The Rutland Herald and Barre-Montpelier Times Argus have eliminated the position of editorial page editor, and this week said good-bye to David Moats, an author who won a Pulitzer prize in 2001 for an editorial that advocated for the passage of civil unions legislation in Vermont.
The general manager of the two newspapers, Rob Mitchell, said, in an internal email provided to VTDigger, that it was a business decision. Mitchell was not immediately available for comment.
“As we constantly re-evaluate legacy positions, we must make decisions on which ones to keep over the next several years as we transition to a new model for local newspapers,” Mitchell wrote.
Mitchell said he was sad about the announcement “because it means we have to part ways professionally with this fine man earlier than I would like.” Roger Carroll and Steve Pappas, editors for the two papers, will share the duty of editorial writing going forward, he said.
Mitchell had been talking about a change to Moats’ role for several months. “It was just a couple of weeks ago that they decided they would eliminate the position,” Moats said. “They concluded having an editorial page editor was a luxury.”
In August 2016, the Mitchell family, which had owned the Rutland Herald and the Times Argus for decades, sold the two newspapers to Reade Brower, a media mogul from Maine, and Chip Harris, the owner of Upper Valley Press. Since then, the owners have significantly reduced staff, dropped the number of days the newspapers are printed and eliminated the Southern Vermont Bureau.
Moats said he wasn’t surprised by the decision. The economics of newspapering are “ruthless,” he said, and “they’re trying to do what they need to do to preserve a good community newspaper and they have to make choices.”
“I’m 70 years old and it’s a fact that I’ve been looking at what I’m going to do next,” Moats said. “It wasn’t entirely out of line with what I was thinking.”
Moats had served as an editor at the newspaper since 1982 and worked his way up on the desk, first serving as the wire editor, state editor, city editor, assistant managing editor and then, finally, editorial page editor in 1992.
In 2000, the Vermont Legislature was the first in the country to give gays and lesbians the same legal rights as married couples. A contentious debate over the issue in the Legislature divided the state and in the next election led to the ouster of many Democrats in the Statehouse who supported the law.
Moats’ careful consideration and advocacy for the passage of civil unions in Vermont led to the Pulitzer award — a first for any newspaper in the state. He published a book in 2004, “Civil Wars: A Battle for Gay Marriage“, about the lawmakers and advocates who brought the issue of gay and lesbian marriage rights to the fore. In 2009, the Vermont Legislature, overriding a veto by Republican Gov. Jim Douglas, passed gay marriage.
While Moats is leaving the Herald, he will stay in Vermont to pursue freelance opportunities and the publication of a children’s book.
