Londonderry Times publisher Deb Paul stood before a judge on Wednesday to receive her punishment. The crime was failing to include the ‘magic words’ identifying blatantly political ads as…political ads. The judgment hath arrived.
Deb has until early January to pay a $620.00 fine, according to InDepth NH, (124.00 per violation).
Prosecutors charged Paul, 64, with six Class A misdemeanors which carry up to a year in jail and $2,000 in fines for the ads she ran in the Londonderry Times and Nutfield News, though Steckowych found her not guilty on one count after November’s bench trial.
Paul did not respond to a request for comment.
According to prosecutors, Paul repeatedly broke the law when publishing ads for local political candidates and warrant articles in the Londonderry Times and the Nutfield News in the run up to the March 2022 municipal elections. The Nutfield News has since ceased publication.
As per previous reporting, we find this excessive, given the lack of clarity in the statute. A problem the legislature needs to address. We also made a promise.
Regardless of what punishment the judge decides is fair, and we think a warning will do, the free press and independent media are more important to the liberty of the nation, the state, and the town of Londonderry than the “magic words.” We feel obligated to rise in support of Deb Paul and her newspaper. To share more of its content with our audience who, and this may not come as a surprise, agree that the town has become a stink-hole of political insiders. A swamp of its own that needs draining.
We intend to keep it.
Investigative material directed at Londonderry’s intractable swamp can look forward to finding a second home here, along with some of our poking and prodding. We know a few folks in Londonderry who wouldn’t mind if that town got a bit more exposure, but if you live in or nearby (Derry’s a bit of a cesspit as well), we hope you’ll send us your inside scoops.
If we get enough material regularly, perhaps we will feature it in Derry/Londonderry MicroGrok. Not to compete for local market share but to use our reach to get more eyeballs looking in that direction. Remember, local stories matter because the nonsense you see in one town is often in many, and until it gets pointed out, folks might not think to look for it in their town.
If you want to be a local hero, make a point of turning yourself into Ed Naile. He left us a few years ago, but he had a very respectable reputation before he passed. If Ed walked into a meeting in any town, people in the know knew to be worried about why he was there. Even if he never said a word.
New Hampshire could use a few more like that who then take their observations to the new media. We can’t cover everything, and we can’t print everything. Some of the work folks do at the local level might not translate to this medium, but a lot of it does, and we’re willing to see what you have to share.
And so is Deb Paul at the Londonderry Times. Don’t be afraid to reach out and support your local muckrakers.
Update: The actual total fine may be different than what was reported by InDepthNH. Deb Paul had suggested to me that she was waiting to hear form the Judge. I will update this post when we have clarification.
