The Maine Edge

I like alternative newspapers, I really do. And I know some people who work for The Maine Edge and I think they're swell. Their paper, however, is confused. It doesn't know what it wants to cover for news.


On one hand they want to be local. I get that. But they use AP stories and celebrity news to fill their pages. Which I don't get. You either need to be a local paper or a non-local paper. Having both is weird. Here is an example....

In the Edge Style section they have four stories:
1. The Frugal Edge about berry picking in Maine.
2. Ask Todd Parker - the Dear Abby of The Edge.
3. The Cooking Edge about Sunday brunch.
4. Dolce & Gabbana, Armani open Milan menswear.

Hm. One of these things clearly doesn't belong here. How many Mainers really CARE about Italian fashion happening overseas? And on the same page as blueberries and brunch? It confused me.

If you are going to add pages to your publication, make the content useful to your readers. Why just stick some AP story in there to fill up space? Instead of Dolce & Gabbana how about a story on local fashion, resale shops, or even a Maine designer? Dolce schmoltce I say.

I am not an avid reader of The Edge for this reason. I don't like surprises -- and I'm constantly surprised with their content. The writers that they have on staff know how to cover local stuff -- stick with them and worry about quality, not quantity.