Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MAy 5, 2023 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Good morning, Saugus! Tonight will be a memorable occasion – perhaps one of the major highlights of my journalism career – if not the biggest one. I am looking forward to going to the New England Newspaper & Press Association Convention at the Westin Waltham Boston Hotel, where I will be among five people inducted into the New England Newspaper Hall of Fame. I am 70 years old and in my 51st year as a newspaperman, so I consider this a lifetime achievement award for my five decades-plus of work as a reporter, editor, columnist and photographer – mostly for New England papers – including my last seven years as editor of the Saugus Advocate. And at last week’s Board of Selectmen’s meeting, I got a real surprise after coming in late for a meeting. Selectmen asked me to walk up to the lectern, which I did – not knowing what was up. So, it was indeed a surprise when the board presented me with a citation congratulating me for my induction into the New England Newspaper Hall of Fame. And I thought it was a classy act and I appreciated the unanimous public recognition from a local government body – the first time in my career that this has happened. But usually grizzled newspaper reporters don’t receive such honors unless they’re close to retirement or leaving the profession. So, with these events in recent weeks, people I meet in my travels are naturally asking whether I am contemplating retirement any time soon. As I told selectmen last week – whether it’s 10 days, 10 weeks, 10 months or 10 years, my health would be a major factor as to if and when I would retire. I also told them that I’ve always enjoyed a good working relationship with the Board of Selectmen, that I enjoy writing stories about Saugus events and people and that I would continue to do so as long as my health allows me to. If health doesn’t become an issue, there is one other matter that would force me to make a decision. If Advocate Newspapers were to follow a common trend of newspapers in survival mode across the country – converting from newsprint to totally online – I would not be interested in becoming an online editor or reporter. I’ve been a print media guy all of my adult working life. So, if you take the paper out of newspaper journalism, I am not interested in becoming a computer age news reporter or editor. But, there are some adjustments I need to make – not just for my health’s sake – but also for the benefit of our readers. Since the departure of the Saugus Advertiser from the local news scene (the paper merged with the Melrose Free Press, but doesn’t really cover Saugus news anymore), we have been getting deluged with community news and notices that were usually given to just the Saugus Advertiser. This kind of news, of course, is the basic bread and butter information of community newspapers. So, it takes away my time hustling stories while also shrinking the news hole. The result: less time to go after local stories that I would normally do and less space to print them. One of the adjustments I’ve been doing is to not get hung up on covering meetings. I do attend most Board of Selectmen’s meetings and Town Meetings to remain current with the issues of local government news. A future adjustment would be to develop a system of coverage that would highlight the government news while spending time on overview articles that focus on important issues. Actually, in recent years, the Saugus Advocate has been morphing into more of a weekly news magazine. And it will continue to go in that direction. It is a better service to our readers to publish stories which separate the wheat from the chaff instead of getting bogged down in the process and the Saugus body politic. I know that a lot of reporters who travel across the Saugus landscape love to cover Saugus because of its history of feisty, controversial politics. But after more than a dozen years of covering Saugus at two different papers 20 years apart, it’s clear to me that some of the controversial news that makes for spicy news copy and great headlines may overshadow the important news stories that need to be told. And in the post-COVID-19 days, there’s a question of balance on how we use a shrinking news hole. How much government news vs. human interest features? By virtue of being a weekly newspaper, there’s a risk in trying to be a daily newspaper when you get too focused on the mundane meeting coverage. The game plan since I’ve been editor of The Saugus Advocate has been to encourage an open forum for discussion of a wide range of issues and mix that with some interesting feature stories and interviews that people aren’t going to read in the daily newspapers or other competitive media. What should we be doing and what can we do better? Those are the ongoing questions that challenge us as we strive to be an informative, entertaining, relevant and must-read publication for our readers. The bottom line is figuring out how can we be more effective and more efficient in the way we report and how we use the news hole. Stay tuned. “Saugus Over Coffee” One of our major projects of the year, which goes hand in hand with our election coverage, is the “Saugus Over Coffee” project. With Tuesday night’s (May 21) forum that focused on Precinct 5, we are half through. We will cover Precincts 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 over the next five months through October. Each forum so far has had good points and bad points. On Tuesday night, I’m sure the rain may have contributed to low public turnout. There were only seven people in the audience, most of them Precinct 5 residents, which was a disappointment. But all five Town Meeting members showed up: Brenton H. Spencer, Pamela J. Goodwin, Mary Frances Migliore, Jaclyn A. Hicman and Ronald Wallace. And each member offered quality participation, most of it focused on the issues relevant to Precinct 5 residents. Getting all five Town Meeting members in a precinct to show is a huge bonus. All five of Precinct 2’s Town Meeting members attended their forum back in February. Last week there were four members from Precinct 4. And if not for one member having an illness, there would have been five. A panel of five members talking on issues in a particular precinct makes for a good program to be aired on Saugus Cable TV. So, that was a definite plus for this week’s forum. Another huge plus was having three of the town’s five selectmen show up to watch the forum. Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Debra Panetta and Selectmen Jeffrey Cicolini and Michael Serino attended the forum. All three selectmen contributed some great comments. Panetta and Cicolini are Precinct 5 residents, so their perspectives and participation enhanced the overall forum. “The energy in the room felt positive,” Saugus Public Library Director Alan Thibeault said of what he observed in the library’s Community Room, before and after offering his introductory remarks to the audience. I told Alan that this week’s forum “turned out to be the best one yet,” because of the three selectmen joining five Town Meeting members. It was super and very engaging. From what I observed as moderator, participants were really pumped up. And it was great to see the selectmen, Town Meeting members and Precinct 5 residents mingling and talking after the forum concluded. Yes, a very good night for Saugus, despite the rain. I was really happy and thrilled with the quality of the participation Tuesday night. The next “Saugus Over Coffee” forum is set for Monday, June 12, with the five Town Meeting members from Precinct 6 invited to attend. They will be there to meet Precinct 6 residents and answer questions about issues facing Precinct 6. However, we will confer with Saugus Public Library Director Alan Thibeault for an alternate date next month in the event the Annual Town Meeting meets on that Monday to complete its business or that Town Meeting members convene for a Special Town Meeting. Those two scenarios are indeed possible and have occurred in recent history. For those unfamiliar with the “Saugus Over Coffee” forums, they are cosponsored by the Saugus Advocate and the Saugus Public Library. The primary purpose is to give citizens in each of the town’s 10 precincts an opportunity to voice their concerns about top issues in their respective precincts. It also gives them an opportunity to meet their Town Meeting representatives and chat over a cup of coffee or tea. Town Meeting members will benefit by getting to know more about concerns in their precincts. Viewers of the forums videotaped by Saugus TV will also get to learn a little about the history or interesting things about the precinct being featured each month. One of my major hopes for the forums is that it spurs an interest for citizens to become potential candidates for Town Meeting in this fall’s town election. The public should keep in mind that there was a paucity of candidates for Town Meeting seats in the town elections back in 2021. In five of the 10 precincts, only five candidates ran for the five seats. That means half of the 50-member body was elected without competition. Stay tuned for more information as “Saugus Over Coffee” continues. Here is the remaining schedule: Precinct 6 – June 12 (tentative, as Town Meeting may still be meeting on Monday nights or need that day to convene for a Special Town Meeting) Precinct 7 – July 10 Precinct 8 – August 14 Precinct 9 – September 11 Precinct 10 – October 23 Please check with the Saugus Advocate or library for any changes in dates. Residents can check the programming guide on the station’s website (www. saugustv.org) for dates and times. A video of the forum will also be available for viewing on the station’s vimeo page within a day or two after the event – www.vimeo.com/saugustelevision. The Cultural Council wants to see you Tuesday This just in from Tori Darnell, treasurer of the Saugus Cultural Council: The Saugus Cultural Council will be having a public meeting on Tuesday, May 9, from 6-7 p.m. in the Brooks Room at the Saugus Public Library (295 Central St.). We will have a brainstorming session on how to increase our community engagement, and plan the remainder of the year and start building goals for 2024. All residents are encouraged to come in person and sit in (or join virtually via Google Meets - meet.google.com/xbc-sfydkkp) and ask questions and share ideas. This would also be a great time to ask questions about our grant process or how to become a Council member. Can’t wait until the meeting? Then feel free to reach out to us online at saugusculturalcouncil@gmail.com or on Facebook, facebook.com/SaugusCulturalCouncil. We look forward to continuing to advance and promote the arts and culture for our community. Remembering Carmine Moschella On Wednesday evening, May 10, Carla Moschella will present a program about the many contributions her father – the late Carmine Moschella – made to Saugus. He taught industrial arts for many years in the Saugus Public Schools and is remembered by many generations of Saugonians who learned new skills from him over their lifetime. From the selectmen’s desks in Town Hall to the World War I monument beside Saugus Town Hall, his work remains a recognizable part of town life. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and will be held in the CaTHE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 12
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