Category Archives: Publishing

The process of production and dissemination of literature, music, news, opinion, information — the activity of making information available to the general public.

This Whole Being Sued Thing

I went to talk to John Macone, the editor at the Newburyport Daily News about this whole being sued thing. (One more time, as a blogger, I am considered a “publisher” and can be sued.) And folks it’s really, really bad news. Everything I read about being sued turns out to be true. Bleh.

Apparently the Newburyport Daily News gets threatened with the “threatened to be sued stuff” at least once a week. The Newburyport Daily News?!? We are talking a small New England city newspaper. And Mr. Macone kept nodding his head “yes” at my complete disbelief.

And it gets worse. People can be sued for Letters to the Editor (how about that one,) fliers, petitions and even email lists. All of those things are considered “publications.” Make you a little ill? Makes me a little ill.

Apparently a lot of these lawsuits are “SLAPP suits – frivolous lawsuits designed to have a chilling effect on free speech,” a quote to me in an email from Robert Cox. (Now that I’ve done a tinsy-winsy bit of research I am now able to throw around the words like “SLAPP suit” like I have any idea at all what I’m actually talking about.)

And Tom Ryan is right in his latest edition of the Undertoad, October 27, 2006. People do tell me all sorts of stuff, and it becomes an incredible burden. I do NOT want to know this stuff.

If you have an issue that you feel would be important enough to tell me about, do NOT do it. Instead contact the Ulrika Gerth at the Newburyport Current or John Macone at the Newburyport Daily News. (I have a feeling if I know stuff and feel weighed down with it, Tom Ryan of the Undertoad knows thousands of more things than I do, and would really feel weighed down about all that stuff.) They are reporters, they want to know this stuff. They are trained journalists, not moi. I have a degree in Fine Arts for crying out loud.

Both of these papers want to know about relevant stories, yes, it is true. There was a story quite a while back before the idea of blogging ever entered my pretty little head. I went (like showed up in person) and talked with the Newburyport Daily News and they went with the story. They were great.

And Ulrika Gerth of the Newburyport Current is amazing. Talk about a “go to girl.” Wow. If I decide to keep on blogging (still a big question mark) you can be sure I’d do a whole lot of gushing about the guts of that young lady.

And the other person who is willing to be a “go to girl” is Sarah White. Yes, Sarah White of Save Our Town. But more importantly, Sarah White of the Newburyport Preservation Trust (NPT). The NPT has just sent out a flier and has a new website, www.nbptpreservationtrust.org . So if you want to get in touch with Sarah White about any of this development stuff, go to “Contact Us” on the NPT website.

The other thing is if you care about all this development stuff that’s happening in Newburyport, MA, join the Newburyport Preservation Trust for goodness sakes. They want to be on the front lines (bless them) and they are protected because they are a real deal non-profit organization (go check it out.)

So, to recap here. You got something on your mind, give the Newburyport Current, the Newburyport Daily News or the Newburyport Preservation Trust a jingle. It is up to them to let people know what’s going on. NOT me. (Can you tell I’m still pissed? See previous post.)

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

I’m Pissed

You know what, I’m pissed. (I can almost hear a few lips curling up into the beginning of a smile out there in Web Land, saying, “angry is good, pissed is good.”) And if you don’t like the word “pissed” don’t read this post, ok? I’m tired of tippy toeing around on egg shells, afraid I’m going to piss people off.

I’m pissed that I can be sued, because as a blogger I am considered a “publisher.” And from all the research I’ve done, people are suing bloggers a lot, mostly to shut them up. I’m not exactly thrilled by that.

I’m also pissed because I LOVE working on the Newburyport Political Blog, and I still haven’t figured out if it’s safe or sane to blog or not.

I’d like to say for the record, I may have political and philosophical differences with our mayor (well of course I do, that’s obvious,) but I like the man. He’s a good, good-hearted man. And he also has a heck of a gorgeous lawn. I enjoy it every time I walk by it, which is almost every day, because the lawn is on my walking route. It’s pretty.

If anyone has a right to call up and be upset with me, it’s our mayor. But you know what, he’s been classy. Who would want a blog with the bloggette disagreeing with him all the time? I sure wouldn’t. Not that if I keep on doing the Newburyport Political Blog (still a very big question mark) I’d become all rosy and wonderful.

