Flanders, a 2015 graduate of Saint Michael’s College, spent four years covering Chittenden County for the Essex Reporter, Colchester Sun and Milton Independent. Last year, he helped uncover an embezzlement scheme at a Milton youth football program, resulting in the arrest of the nonprofit’s president. The series earned him and cowriter Courtney Lamdin — also now a Seven Days staff writer — a first-place award in investigative reporting from the New England Newspaper & Press Association.
According to Seven Days news editor Matthew Roy, Flanders is “a talented, ambitious journalist who has been punching above his weight” at the Chittenden County weeklies.
Flanders said he’s eager to join what he called “the best newsroom in the state” and, in particular, to cover the Vermont Statehouse. “Where else are more things going on?” he said. “I’m hoping to tell the biggest stories of the day, but also to tell stories that nobody’s talking about and really shed light on what’s happening in Montpelier.”
Flanders replaces former Fair Game columnist John Walters, who left the newspaper in August. Seven Days has published a weekly political column since it was founded in 1995, first with the late Peter Freyne’s Inside Track. But according to Roy, the paper has decided to discontinue the column — at least for now.
“At one point, it was the newspaper’s only real news content, but over the years our news team has grown up around it and our abilities to report on the state have expanded,” Roy said.
The Seven Days news department now includes seven reporters, four editors and a data editor. The locally owned weekly has a staff of about 50 people.
The paper will deploy three writers to the Vermont Statehouse this winter, as it has since the 2015 legislative session, Roy said. Flanders will join reporters Kevin McCallum and Paul Heintz in Montpelier.
Though Seven Days may one day revive the political column, Roy said, the newspaper has chosen to invest in straight news for now.
“In our world, there’s too much opinion and not enough plain old facts,” he said. “We’ll be trading more in the latter.”
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7Days real coverage of politics died with the passing of the late, great Peter Freyne, so this is just an overdue burial of the corpse.
“really shed light on whats happening in Montpelier.
LOL
Nothing is happening in Montepelier.
Couldn’t disagree more with prior comment (John G): 7D, along with VPR and Digger, provides the ONLY coverage of state politics for those of us west of the Greens, and for Burlington/S Burlington issues, only 7D is a reliable source. There’s an excellent combination of news offerings from 7D — the staff blogs, the weekly in depth stories, the online updates, the Daily Seven news summaries; the 7D newsroom is doing us a huge service. For a city our size to have journalism of this caliber, in so many formats, is astonishing. Please don’t take it for granted, folks. And congrats and thanks, 7D, for giving a vibrant journalism home to these great young reporters.
The political column was the first thing I read in SEVEN DAYS each week. Please bring it back SOON!!
Margo Howland
Walters “left” the paper? Funny, he said he was fired. Either way, it’s always good to have actual reporters doing actual reporting.
While the columns had political news, they had much more over the years about local media, Freeps circulation, gossip, etc. that we don’t get elsewhere. It is a need that is missing.
At least 7D is mentioning John’s departure finally. It happened around the time he discussed diversity in local news rooms. Looks like the new 7D hire doesn’t change that status quo
Those of us who knew and/or followed Peter Freyne know he was one-of-a-kind. He was irreplaceable. But, when Paul Heintz was doing the column, I always turned there first when a new issue came out. Someday, I hope that Seven Days can again publish a similar column that is both punchy and reflective … perhaps seasoned with some of the humor and spice that Peter Freyne may have left sitting on a Seven Days shelf.
Nonetheless, I am pleased that Colin Flanders is coming to Seven Days. He will have an able mentor in Paul. (Imagine Paul Heintz is getting old enough to be a mentor! What next? Flecks of gray hair 🙂 ) I, however, will miss Colin’s coverage of the Essex scene, though.
Sorry, someone has to say it. The idea that *real coverage of politics died with a Peter Freyne* is a laffer. He was a down on his luck taxi driver. He refashioned himself as a political reporter only because it was Burlington, Vermont in the 1980*s and a taxi driver could become a reporter. He almost immediately flunked out of his foray into legitimate journalism when he used a disgusting, Trump-like, misogynistic profanity at a press conference in Montpelier for Vermont*s first and only female governor. (Think, *grab *em by the you-know-what.*). At 7D he was a lazy gossip columnist who substituted cute-sey fifth grade names (*Ol Bernardo* Sanders, and *St. Patrick* Leahy, and *Ho Ho* Howard Dean ** oh, how clever!) and simple-minded sloganeering for analysis. Fortunately, with successors like Paul Heinz, who could analyze and think and write long-form pieces, and not just kiss Bernie*s ass, the coverage got better and better and better and better. Freyne set a ridiculously low bar. Even John Walters was head and shoulders above Freyne in terms of analysis.
Knowyourass, you realize that Peter personally HATED Bernie, right? Try knowing your facts instead, man.
Although you claim to have loved Freyne, I guess you didnt actually read his 7D columns in the last 5 or so years of his life. All he did was was worship Bernie. Check the archives. Try knowing your facts, man.