Jan. 10—The Maine Trust for Local News has formed a quick strike team of reporters to expand coverage of important statewide news.
“The goal of this team will be to cover the stories that matter most to the residents of Maine, including unraveling complicated issues, highlighting change and following up on the biggest news of the day,” said Maine Trust for Local News Executive Editor Carolyn Fox.
The team will focus on investigative reporting and narrative storytelling, while also getting news to readers as quickly as possible. Some stories the team tackles will originate from recent news while others may involve looking into issues that haven’t gotten enough attention.
It is led by veteran Portland Press Herald Staff Writer Eric Russell, who will serve as a reporter and editor, and includes Press Herald reporter John Terhune and Morning Sentinel reporter Dylan Tusinski.
“This talented trio of reporters brings with them the right mix of tenacity, writing flair and collaborative spirit. I can’t wait to see what they produce,” Fox said.
The team also is part of an effort to foster deeper collaboration within the Maine Trust for Local News, which includes the Press Herald, Lewiston Sun Journal, Waterville Morning Sentinel, the Kennebec Journal in Augusta and the Times Record in Brunswick. Several weekly publications in southern and western Maine are also part of the company.
Other reporters from across the Trust’s properties in Maine will rotate in and out of the team on a story- or project-specific basis.
Russell, who has spent 21 years as a journalist in Maine, including eight at the Bangor Daily News and 13 at the Press Herald, said he’s looking forward to working with journalists from across the Maine Trust on stories that might not otherwise get reported.
“Investigative and watchdog work is really the fundamental part of our job as journalists, and although it’s always our responsibility no matter what beat we’re on, having this team underscores the importance of it and gives our readers a place to go if they have things in mind that should be looked into further,” Russell said.
Other newspapers around the country have also formed these kind of enterprise news teams, such as the investigative team at the Miami Herald and the quick strike investigative team at the Boston Globe.
Terhune has been at the Press Herald since 2023 and spent the last year investigating the aftermath of the Lewiston mass shooting in collaboration with Frontline and MainePublic. He previously was on the public safety beat and worked at the Forecaster papers and at the Times Record.
Tusinski was hired as a general assignment reporter at the Morning Sentinel in 2023 and has spent the last year and a half covering communities in Kennebec and Somerset counties with a focus on investigative and accountability work, including a series of stories about large-scale illegal marijuana growing operations.
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