And for the record, for all those people who are upset about what could happen to the back of the Wheelwright property, our city government canNOT do anything about it! It’s the owner. And he lives in town. If you want to change someone’s mind you’ve got to change HIS mind. Go picket in front of his house or something. (Good grief, I hope that doesn’t get me sued!)

Picketing might actually work. Would you want your house picketed? I sure wouldn’t. There’s a group forming (read this week’s Newburyport Current, don’t call ME, under any circumstances, do not call me for how to figure out who they are. The Newburyport Current is at the Library and at Richdales downtown and probably at the White Hen Pantry, just to name a few places.)

And I was very, very flattered, Ulrika Gerth the editor of the Newburyport Current, Tom Ryan the editor of the Undertoad and John Macone, the editor of the Newburyport Daily News all offered to let me write for them. To protect me from people who threaten or who could threaten or who might threaten to sue me or who actually would sue me. Thank you so much to all three individuals. I am very, very moved.

And I’m also very moved by all the emails, phone calls, visits, even food (I guess people didn’t want me to waste away.) I was, am, still am unbelievably moved by those deeply kind gestures.

And one last word here. I am fricken relieved that Nancy Colbert has applied to be Newburyport’s Planning Director and has been picked by our mayor. She’d be great. And I’m assuming that she will get a 100% nod from the Newburyport City Council. Oh, City Councilors (all of whom I am very fond of, believe it or not) I will personally come and stamp my little feet in front of your door if you don’t vote for this woman.

I don’t know if I’m back or not (I still haven’t figured out this being sued thing, being a “being sued phobic,” which I think is sane,) but I gotta admit it, it sure was fun to blog again, pissed and all.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, Taking a Blog Break

I am taking a break from the Newburyport Political Blog, and it may be a permanent break, I don’t know yet.

I started the Newburyport Political Blog because I thought it would be interesting and fun and enable me to connect with the Newburyport community.

However, the blog is taking a huge emotional toll. And folks, it’s not worth it.

I’ve been threatened with lawsuits a number of times. I have people call me up and scream and or threaten me. I get nasty emails.

When these things happen, it makes it impossible to sleep, I feel sick to my stomach, and instead of helping me paint, it makes sitting down to the easel extremely difficult.

There are times when I feel like the city shrink, the city conscience.

A friend of mine said to me, “Mary, I am worried about you, you are going to start to feel like you are in a marriage where you give and give and give, and then wake up one day and realize that you are getting nothing in return and are getting abused on top of it.”

That was only ten days ago. This friend is obviously very perceptive.

So folks, I’m on blog break. And I am going to take some time to see if and how I would like to continue the Newburyport Political Blog.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, the Spirit of Bossy Gillis Lives On, Heads-Up Mr. Karp

Ok, I’ve finished reading the book/biography of Bossy Gillis by Peter Jacobs that the library recommended. So I now know 100 pages more about Bossy Gillis than I did before.

In the biography Mr. Jacobs comments that John P. Marquand had observed about Bossy Gillis that “It almost seems as though another Timothy Dexter had arrived.” And after reading Mr. Jacobs’ biography it almost feels as if another Bossy Gillis has arrived–the similarities between Bossy Gillis and Tom Ryan, the editor of Newburyport’s local journal, the Undertoad, are a little spooky.

Both love/loved a fight. One of the things I learned was that Bossy Gillis took on the old wealthy, Yankee, High Street establishment and beat them. Mr. Ryan has taken on a whole host of folks that most people wouldn’t even dream of confronting. Both have had trouble with the issue of libel (please, please make sure you read the disclaimer on the “Guidelines” page.) Bossy Gillis went to jail for 9 months. Mr. Ryan was found not guilty because the United States Constitution allows free speech. (Why this free speech thing didn’t apply to Bossy Gillis, I don’t quite understand–this is a blog remember not a history lesson.)

And Bossy Gillis published his own newspaper called “Asbestos” because, ” ‘it was so hot to read it had to be printed on asbestos,’ ” and it “became a town conversation piece and brought Bossy a host of new enemies with each edition.” Does that sound weirdly familiar or what?

All of this cheers me up immensely. Yup, it does.

