MoCo360/formerly Bethesda Magazine and Em Espy

[Anonymous]

Anyone else miss Caitlynn Peetz? It seems since Caitlynn left and Em took over the MCPS beat, we're not getting investigative journalism, just press releases and lots of exclamation points from Em about their feelings about an issue. I'd rather have information than emotions

[Anonymous]

I think they are doing a good job. They are new to the area.

Caitlynn Peetz had to find her way, too, and her journalism improved as she made connections and began to understand the nuances of the issues.

[Anonymous]

They operate on a tight budget so they tend to hire interns and fresh journalism grads. Just be glad we have any local news coverage for MoCo. The Journal, Gazette, and Patch all went under. MoCoShow has high schoolers republishing press releases so it's even worse.

[Anonymous]

I agree about missing Caitlynn and her investigative journalism. Maybe Em will improve as they get more familiar with the issues, but there's been a definite loss in education reporting.

[Anonymous]

It always seemed to me that Caitlynn was likely doing more work than they were paying her for, and thus it was not surprising when she left. If folks want good education reporting they have to be willing to pay for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It always seemed to me that Caitlynn was likely doing more work than they were paying her for, and thus it was not surprising when she left. If folks want good education reporting they have to be willing to pay for it.

Caitlynn was old school. She busted her ass until an advancement opportunity presented itself. She will be had to replace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think they are doing a good job. They are new to the area.

Caitlynn Peetz had to find her way, too, and her journalism improved as she made connections and began to understand the nuances of the issues.

I do too. I get a lot of info out of Em's articles and newsletter.

[Anonymous]

Caitlynn was awesome and I miss her journalism too

[Anonymous]

Em doesn’t just shovel out what MCPS feeds them. I think they’re going to be very good, which probably means they won’t stay long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Em doesn’t just shovel out what MCPS feeds them. I think they’re going to be very good, which probably means they won’t stay long.

+1
I like her style

[Anonymous]

I like Em and also liked Caitlynn -- grateful for the local coverage.

[Anonymous]

Em has some tough shoes to fill! But so far I think she is covering things pretty well. My only gripe would be I wish she would expand upon her contact lists - if I see one more quote from that Reesman yahoo 🙄. She's said enough. It's time to get more voices in the mix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Em doesn’t just shovel out what MCPS feeds them. I think they’re going to be very good, which probably means they won’t stay long.

Literally rewrites press releases. You have no idea what's been missed. Clearly ignoring major issues.

[Anonymous]

The pay sucks for local journalism. they probably make a third of what staff reporters made just 10 years ago. There is a learning curve and I already see more depth in Espey’s reporting.

Having said that, it’s no longer sufficient to rely on media. You need to go read primary sources yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The pay sucks for local journalism. they probably make a third of what staff reporters made just 10 years ago. There is a learning curve and I already see more depth in Espey’s reporting.

Having said that, it’s no longer sufficient to rely on media. You need to go read primary sources yourself.

What are the primary sources?