By RANDY SEAVER | Editor
The Biddeford Gazette has been taking a little bit of heat and some pushback from several readers – including former and current Biddeford city officials –about our decision on Sunday to share a rather scathing op-ed about the city that was published in The Maine Wire, another digital-only publication.
That offending op-ed was written by Ted Cohen, a former reporter from the Portland Press Herald who spent many years covering the city of Biddeford for Maine’s largest daily newspaper.
Upon discovering Cohen’s unapologetic critique of Biddeford’s current and former public policy narratives, we thought long and hard about whether the Gazette should promote such a troubling and rather insulting critique of the city and its leaders, past and present.
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DISCLOSURE | Cohen has written several negative and somewhat scathing columns about both me and the Biddeford Gazette. Those previous pieces were also published in the Maine Wire; and it should be noted that Cohen and I enjoyed a friendly working relationship while we were both covering Biddeford City Hall for different publications during the late 1990s.
We also published an op-ed column from Mr. Cohen in November 2025 regarding City Hall hours.
Cohen’s most recent critique of me and the Gazette can be found here | March 23, 2026 in The Maine Wire
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After careful consideration and some rigorous internal debate, we made the decision to share Cohen’s piece for three main reasons.
1 | The Gazette’s mission and core values
From the beginning, the Gazette has prided itself on our innovative and collaborative approach to sharing news about the city of Biddeford.
Several times per week, you will find Biddeford news that was originally published by other media outlets (always with strict and clear source attribution) on our social media pages.
This practice is extraordinarily rare in the hyper-competitive news industry. Our promotion of other news outlets is never reciprocated. When you click on the links, you are automatically directed to their websites, not ours.
Why do we do that?
Because our purpose is centered upon our readers, not us.
If you live, work or are otherwise connected to Biddeford, we want you to have a convenient place to find ALL the news about the city, good or bad.
Over the last few weeks, you can find several stories we shared from Saco Bay News, the Portland Press Herald, MaineBiz, WGME-TV and many others. You will NOT find any stories from the Gazette on those news site.
We place great value on our mutual media partnerships with other digital publications, including The Maine Monitor, Brick + Tides and the Randy Forcier Podcast.
The news industry is being challenged by a large set of shifting dynamics. The Gazette is a small organization. We simply do not have the resources to get to every story about Biddeford.
If the news industry is to survive, we must ALL adapt and work together, sharing resources for the benefit of our readers
We will keep doing this without fanfare, reward or recognition. We think it’s the right thing to do. We do it for you, not for us.
2 | Criticism can be used to encourage improvement
While Cohen’s piece was certainly harsh and sometimes over the top, he did touch upon and connect several troubling issues that are now being wrestled by city leaders and discussed by the public.
If we want to grow and represent those we serve, we must be willing to hear unflattering feedback. That’s true for the Gazette, and it’s also true for the city.
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3 | The Gazette is NOT the city’s PR firm
No one can reasonably argue that the Gazette, its publisher or anyone connected to us does not care about the city of Biddeford.
We have spent considerable time and effort over the last 14 months promoting the city of Biddeford, its people and its culture and history.
We do not charge for subscriptions, and we are the only Biddeford-based professional news source; a non-profit supported by our readers and community partners.
There is ample evidence – throughout our archives – that the Gazette cares deeply and passionately about Biddeford.
We are the only Biddeford-based professional news source;
a non-profit supported by our readers and community partners.
But we are not a de-facto part of the city’s public relations team. We are here to promote unbiased, rigorous and factual community dialogue.
In closing, while a few folks questioned our decision to share Mr. Cohen’s latest diatribe, we think it was the right call. Sharing Cohen’s perspective underscores our commitment to both media collaboration and objectively serving the people who rely on us for news and information about Biddeford.
That’s our opinion. We welcome yours.
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The Biddeford Gazette strongly encourages reader commentary and community engagement on issues regarding the city of Biddeford. Please click this link to have your opinions published in either a letter to the editor or guest column.
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thank you for your unbiased reporting. I appreciate and enjoy all your articles.
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