Maine news 'desperate' for cash

Ted Cohen/Patch.com

The editor of Maine's largest paper has launched a 'desperate' please-donate campaign on the heels of the top publishing executive's huge pay hike and widespread budget cuts.

Carolyn Fox, recently named executive editor of the Maine Trust for Local News, said in a generally circulated email that the trust has a "desperate need" to raise cash.

But the characterization of the financial challenge wasn't Fox's. She used a supposed quote from an alleged reader named "Ken" - no last name - "from Bath" to cite the desperation.

The financial appeal via the Portland Press Herald, which is Maine's largest paper, comes on the heels of a report that the CEO of the trust's parent organization received the latest in a series of pay raises last year amid widespread cuts from the budgets of Maine's newspapers.

National Trust for Local News CEO Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, who oversees the parent corporation and its affiliates, won a 217% raise over two years, according the group's just publicly released IRS 990 form.

The Maine trust's money pitch comes in the wake of several similar requests, including some written by trust Managing Director Stefanie Manning.

In the latest request for support, Fox wrote, "Before the end of the year, please consider making a donation to the Maine Trust for Local News."

She added that "all donations are tax-deductible and directly support our news organization and the essential local journalism we proudly produce."

Fox sprinkled her appeal with highlighted "quotes" from people she identified only by first name and the supposed Maine town in which they are based.

Editor's note: Ted Cohen is a former Portland Press Herald staffer.