Mitt Romney Media Guy Eric Fehrnstrom Again Under Assault. A former dynamic Investigative Reporter Like Many who Lacked Career Opportunities In The Declining Media Being Forced Into Public Relations

November 11, 2008

The Boston Globe recently published a guest column from Eric Fehrnstrom former Massachusetts Governor and Republican candidate for President Mitt Romney that detailed his views of unfair attacks on Youtube and internet use by bloggers. The Boston Phoenix and the Blue Mass Group took exception to the column and writer that has raised a reflection about this one time promising investigative journalist whose lack of career job opportunities in the declining media apparently forced him to become a public relations spokesperson.

I spent well over a decade as an advocate at the statehouse. I recall Eric as a your reporter working at the statehouse for the Boston Herald. He was an excellent young at the time inquisitive investigative reporter working under fellow reporters Jon Wells, Bob Connolly, and Peter Lucas Wells and Fehrnstrom as a team worked above and beyond sccoping the Globe and plying their trades through hard work.

Eric was always fair and objective as well as helpful. When other reporters would only listen to the establishment elected politicos to always gain stories and access, both Eric and Jon Wells would listen to those of us seeking a reporter to exposen improprieties. These two would even report our accurate views even in contradiction to the Herald Editorial Board.

Unfortunately for Eric, the career path in the media was not there and the wage scale quite low. Journalism then lost a bright competent investigative reporter.

Supporting a family, he stunned me when he accepted a job with State Treasurer Joe Malone and later Governor Mitt Romney.

With Malone when I and others stood up to the waste, fraud, and abuse in the State Treasurers Office, Eric was a hard hitting adversary.We had several confrontations during legisltive hearings before the Public Service committee and at times quite caustic.
The same also when working later for Mitt Romney.

I do not agree with Eric on many issues. However, he was always available to have a discussion on issues that I diagreed with him on.

Journalism and the media has changed in the last 20 years and newspapers are becoming relics of the past. The free press that our citizens expect and taken for granted is in rapid. I just imagine what Eric Fehrnstrom could have been like so many other potential investigative reporters if newspapers and investigative reporting was not in such decline with little or no job opportunities and stable career path.