There’s something about the spirit of this town that I love. Can you imagine an Untertoad flourishing in some place, let’s say like Wellesley. No, I don’t think so. (Now people in Wellesley might think this is a good thing.) But the Undertoad has flourished for over 10 years in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

As an artist I would wither and die in a place like Wellesley, Massachusetts, but the spirit of Newburyport seems to suit me just fine. We have a Yankee version of a “live and let live” attitude along with a subtle gutsy and defiant spirit.

So yes, this brings me to the subject of Mr. Karp, Stephen Karp, Newburyport’s very wealthy and powerful new landlord. If you’ve been reading the Newburyport Political Blog for a while, you know that I have been worried that all that money and all that power could stamp out the feisty, individualistic spirit of Newburyport, Massachusetts.

But, if Nantucket is capable of voting against chain stores to preserve its small town character, the people of Newburyport are quite capable of that if needed, and much, much more. Boy, can we as a city make people’s lives miserable if we feel it’s necessary.

So heads-up Mr. Karp, the spirit of Bossy Gillis is alive and well in Newburyport, Massachusetts. It’s been around for centuries and my guess is it will be here forever.

Mary Eaton, Newburyport

Newburyport, Peter Miller and the High Street Email List

I first met Peter Miller in early January 1999. We both went to a meeting about High Street, held in the Newburyport City Council chambers. Peter Miller and Maria Nortz had just moved to town.

At that meeting, as I was making the decision to create Citizens to Save High Street, Peter Miller was taking down everyone’s email address. Now you have to remember, email was really new in 1999 ( yes, hard to fathom) and we all really wondered what the heck Peter Miller was up to.

Peter Miller was ( and still is, sadly, he and Maria Nortz have moved out of town) one smart cookie.

Peter Miller started the High Street email list, and I learned an awful lot from Mr. Miller. Peter Miller and the High Street email list were one of the very big inspirations for the Newburyport Political Blog.

From Peter Miller, I learned about how to make the tone of a “email posting” civil by using the words “could, would, might, may.” I was just amazed at how an email posting changed when those few verbs were applied.

Peter Miller also tried to make everyone look good, whether he agreed with them or not. He would make sure that the grammar was correct and that everything was spelled right. If he had questions about an email someone sent in, he would send it back and ask if they were sure that they would like it posted. If the answer came back “yes” that email was sent on to the High Street email list. And sometimes, after they had time to think about it, they often decided that maybe sending the email out to the High Street email list just wasn’t a good idea.

After the fight to save High Street had settled down, I was amazed at how many people had read the High Street email list. People printed it, passed it around, saved it, even archived it as a part of the history of how High Street was saved.

And the High Street email list also turned out to be an incredibly powerful political tool.

So if the Newburyport Political Blog survives, it will be due in great part to what I learned from Peter Miller. And I sure wish Peter Miller and Maria Nortz would move back to town. I sure could use their wisdom, their expertise and help. And a lot of other people miss them too.

Mary Eaton, Newburyport

Welcome to Newburyport’s Political Blog

(Editor’s Note: The Newburyport Blog is no longer having technical difficulties. Please press here to go back to the main page of the Newburyport Blog. Thank you so much for your patience. Mary Eaton, June 21, 2008)

Editor’s Note: The Newburyport Blog has been experiencing a little technical difficulty lately. Alright, a lot of technical difficulty lately. That is why you are seeing the beginning of the Newburyport Blog and not the most recent entries. (Apparently, it may take a couple of weeks, and it’s worldwide, good grief, to get this issue resolved by the “server, host” which we will just let remain nameless for the moment!)

If you would like to see the most recent posts, please press HERE or scroll down and press “Newburyport” under ‘Issues” on the side of the Newburyport Blog. For the moment that seems to work.

Mary Eaton, June 5, 2008

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Welcome to Newburyport’s Political Blog. This is a blog on issues and politics in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

The aim of this blog is to give people, besides myself, a forum for expressing their feeling on different subjects concerning our small, coastal New England City. Think of this as a Web version of a “Letter to the Editor.”

Opinions maybe passionately expressed, but they also must be civil, constructive and not mean spirited. (We have been called “Cannibal City” for a reason.)

There are guidelines for posting in the “Newburyport Political Blog, Overview and information” Page. That link is on the side of the Blog. Please read it.

Many Thanks, Mary Eaton