In a world of conflicting stories and misinformation, local media can sometimes bring a welcome moment of truth and clarity. Not so with an article recently published in The Sentinel and Enterprise, a local newspaper serving Leominster and Fitchburg. 

The subscriber-only, uncategorized article was titled “City Council to consider ban on horse racing at May 12 hearing” by freelance correspondent Lee Enochs (link to Sentinel article). The ostensible focus of the article, Petition 41-25, would ban dog and horse racing and associated gambling in the city of Leominster by amending the existing zoning ordinance. Over 20 people rallied outside City Hall before the meeting, many holding signs that said “stop horse racing”. During the meeting, residents filled the room, speaking respectfully during their designated times in support of the petition. You can read a more detailed summary of the public hearing and forum portions of Monday’s City Council meeting on our site here. 

Somewhat unusually for the paper, the Sentinel article contains so many egregious errors that the fact it went to print as-is reflects extremely poorly not only on the Sentinel and Enterprise, but also their parent company The Lowell Sun and publisher The Media News Group. This article is not only filled with typesetting and factual errors, but easily disproven lies that appear to be presenting deliberately false information for the purposes of swaying reader opinion. 

For example, Enochs incorrectly attributed the cover photo to Lisa Nugent, the petition’s sponsor, identifying it as a photo of “counter-protesters” rallying at City Hall before the City Council Meeting. In actuality, the photo was taken and posted on Facebook by Nicole Lynn, the marketing manager for the Fairgrounds development project, four days prior to the City Council Meeting. The date of the meeting was also incorrectly reported as the 25th, not the 24th. 

While it’s true that many supporters of the petition rallied outside City Hall, Enochs asserts that not only were there counter-protesters (which is false) but that there was a strong opposition presence to Petition 41-25 during the public forum–another easily disproven lie. There were no comments made by the opposition and 100% of public comments supported Petition 41-25 to ban horse and dog racing and associated wagering, a fact that is easily verified by watching the recorded and publicly available City Council Meeting online. 

Enochs also seemed to be under the impression that Petition 41-25 was associated with Baystate Racing LLC and the Whitney Companies’ Fairgrounds development proposal and discussed by the City Council as such, which it explicitly was not. This fact was was affirmed at the beginning of the public forum by the City Council President, another easily verifiable fact. It is clear that Enochs was not present at City Hall either before or during the City Council Meeting, did not watch said meeting, and did not verify any “facts” with regard to the content or context of said meeting. 

“Reporting” like this insults the intelligence of a paper’s audience and damages public trust in local media. This article crosses the line from simple sloppy reporting to deliberately deceitful misinformation. 

The Sentinel and Enterprise needs to scrub this article immediately or, at the very least, issue a retraction.