiled down to giving candidates carte blanche to talk about themselves, their concerns, and their goals, and leaving it at that. (It can be useful in smaller races where the candidates are not as well known, and where the stakes are lower; see our coverage of the three Portland-related legislative primaries here.)

When people seeking to be elected to represent Mainers in Washington DC can't handle questions that put them on the spot, it's hard to know how to react. But it's important to know that they're flummoxed. And it's important to know that the state's media outlets, who claim to serve the public, aren't testing these candidates as much as they might have you believe.

The #menews op-ed, and my response

Published at thePhoenix.com

Some of you might remember my long post about the #menews forum a couple weeks back. Well, they're still at it - and so am I. In my inbox this morning comes moderator Mike Cuzzi, with an opinion piece jointly penned by him, Maine State Chamber of Commerce head Dana Connors, and Tony Ronzio, the Sun Journal's new media director - one of the more clued-in folks on the panel. (BTW, Tony, I've had a website since 1992. Can we stop calling it "new media" soon?)

They asked if I'd consider printing it, so I took a look. And I've agreed to publish it here - with my responses in line. And no, this doesn't stop me from shaking my head at Maine's daily newspaper situation. 

Anyway, here's the op-ed, with my responses. I'm in bold.

The Future of Maine's Newspapers

Despite National Trends, Maine's Newspapers Remain Strong

The national narrative about newspapers is expressed in two words: they're dying.  

Let's be clearer: the national narrative about daily newspapers is that they're dying. Weekly newspapers, including alternatives, have hit a rough economic spot just like everyone else, but are doing just fine.

Over the past few years, newspaper circulations have declined, staffs have been cut back, budgets have tightened with the shrinking economy and the explosive growth of digital and social media, and some publications even closed their doors. 

Yep, such as the Portland Press Herald, the Portland Press Herald, and, well, the Portland Press Herald's York County bureau. And Village Soup Media, of course. Or were you going to tell me Maine's an exception to this stuff?

However, the national narrative is largely driven by the experiences of big, publicly traded newspaper chains, like Gannett or McClatchy, or the big institutions, like the New York Times or Washington Post. Neither represents the real story of newspapering in Maine. 

Except, of course, for the obvious and well-known facts that Maine daily newspapers have lost circulation big-time, shrunk their staffs significantly, tightened budgets, and closed their doors.

First, most daily and weekly publications are owned by Maine individuals and families who live and work in this state.  While committed to turning a profit, these local owners read their newspapers like broadsheets -- as opposed to spreadsheets.  

And as we know, people who live locally are by definition better than people who live far away. This is why, as we all know, Maine has the best telecommunications companies, the most innovative universities, the world's best teachers, the most talented artists, and more Nobel Prize winners than anywhere else on the... (Fine, we have some of these - but Maine-centric exceptionalism is hollow rhetoric that substitutes boosterism for substance.)

This also attempts to get away with lumping the struggling all-things-to-all-people daily newspapers in with the successful niche-publication weeklies. Don't let this sort of silliness cloud your vision. Daily papers print the Internet - after it's been posted online. Weeklies print the news first, with insight and context.

Second, there is cautious optimism in Maine that its newspapers are rising again, albeit slowly, after some difficult years. 

Who is optimistic about that? Is it anyone outside the newspapers in question?

Maine's papers are making money, hiring newsroom and other staff, either holding or growing circulation, and reaching more people than ever before with their print and online offerings.  

If the dailies are making money, it must just not be enough for their local owners, who continue to seek greater profits by cutting back on content while raising cover prices. They're not "holding" circulation, though by some measures they are slowing the losses. But it's important to note that how circulation is measured has changed, allowing greater flexibility in determining what counts - specifically so that the newspaper industry can make its numbers look better, in an attempt to regain control of the narrative of the obvious.

