Two veteran Maine journalists are taking the helm of the Aroostook County and coastal Maine desks for the Bangor Daily News.
Paula Brewer, a lifelong Presque Isle resident and longtime reporter and editor, will lead the team behind The County. Bill Trotter, who has served as the BDN’s Hancock County reporter for more than 20 years, will lead the paper’s coastal coverage.
“Paula and Bill are the perfect journalists to lead coverage of Aroostook County and coastal Maine, which are two of the most fascinating and important regions for our readers,” Executive Editor Dan MacLeod said. “They know more about their beats than anyone, they care deeply about the success of their reporters, and they love Maine. We’re thrilled to see them take on these new roles.”
Brewer has been with the company for nearly 20 years. She started her journalism career straight out of college, reporting and editing for Presque Isle’s Star-Herald and the Aroostook Republican.
“For me, the most important thing is that we showcase what’s special about Aroostook County,” Brewer said. “We have our challenges. It’s a large rural area with many small communities that are spread out far apart. We’re far away from the rest of the state, and for decades have been referred to as ‘the other Maine.’ But we also have unique ways of collaborating and supporting each other too, because it’s what we’ve always done.”
She leads a team of three reporters — Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli, who covers Houlton and southern Aroostook; Cameron Levasseur, who covers central Aroostook including Presque Isle and Caribou; and Christopher Bouchard, who covers the St. John Valley.
“They’re skilled at what they do, and they love and are invested in their communities,” Brewer said.
Trotter has been a reporter in coastal Maine for 28 years, first in Lincoln County and then in Ellsworth before he joined the BDN in 2001.
“I’ve always been interested in what other reporters are working on and getting a sense of not just, say, what’s happening in Ellsworth, but how that relates to what’s happening in Belfast or Brewer or Machias or wherever else,” he said of his work as a reporter.
Trotter said he’s excited to help a team of reporters tease out the unique mix of factors shaping life on the coast.
“Coastal Maine is a dynamic place,” he said, adding that the pressure on property values and tourism in the region “stirs the pot down there, for sure, in terms of how these communities grow, what sort of pressures they’re under and how they plan ahead for the future.”
He’ll oversee Elizabeth Walztoni, who covers Hancock County and homestead stories, as well as coverage of Hancock County and Belfast.