reporter's notebook

Reporter's Notebook: Special delivery for J.D.

The package for J.D. Salinger rolled off the conveyor wrapped in L.L. Bean's signature brown paper. It could have been a sweater, maybe a bathrobe. Definitely not slippers. Those came in a box. I knew this because in 1995 I worked as a courier for FedEx in Lebanon, N.H. I was fresh out of... 2

Steve Mistler • Opinion •
Monday, February 1, 2010 at 2:20 pm
How a case of mistaken identity made it to print

Last week I wrote a story about Stephen D. Cardelli Jr., a 50-year-old South Portland pilot who was killed when his plane crashed in New Hampshire on June 13. But I made a an error, and it was a big one. My story confused the criminal drug conviction of Stephen D. Cardelli Sr....

Notebook •
Friday, June 19, 2009
Happy Bah-thday

The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust (BTLT) and Crystal Spring Community Farm will hold their annual New Lamb Day Open House from 1:00 to 3:00 on Sunday May 31 at Crystal Spring Farm located at 277 Pleasant Hill Road in Brunswick. Farmer Seth Kroeck said 70 lambs were born during th...

Steve Mistler • Notebook •
Friday, May 29, 2009 at 10:31 am
Reporter's Notebook: Investigative journalism's last gasp?

The reporter wanted to know how Mark Benjamin persuaded the mother of slain Pfc. Albert Nelson to talk. Within seconds, Benjamin, a writer for Salon.com, is borrowing a pen. He snatches a handout from the May 1 in...

Opinion •
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at 10:10 am
Q: What are you doing? A: Delivering news, vapidity in 140 characters or less

Of all the online social networking sites blasted by critics for promoting self-absorption and narcissism as virtues, Twitter has to be the most targeted. The hatred centers on Twitter's premise, which is to tell friends, or "followers," what you're doing in 140 characters...

Steve Mistler • Opinion •
Monday, March 30, 2009 at 11:02 am
Harpswell, an appreciation

At some point in the future, the newspaper business is going to end. Before it does, I plan to transition into something far more secure and write books.

Opinion •
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 at 9:08 am
Face-to-face with Facebook

I'm amazed at how rapidly Facebook has become an obsessive compulsive part of my life.

Alex Lear • Opinion •
Monday, February 23, 2009
Reporter's Notebook: Storm Diary of a Madman

When you've sat alone in the cold and dark for nearly 70 hours, it's hard not to take it personally.

Steve Mistler • Opinion •
Thursday, February 19, 2009
pnms-reportersnotebook Midnight plane to Georgia: A series of unfortunate complaints

You'd think that after flying on airplanes for 25 of my 30 years, I wouldn't have so much to complain about.

Alex Lear • Opinion •
Friday, January 30, 2009 at 10:32 am
pnms-reportersnotebook-011409 Welcome to the Resolution-Free Zone

Lots of people talk or write about the futility of New Year's resolutions. But what about the futility of a fitness regimen because of the absurdity of New Year's resolutions?

Steve Mistler • Opinion •
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 9:44 am