The New Bedford Light’s recent article about offshore wind opponents spreading misinformation drew passionate comments both praising reporter Anastasia E. Lennon and criticizing the reporting.
With emails, 19 comments on our website and more than 60 on Facebook as of Wednesday morning, here is a sampling:
“Thank you for your thorough and well balanced story ‘False Rumors in the Wind’ in today’s The New Bedford Light. As an environmentally conscious pleasure boater and grandfather of 10 who is concerned about the future for our children and grandchildren, I have been following the technological developments in the commercialization of offshore wind energy with great interest.
“Your article does a great service in cutting through the emotionally charged rhetoric, and respectfully acknowledges the opposing opinions. Thank you for your reporting and please keep up the good work of dispelling the disinformation and misinformation that abounds in this nascent and vitally necessary industry.”
— Greg Reardon
“Totally biased since your donors include big wind. Lies, disinformation and financed wind propaganda. Corrupted news.”
— Anne Carol
“A Cape Cod organization — Barnstable Speaks-Protect our Beaches — slammed your most recent article on critics of offshore wind, asserting that it was published in the service of your wind power contributors. I responded as follows: The assertion that The New Bedford Light’s negative report on some critics of wind power must prove that the Light is bought and paid for by turbine developers is a troubling example of the closing of the American mind. The Light offers examples of disinformation and misinformation spread by organizations including Save the Dolphins and Whales NJ and the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA), whose CEO spoke at the Hyannis wind summit.
“Calling the report a ‘hit piece’ is no substitute for thinking, including thinking about when and why allies get something wrong. The Light has published outstanding reporting of obstacles to developing offshore wind, including uncovering an obscure government report on the danger of building turbine platforms where the sea floor is covered by a mineral called glauconite. It took a skeptical look at developers’ claims that they were creating thousands of local jobs.
“At the end of the article you criticized, it published this note: ‘The New Bedford Light’s newsroom is scrupulously independent. Only the editors decide what to cover and what to publish. Founders, funders, and board members have no influence over editorial content.’
“For 30 years, I published a community newspaper in New York City before retiring to Barnstable. I’m saddened by the news desert Barnstable has become and look to nonprofit news outlets like The New Bedford Light as models for bringing worthwhile journalism back to my town.”
— Bernard L. Stein
“Wow! Looks like FOX, Spectrum and Townsquare Media alumni discovered NBLight!”
— Veritas
“I’ve read a couple of your articles about offshore wind. The first one was the article about glauconite (which was fascinating!) and the second was the latest one titled ‘False Rumors in the Wind.’ I just want to say this is some of the best journalism I’ve read in this region in years! Your articles are well-organized, thorough, and detailed. Your efforts to include broader sources to complete a picture, as well as clarification of views leaves the reader feeling knowledgeable and well-informed.
— Jill Peters
“Three questions: Would the Light be open to investigating the web of misinformation, including disinformation and withholding of information, perpetrated by Avangrid as it attempts to force massive and damaging electrical infrastructure on communities that oppose it? Can the Light please look into exactly who funded the absurdly biased report out of Brown University that basically paints the legitimate concerns of U.S. citizens as lies and fantasy? Could the Light investigate the musical chairs career game between public employees in the regulatory agencies and the ranks of Big Wind executives? Thanks.”
— Susanne H. Conley
“Media hit piece is nothing new to those who oppose industrialization of the ocean. Come to New Jersey and see how we have been treated. Funny though, the people, the regular folks, see right through the media lies. So they see through yours. The only people really gathering data are the grass roots opposition. Everyone in the industry and government and media is turning a blind eye.”
— Donna Balara
“What a fantastic article. So proud to be a donor to NB Light and I hope others support this excellent local journalism.”
— Miles Grant
“This is a big disappointment for someone who supported The Light from day one. This headline should be marked as opinion and attributed to the author before I even click on it.”
— Nate Banks
“This is just one whale that was entrapped by line. What about the 70+ that have washed up in the past year along the southern New England and Long Island coastline? This is not a well written, researched article. Some of us have been writing scientific articles for decades.”
— Sarah Bishop Valentine
