When you think of fake news, you probably don’t think of the Journal Tribune. Actually, you probably don’t think of that publication, no matter what you’re thinking about. And for the most part, there’s no reason you should.
Thirty years ago, the Journal Tribune was arguably the best newspaper in Maine, providing superb local coverage of the Biddeford-Saco area, while regularly breaking statewide stories of consequence. But the shift away from afternoon papers, declining advertising revenue and indifferent corporate ownership slowly stripped it down to its current corpse-like condition. In assessing the state’s media, it’s ignorable.
But when nobody’s paying attention, bad things can happen. On Dec. 30, they did.
That day, the JT ran a front-page story by executive editor Ed Pierce about a new restaurant that planned to open in Biddeford in 2019. Routine stuff, based on a press release. Except that the eatery, to be called The Kitchen Inc., didn’t appear at all routine. The menu, described as “luxury cuisine,” featured sushi. And, uh, French fries. The owner, “Me-Sa Ginny” (say it fast), is quoted as stating the staff would be composed entirely of men, in order to “give back to women.” Ginny goes on to say, “Not a single female employee will work in this establishment, barring transgendered women of course, who are indubitably the most competent for the positions we need to staff, such as secretary, dishwasher and valet.” He added that the staff will be “dressed in only the finest attire that Men’s Warehouse has to offer.”
Ginny (he spells his first name a couple of different ways) is supposedly the owner of a fine china company located in a tiny town in Manitoba, Canada, although neither he nor the business show up in Google searches.
There’s more, but you get the idea. The release is an obvious phony, the work of a local blogger and city hall gadfly named Karl Reed Jr., who admitted as much in online postings. In a phone interview, Reed said he sent the fake story to a number of news outlets as a “kind of science project,” to warn the public to “pay attention to what’s being published.”
The Journal Tribune seems to be the only place that bought into Reed’s scam. More than bought in. In short order, the paper totally owned it. On Jan. 5, a second front-page story appeared, citing a second press release, announcing that funding for the restaurant had fallen through, and it wouldn’t be opening.
Reed says he never sent another release and had no further communication with the paper after his initial fictional announcement. So, it’s unclear whether the second story was spawned by another prankster or was concocted internally at the JT.
On Jan. 11, the paper ran a “Clarification” buried on an inside page that said, “Through due diligence,” it had figured out that the press release (it only mentions one) “was not factual.” No mention of the alleged second release. No explanation for how this happened.
Editor Pierce, who authored both stories, referred all questions to Journal publisher Devin Hamilton, whose only on-the-record response was a succinct “No comment.”
Meanwhile, Reed was trying to interest the rest of the news media in this escapade. He got no takers. In an online exchange with Portland Press Herald business reporter J. Craig Anderson, he was told, “Newspapers are having a tough enough time right now operating with inadequate budgets and skeletal staffs without people like you trying to [expletive] with them for laughs.”
Which raises this question: Since when is protecting your profession more important than keeping the public informed?
The Me-Sa Ginny saga could be written off as inconsequential if it weren’t a symptom of a serious disease. Maine politics is awash in phony news stories from outlets like Maine First Media and the Maine Examiner. The Examiner’s connections to the state Republican Party were hinted at in investigative pieces by the Boston Globe and Bangor Daily News (but, strangely enough, not the Press Herald), but weren’t confirmed until a California computer geek figured it out and shared his research with the Lewiston Sun Journal. GOP operatives appear to be behind a badly skewed story shared on social media that might have tipped the Lewiston mayoral election to a conservative.
In that case, as in that of Me-Sa Ginny, the conventional media was slow and ineffective in correcting the record and never did get around to publicly examining its shortcomings.
Rather than eat humble pie, the local press apparently prefers sushi with French fries.
Disclosure: Mo Mehlsak, editor of several papers where this column also appears, once worked at the Journal Tribune.
Fake news releases may be emailed to aldiamon@herniahill.net.
Great article, Al and thank you for informing the public!
