*Last Update 4:20 p.m.

Good morning!

Tuesday's my day for writing the print "Inside Track" column in Seven Days. And yes, you're right, there's been a lot happening this week and it's only Tuesday. I think it's fair to say this will be a week GOP Congressional Candidate Martha Rainville will not forget. The Rainville plagiarism story got front page coverage in The Burlington Free Press this morning. Very embarrassing, eh?

However, Marvelous Martha's campaign plagiarism story was completely and totally ignored by Vermont Chamber of Commerce TV News, a.k.a. WCAX-TV - Channel 3. I'm not making this up. Just double checked the Ch. 3 Monday news scripts. The top Vermont political story of the day, a story showing GOP Candidate Rainville in a very bad ethical light, got absolutely no coverage Monday evening by Vermont's top TV news operation, the one I've called WGOP-TV for years!

Hey, if the shoe fits......

But even with WGOP-TV, er, WCAX ignoring Candidate Rainville's problems (and more are coming, folks) the former adjutant general of the Vermont Guard has a very steep hill to climb. Stay tuned.

Over on the gubernatorial side, there was an excellent debate on environmental issues last night between Jim Douglas and Scudder Parker at the Capitol Plaza in Montpeculiar.  About 200 people turned out for the debate which was sponsored by the Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC),  Vermont Public Television President John King did an excellent job moderating. A few shaky moments for Gov. Scisssorhands, who was not exactly speaking to a crowd of supporters. From "wind energy" to "wilderness," Vermont's current governor does, at times, seem a bit out-of-touch with mainstream Vermont.

Unfortunately for Candidate Parker, WCAX-TV News did not cover the VNRC debate.

Interesting "news" judgement over there, eh?

Five weeks left until Election Day.

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*UPDATE 10:45 a.m.

Press Coverage Comparison:

Did something I don't do very often these days - I went out to buy the daily newspapers. You now, the ones made out of paper?

Wanted to compare the news judgement at Vermont largest daily newspapers to the news judgement at Vermont largest TV news station - our fave: WCAX.

Worlds apart!

Newswise, both The Burlington Free Press and the Rutland Herald - Vermont's two largest-circulation papers - feature the Candidate Rainville Plagiarism story and the VNRC gubernatorial-debate story on Page 1 - above the fold! Vermont Public Radio did its own original plagiarism story, too, just like the papers. John Dillon had it on the air before 6 p.m. on Monday.

However, both "news" stories were totally ignored by "award-winning" Ch. 3 News Monday night. Not a whisper. Not even at 11 p.m., despite the fact the Rainville plagiarism story moved on the Associated Press wire at 8:29 p.m.  The Douglas v. Parker environmental-issues debate moved at 9:14 p.m.  All 11 o'clock anchor-chair teleprompter news-readers Roger Garrity and Kristin Kelly had to do was rip and read either one. No heavy lifting. 

Hey. Do you think if an aide to a Vermont Democratic congresssional candidate was caught swiping quotes from Republicans to post online in the mouth of the Democrat, that "award-winning" Ch. 3 News would have ignored it, too?

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*UPDATE 4:20 p.m. corrected

In case you missed the broadcasts, as I did, you may not know how WPTZ-TV News covered this Monday. Got this email from Ch. 5 veteran Stewart Ledbetter:

"We had the story on Monday's 5pm newscast. Didn't get Rainville on the
phone until 4:45 so it was tight, and we combined the Welch/Foley story and
plagiarism charge. At 6pm we ran a shorter version only on the plagiarism
and staff employee's responsibility for it."