As a columnist, I have strived to provide readers with a thoughtful, insider’s look at Maine politics. I avoided using this space to comment on topics where I have a direct professional conflict and have refrained from carrying water out of blind partisan loyalty.
The work I have done and those with whom I have worked have certainly shaped my perspective, but a point of view and insight is why opinion pages continue to be an important part of our civic conversation.
I also have tried to deliver my point of view in a tone that is respectful. I have genuine admiration and appreciation for almost everyone who contributes to our system of governance. If you have an idea and the courage to share and act on it, you get the benefit of the doubt from me.
My tone also is influenced by my desire to remain employable — bomb throwing and bridge burning can make for entertaining copy but sooner or later your enemies outnumber your opportunities.
I now have irrefutable evidence that I have accomplished at least one of these objectives. Later this month, I begin work as the executive director of pubic affairs for the University of Maine System.
I am very excited about working with Chancellor James Page and his leadership team. I hope to help frame the system’s current challenges and make the benefits of public higher education relatable to every Maine citizen.
Whether you are a graduate of the system like me or work in essentially any Maine industry, the university and its graduates have an impact on your life. A statewide educational, research, economic development and public service enterprise, the university serves a half-million Mainers every year.
And it serves up a huge professional conflict for this columnist. The only sure way to avoid this conflict is to make this my last column and devote my final 400 words of punditry to lessons learned as a media insider.
The first lesson I learned is the crushing realities of time and space. It is far easier to write a 1,500-word column than a narrow and focused 800 words. The same is true for news stories. Deadlines and space constraints are far more likely than an imagined media bias to keep a story from being as comprehensive as it would otherwise be.
The same applies to the biases of ownership and editors. In two years, neither my editors nor their bosses ever dictated, suggested or otherwise edited my work for content. Lots of grammar was fixed but no one in the business has ever forced me to take or even consider an intellectual course correction.
The more I have worked with the media the more I am convinced of their essential role in our democratic process. This is especially true regarding the print media, the channel that typically has the space and time to ask really important questions.
While I believe the printed newspaper in its physical form will one day be an obsolete channel for distributing information, the contributions newspapers have been making to the democratic process for centuries must be sustained.
The easier it gets to distribute content, the more important it becomes to have professional and impartial journalists determining the accuracy and importance of information. Traditional journalists are also often the ones best positioned to ask decisionmakers tough questions.
I also have come to appreciate how the ease of access of the Internet allows us all to join the conversation through a blog, emails to elected officials, a Twitter account, website or the comment section of online news sources. I just ask that you are willing to be yourself.
I mean that literally.
Use your actual name if you expect those of us who publicly stand by our points of view to take you seriously. I know I always appreciated hearing from readers whether they were writing to affirm my observations or take me to task for my analysis. I just need to know who is contacting me before I pay attention.
I have appreciated this opportunity to share my thoughts about Maine politics over the last two years. I would like to thank my editors for the space, their improvements and tolerance around deadlines. I also want to offer my thanks to casual and regular readers alike for taking the time to consider my point of view.
Dan Demeritt is a Republican political consultant and public relations specialist. He is a former campaign aide and communications director for Gov. Paul LePage. He can be contacted at: dan@win207.com Twitter: @demerittda
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