This column takes a sharp left turn into Bizarro World when it starts talking about the Press Herald. You allege that the paper was “protecting the profession,” which is just nuts. Mr. Reed is an admitted prankster, and as such the Press Herald did not trust his story. It’s that simple. Oh, and thanks for promoting me to publisher of the Press Herald in your column! I’m actually just a reporter. I don’t speak for the Press Herald, and I certainly don’t decide what we do or do not publish. Maybe you’d know that if you had bothered to contact me or anyone at the paper before publishing your column.
J.
Al say all the e-mails between you and myself, including my own replies back to you. In no way did Al attempt to gussy this up or slant in Bias. Remember, this is the guy who exposed the plagiarism that went on at your paper in 2010.
Yes, I have admitted to the odd troll, but it’s not like I am out there attempting to be Milo Yiannopoulos or Andy Kaufman. The amount of “pranks” I’ve committed are paltry at best and have lead to bigger things in most cases. While this is certainly not Watergate level of huge news, which was basically a troll in and of itself (Deep Throat? Like the adult film? How about Frost/Nixon?) it is important. If I have to use humor to expose it, I absolutely will, especially because it is so hard to get what should be a legitimate story about fake news in our culture out there. it shows how sad our country has become that you need to troll to expose things.
Too many politicians are currently trying to hide behind the shield of everything being fake news to skirt personal responsibility.. I just had to remind Justin Chenette on Twitter when he said that “anonymous sources” is not journalism. I’ve taken a few journalism courses in my time and journalist have the right to protect news sources, once again I defer to Watergate and their source. He also seems to think that just saying “No I didn’t” equates to truth. If this is what passes for journalistic integrity now a days, I can see why you are hurting for people and funds. No wonder why on of the last great journalist was Christopher Hitchens. Perhaps maybe you guys should reflect on your scruples or lack thereof and how you can improve the sorry state of journalism today.
Karl –
I’m sorry I was rude to you. I don’t agree with your methods, but I think your intentions are good.
I can fully appreciate that the way I do things is not for everyone and I appreciate the apology as well. I too am sorry for my own exchange with you via email. Thank you!
It is blatantly obvious that far too much of the “news” media has the intention of persuading you…..versus informing you.
If anyone denies that this is the case, they are either naive, brainwashed or simply dishonest.
It is Broken.
Once upon a time there were news programs and papers which presented facts to their audience, somewhere around Y2K and 9/11/01, there was a dramatic shift made into laying out and forming stories to give you the take they wanted you to have instead of laying facts bare and allowing the audience to decide what it all means.
I think this is a major reason newspapers and MSM have lost and continue to lose subscribers and viewers.
Amen to that…
Nuff Said…
Pranks: Some of us may have called the local drugstore or tobacco outlet asking “Do You have Prince Albert in a can?” When we received the answer “Yes we do” the response was “Well You better let him out,” and we laughed. There will always be pranks, fakes and cranks; I’m thinking the “news” media is supposed to sort the wheat from the chaff—the sorting process should only dismiss issued information based on facts. It should be mentioned that valid releases include contact information—Here’s hoping all sources do the diligence to keep their jobs relevant to our local, state and national needs. Freedom of the press is a treasure that holds a place next to freedom of speech.
I see fake stuff a lot on Facebook. Things like how O’Bama is an Islamic Isis person and how great Trump is. Or, how horrible Trump is. And these fake things come from sources I’ve never heard of. But my friends still believe them and post them. I just stay out of the fray between the ex and present president. In fact, I rarely even bother to read any newspaper anymore, because then I would be posting my own stuff on FB. I only complain about LePage but that’s only when someone tells me what he’s up to. Maybe that’s fake, too? People have enough problems to deal with without having to read some fake stuff and getting them all bent out of shape. There ought to be a punishment, like a big fine for newspapers or t.v. reporters who carry on this misleading stuff
One of the latest maybe fake news on FB that someone posted says that now, our Social Security checks are Federal “Entitlements”. So, in other words, we old people are beggars and are on welfare. I don’t know if it’s fake news or not. Like I said, I don’t read the news or watch it, either and I won’t until all the fake news goes away. If the govt. ever tries to steal our social security money, there will be a huge boomerang back onto them. With no income, that means that the grown children have to support the old folks. How can they do that? They can’t even afford to live decently, anyway, as it is. Everything costs too much, the rents are too high and then, what about feeding their own family besides old mom and dad?