And if they're claiming to reach "more people than ever before," make sure you get them to show you how they know that they're not reaching the same exact people in print, online, and mobile devices - and just counting them multiple times. What's that? Oh right - they can't show you that. Because they don't know that. Also, make sure they show you how many of those online readers are people who would gladly pay to read what's there. Oh yeah, they can't show you that, either, because most of them wouldn't.

That greater reach hasn't necessarily translated into greater profitability, but even so, Maine's newspapers' balance sheets as a whole are trending in the right direction.

Just cut the word "necessarily" from the sentence. And if the balance sheets are looking up, it's not because there's more revenue. It's because costs are lower. That means fewer workers, at lower salaries, less employee benefits, and smaller circulation (accompanied by smaller print runs).

Third, Maine's newspapers are now more competitive than ever before, battling for the best reporters and investing in new, more robust technologies to deliver content to ever more sophisticated consumers.  

The dailies are indeed more competitive with each other. Perhaps that's because they're engaged in a race for survival. Can this state really support three major dailies and three smaller ones? They are as uncompetitive as ever with weeklies, who trounce them time and again, week in and week out, in print and online.

What are these "new, more robust technologies" they're talking about? Better blog engines? Slightly faster websites that might load faster in a state whose overall broadband speed is terrible?

The existential crisis of Maine and national newspapers is reshaping their mission and invigorating them to rapidly adapt to new challenges. This strong competition and renewed sense of purpose promises to keep Maine's newspapers vibrant. 

Innovation, competition, and reinvigoration do not directly and automatically equal success. Some innovations fail. Some businesses lose competitions, and renewed energy can be wasted by mismanagement, or by outside economic factors.

So what does the future hold for Maine's newspapers? The precise answer is unknown. What is known, however, is the future exists -- despite gloomy predictions to the contrary. 

Ah, that's some refreshing honesty. Despite the original interpretation of Mayan predictions that the world would end in 2012, the new interpretation is that the Mayans expected the world to continue for many more years. "The future exists" is the banner of promise that is held high by people whose entire jobs have for decades, even down to today, been obsessed with telling you what happened yesterday. Their newspapers certainly don't reflect the idea that the future exists - and only rarely even address the present. They just talk about what happened in the past.

So daily newspapers are discovering that "the future exists." This is important, but continues to underline the idea that daily newspapers and their leaders are profoundly detached from the rest of the world, in which we're constantly worrying about the future and talking about what's next, and only rarely deeply interested in what happened in the past. (And yes, I'm a trained historian, and I recognize the distinction between my interests and those of regular people. Daily newspaper workers have continued to think theyare regular people - and they're not.)

Recently, in Portland, we hosted a panel discussion about the future of Maine's newspapers. The participants came to some common conclusions, although with divergent opinions about how to get there. 

What? I was there, and didn't hear any common conclusions - besides "We don't know what's happened, but the future exists."

First, print editions are not going away anytime soon. Plenty of fans still exist for printed newspapers, particularly in Maine, which supports dozens of excellent weekly papers that cover every inch of the state. 

And the fact that weekly newspapers are successful has what bearing, exactly, on daily newspapers, which are an entirely different animal?

Going forward, though, print will become just one vehicle for readers, as opposed to the dominant one. Digital journalism and advertising will eventually supplant printed papers for primacy, but never replace them entirely. 

This is already true - and not just something we'll see "going forward." Print is just one vehicle - for a decreasing number of readers. Perhaps printed papers won't ever entirely disappear. Some people still put music out on cassette and vinyl, after all.

This will happen not as readers' news consumption changes, but as advertisers optimize how they pursue and attract customers online. For decades, newspapers have aided businesses in the quest for customers; as the digital age dawns, newspapers still remain ideally suited to provide this service for years to come.

Here's another bright spot of honesty: This transition won't happen because of what daily newspapers think their readers want. (Reason: They have no idea what their readers want.) Rather, it'll happen because of what advertisers demand, and what makes the numbers work. Sounds a lot like what's already at work killing daily papers.

And what it really says is that Maine's daily newspapers will not be leaders in innovation, but rather will follow the innovations of others, who will determine the future of advertising. Being a follower - especially when calling it innovation - is always a good way to save your failing business, right?

