Author: Abbi Matheson

Sometimes, the journey you end up taking isn’t the one you thought you would. For Lara Bricker, journalism was a backup plan, an addendum to her study of horses at the University of New Hampshire. Bricker was offered an internship at the Exeter Newsletter while still in school. This experience changed her views on journalism and after graduating from UNH in 1998, Bricker was offered a job at the Exeter Newsletter.

The Exeter Newsletter asked Bricker to write everything from human interest pieces to crime reports. She was a crime reporter until she was offered a job as an assignment editor in 2002 for three weekly publications, the Exeter Newsletter, Hampton Union, and Rockingham News.

Bricker wrote freelance throughout her entire journalism career for the Portsmouth Herald, the Union Leader, and most notably for the Boston Globe during the Dartmouth College murder of 2001.

Keeping her interest in crime writing, Bricker published a true crime novel, Lie After Lie: The True Story of a Master of Deception, Betrayal and Murder in 2010. This book follows the true story of James Keown, a radio talk show host from Waltham, Massachusetts convicted of murdering his wife with antifreeze.

Working for a small town paper was what Bricker liked most. It allowed her to get to know the community more and become more involved.

“Small town communities need watch dogs.” Bricker said. “That’s a really important role to be a watch dog in these little towns where things might be going on and you’re the one who is able to bring that to light”.

On the flip side, Bricker said her least favorite thing was night meetings. As a new reporter, she got stuck in late night board meetings that were very boring.

Bricker offered some advice for up and coming journalists. She says that you have to be flexible and willing to change with the times. When she began at the Exeter Newsletter, there was one computer. Now, reporters are tweeting live from the scene. In order to keep up with this changing industry, future journalists need to be up to date on all of these advances, which may include taking your own photos or videos where as before, there was a photographer for that.

Bricker currently writes a twice a month column for the Exeter Newsletter chronicling the people, places, and events in the town of Exeter, New Hampshire.

As of the 2014 school year, a new ID Policy has been created for Emmanuel College. In the 2014-15 Student Handbook, the policy states that “…all employees and students must obtain and wear an Emmanuel College ID…” and that “the College ID should be conspicuously displayed to allow for ease of recognition by the campus community”. This policy also states that the ID must be worn either “on a lanyard around the neck” or “clipped, magnetized, or pinned to the upper left or right breast pocket area of a shirt or jacket or attached to a belt”.

When questioned, students expressed mixed feelings about the policy. Maura Tuohy, a junior, believes that it is a very small inconvenience that will only benefit the larger safety of the college. Tuohy, a Library Student Worker, states that the policy would help identify patrons in the library who are not Emmanuel students, thus ensuring the safety of those in the library.

Others, like sophomore Tommy Dion and junior Justine McLaughlin, feel that the policy is unrealistic and an inconvenience. McLaughlin said “no one’s going to get dressed and clip on their ID every morning” which seems to be the case when one observes students walking through campus. Few students follow this new policy, and it is not being heavily enforced.

According to John Kelly, the head of security on campus, no one is going to be overly demanding about the policy, as it is no new. However according the the handbook, “employees have the right to question anyone who is not wearing an ID and
may also contact Campus Safety” in regards to students not wearing IDs.

Students wonder when the level of enforcement will match that written in the policy.

It took Steve Balestrieri 30 years to get a job in his home town. Having already traveled to 43 different countries working for special forces and Hollywood movies, Balestrieri came home to do something most people do in high school. He returned to Millbury, a small town in the middle of Massachusetts where he grew up. It was here that Balestrieri met Jennifer Paluzzi, a then editor for The Millbury Daily Voice. Paluzzi reflects on her first meeting with Balestrieri for the 8am Introduction to Journalism class on Wednesday, September 17th. She told the class that, while Balestrieri had no journalism experience, his resume was too interesting to turn down.

“Millburry is pretty small…they don’t trust out-of-towners,” Balestrieri said. As a result, Balestrieri had to work hard to gain their trust. To do this, he ditched his car and spent most of his day walking around town getting to know the locals. Half of his stories came about this way, he said, including one where a man constructed the Stanley Cup entirely out of Lego. Balestrieri says he knows 3/4 of the town’s residents, including a ghost who lives in the town’s museum.

Now, Balestrieri writes for PatsFans.com where he is a featured columnist. His first love is football, he said and thoroughly enjoys covering the Patriots every Sunday.

On the 23rd of January at 4:13 am, pop star Justin Bieber of 25202 Prado Del Grandiso Calabasas California was arrested in Miami Beach, Fl for drunk driving. According to the Miami police report, Bieber was first seen driving north on Pine Tree Drive in one of two Lamborghinis. Officers then began their pursuit of Bieber, pulling him over at 41st and Pine Tree Drive.

Bieber, a 19 year old pop star from Canada, was charged with one count of misdemeanor drunk driving, one count of resisting arrest without violence, and one count of driving with an expired license. According to Miami police, Bieber failed the field sobriety test, resulting in his DUI. Bieber was also allegedly participating in drag racing on Pine Tree Drive with another Lamborghini.

According to the Miami police report, there were also two black SUV’s traveling behind the Lamborghinis on Pine Tree Drive. These two vehicles were assumed by police to be stopping traffic from traveling on this road in order to set up an open lane for the Lamborghinis to race on. It is not stated in the police report who the driver of the other Lamborghini is nor who the drivers of the SUV’s are.

 

My name is Abigail Matheson, though most people call me Abbi. Unless we’re talking about my mother, in which case she has a slew of nicknames for me. I was born and raised in the same tiny town in New Hampshire. Do you know where Exeter is? No? Portsmouth or Hampton? I won’t even ask if you know of my town, Brentwood. We don’t even have a  postoffice for pete’s sake.

I have wanted to be a writer my whole life. When I was younger, my family supported this dream of mine. Little did I know they were silently hoping that I would move on from this apparently crazy pipe dream and on to something that would actually make me money. But I have come to terms with the fact that I may have to sell a kidney to feed myself if I pursue a career in journalism. My family however has not. It’s a sore subject come Thanksgiving.

My dream is to be an investigative journalist. This stemmed from my love of research papers. I really enjoy collecting information and finding out everything about a topic, especially if it exposes some sort of injustice or truth.

I want to write because, for one thing, I enjoy being creative. There’s just something about the ability to transport someone into a completely different world using only words. For a while my dream was to just become an author but I have since then been introduced into the world of journalism. While less creative, you still get to take people into a different world by giving them a new view on a topic.