~ Guest OP-ED ~ When is a News Source not a News Source

By Craig Spadafora

With the decline in traditional media sources, there has come an increase in reliance on various online platforms for news and information.  It has for the most part brought far more options to the masses to stay up to date, but it’s not without its challenges. While traditional news sources adhere to codes of conduct and when it comes to FCC regulated stations, even more scrutiny, Facebook ‘news’ sources can become the wild wild west.  In Malden, we have Malden News Network, or as one prominent Maldonian put it, the Malden Snews (Snooze) Network for its rambling incoherent style of reporting.

The Snews as I’ll refer to it advertises itself as “News for Maldonians, by Maldonians” while extoling the virtues of fair reporting.  The site’s content is driven by four individuals, each a failed candidate for local office, in some cases multiple losing campaigns.  The site has turned into a political advertising site for the candidates favored by those in charge, begging the question, is it ethical for a site to advertise itself as “news” and “fair reporting” while reporting editorial hit piece after hit piece unrestricted by the truth aimed at damaging those they don’t support politically.  Many have drawn parallels to the Everett Leader Herald and the $1.1 million dollar settlement for making up news stories.  That case set a clear expectation that all news sources, not just the big outlets, are expected to tell the truth or risk personal bankruptcy. Snews, pay attention.

Political campaigns are required to report in kind contributions on campaign finance reports, which according to campaign finance laws includes free advertising.  Is reporting done in coordination with a campaign in an attempt to portray that candidate in a positive light advertising?  At worst, ethical journalism calls for that to be disclosed so that the reader knows what they are reading is in fact an editorial.  Throughout the trash strike there were many complaints throughout the community that there were an awful lot of coincidences whereby Snews Network and their favored candidate were at the right place at the right time.  This type of coordinate activity, if the allegations are true, really hurts those news sources who are striving to report fair and balanced news.

Recently a Maldonian pointed out something to me that highlighted how clear the motives are that are at play.  During the trash strike, the Snews and its contributors were vocal that the City should cancel the contract and bring in a new vendor, even after the City had indicated that doing so would cost over $2 million more per year at a time the city could least afford it.  As soon as the strike ended, Snews ditched that narrative and shifted to complaining about the City wasting money.  You can’t make this up.

On a personal level, I was most recently a victim of the Snews Smear as it has become known across Malden.  Snews reported that I was one of the key drivers behind the proposition 2 ½ proposal. This is a flat out, bold-faced, made-up lie meant to hurt me in my at large race against the Snews preferred candidate KCH.  When I confronted the lead Snewser, he simply said ‘that’s what I was told’.  Now there’s some solid reporting for ya.  Aside from being a lie about me, this lead Snewser left out the fact that I had voted against the budget because of concerns for overspending, while the leading Snews beneficiary KCH shepherded the budget through as Vice Chair of Finance without so much as an attempt to bring spending in line.  In fact, a review of the minutes from the four meetings held by the Committee KCH vice chairs reports zero comments, contributions or concerns by KCH.  Zero.  I, on the other hand, am on the record as needing to see increased revenue and cuts before an override should be considered.  All of this somehow escaped reporting by the Snews.  Maybe there is more checking being done on this than ‘that’s what I was told’?

Remember, news is news, editorials are opinions, and campaigns are campaigns.  When you smash them all together in Malden you get the Malden Snews Network!

(Note: Craig Spadafora is a Malden City Councillor-At-Large)