Moreover, newspaper advertising departments are transforming themselves into full-service digital providers to businesses, offering value-added services such as website design in response to businesses' growing digital needs.

Ah yes, website design - so glad that's a new offering of Maine's newspapers. Have they heard of Blogger, Tumblr, Google Sites, or any of the zillions of free and low-cost, easy-to-use services already out there? Oh wait - newspapersstill aren't used to the idea that they're competing with the entire Internet.

In other words, local advertisers will have as much to do with the evolution of Maine's newspapers as any other force, actively driving news organizations to become more rooted in the digital economy. 

Any chance those local advertisers could drive daily news organizations to become more rooted in their actual physical communities? Yeah, didn't think that was on your radar.

The willingness of consumers to pay for information received online is also increasing. While not a full answer to revenue challenges, digital subscriptions add another revenue stream when done right and are proving successful at large and small papers across the country.

The pay model requires two things: scarcity and quality. The Wall Street Journal and New York Times can limit free access and require payment because they do stuff nobody else does. Maine's papers not only share each other's stories, but are heavily dependent on wire copy. Associated Press copy you read in your daily newspaper is by definition at least 12 hours old - that's how long it takes to receive, edit, lay out, print, and distribute information that's been online for free for most of a day.

If Maine's daily papers even want to think about charging for access, they have to start providing information that's unique to themselves, hasn't been published in weekly newspapers already, and is of unquestioned quality. Right now, there are fewer than five journalists in the state working for daily papers whose work is worth paying for. The rest of them may have talent and smarts, but are being ground into meaningless, useless dust by outdated management and editorial ideas - such as those that think making websites is a business opportunity for the future.

These models prove that readers value what newspapers have historically provided to their communities: unbiased, objective reporting and engaging, insightful information about the places where we all work, live and play. 

You forgot the word "timely." You also forgot the word "exclusive." And when we see all that as a regular feature of all three of Maine's daily papers - and not as a special exciting extra, we'll think about being willing to pay. But if the NYT can't command more than $15 a month from subscribers - half the monthly print rate - how is a lower quality publication with smaller readership that has plenty of other options for getting information for free going to get any amount worth counting? If the PPH allowed digital subscriptions at half its present rate, that would be $6.50 a month. And remember, PPH quality, volume, and exclusivity are all far lower than the NYT, so we'd really be looking at something far lower as a subscription rate.

It's not yet clear what Maine's digital subscription models might look like, but it's fair to say greater experimentation is coming.

And experiments always find success, so positive results are assured, right? Right?

Finally, all newspapers agree that providing excellent, engaging content is paramount. Content is king and is driving competition and innovation across the industry, top to bottom.

Yep - and this is the first time that "content" and its quality have appeared in this missive. So we see where it rates as far as a priority for the daily newspaper leaders of Maine.

It is a golden age for journalism and those that practice it. With more people consuming more content in more ways than ever before, journalism's mission has never been more obvious or more important. 

More boosterism, with no relevance or insight into how this will help Maine's daily newspapers in any way. Plus, any newspaper editor would have made sure "those that practice it" was properly edited to "those who practice it."

And as long as that mission is valued, a business model will emerge to support it.

Again, placing the foundation of this argument firmly in the clouds.

It won't be what newspapers looked like in the past, but it will be innovative and responsive to the rapidly evolving expectations of Maine's media consumers.

And closing with a heartfelt, meaningless, boosterish platitude. Maine's daily papers haven't changed a bit. And I wouldn't hold your breath about that.

Dana Connors is the President of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.

Michael Cuzzi is a Senior Vice President with VOX Global, a strategic communications and public affairs firm located in Portland.

Anthony Ronzio is the Director of New Media for the Sun Media Group & Past President of the Maine Press Association.    

Jeff Inglis is the managing editor of the Portland Phoenix, Maine's largest single weekly newspaper, and its only alternative weekly newspaper.