Tag: Suki Dardarian

Erica Heilman tells us how she captures stories of ordinary (and extraordinary) life in Vermont

Erica Heilman recording cows at Forrest Foster’s farm in Hardwick, Vt. Photo © 2023 by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur for Seven Days. Used by permission.

On the latest “What Works” podcast, Ellen Clegg and I talk with Erica Heilman, who produces a podcast called “Rumble Strip.” Heilman’s shows air monthly on Vermont Public and other NPR stations as well as the BBC. “Rumble Strip” can also be found on all the usual podcast platforms.

Her episodes range in length from a few minutes to, well, as long as they need to be! As Chelsea Edgar wrote in a profile for Seven Days of Burlington, Vermont, “She wants to make meandering, kaleidoscopic stories about the stuff of ordinary Vermont life.”

In 2020, Heilman produced a memorable pandemic miniseries, “Our Show.” It featured listener-submitted recordings of life in lockdown, and it was The Atlantic’s No. 1 podcast of the year. In November 2021 she produced “Finn and the Bell,” the textured story of a Walden teenager who died by suicide. It won a Peabody, the highest award in broadcasting.

Ellen has an update on Suki Dardarian, the retiring editor and senior vice president of The Minnesota Star Tribune. She has been named the Benjamin C. Bradlee Editor of the Year by the National Press Club.

I’ve got a Quick Take about tools for local news organizations dealing with various forms of harassment. The Institute for Nonprofit News, a leading organization for hyperlocal journalism, has put together some resources.

You can listen to our conversation here, or you can subscribe through your favorite podcast app.

CNN’s risky decision to defend a libel claim; plus, billionaires bad and good, and media notes

Photo (cc) 2010 by red, white, and black eyes forever

Ordinarily when I write about libel suits, it’s to call your attention to some bad actor whose ridiculous claims threaten to damage freedom of the press. Today, though, I want to tell you about a case involving CNN that has me wondering what on earth executives at the news channel could be thinking.

Media reporter David Folkenflik of NPR explains the case in some detail. In November 2021, CNN’s Alex Marquardt reported that Zachary Young, who runs an outfit called Nemex Enterprises, was taking advantage of desperate Afghans by charging them “exorbitant fees” to extract them from Afghanistan after the U.S. pulled out and the government fell into the hands of the Taliban.

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CNN said there was no evidence that Young had been successful in evacuating anyone. Young claims otherwise. Folkenflik writes:

Young has sued CNN for defamation. In his complaint, his attorneys say CNN gave him just hours to respond to its questions before it first aired that story on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” They say Young had, in fact, successfully evacuated dozens of people from Afghanistan.

In rebutting those allegations in court, CNN has since cast doubt on Young’s claim of the successful evacuations. Behind the scenes, however, some editors expressed qualms about the reporting, court filings show.

You should read Folkenflik’s full story. What you’ll learn is that:

  • CNN may or may not have gotten it right, but it is basing its defense, in part, on what it describes as Young’s refusal “to cooperate with CNN’s reporting efforts,” as if he was under any legal obligation to do so. Also, keep in mind that Young argues he was given “just hours to respond.”
  • Tom Lumley, CNN’s senior national security editor, privately called the story “a mess.” Megan Trimble, a top editor, agreed that “it’s messy.”
  • There was some sentiment within CNN that it was all right to go ahead with a fleeting television version of the story that wouldn’t attract much notice but that posting a written article was risky.
  • Marquardt, in an internal message, had written, “We gonna nail this Zachary Young mf*****,” and at least two other CNN journalists had disparaged Young besides, with one saying Young had “a punchable face.”

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