An important announcement from the editor

October 18, 2023

It has been an honor to lead The Maine Monitor at this pivotal moment.

The Maine Monitor is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting. Our team of investigative journalists use data- and document-based reporting to produce stories that have an impact.

Dear Maine Monitor Reader,

When I started as The Maine Monitor’s editor in April 2022, I pledged to deliver on the organization’s mission and grow the newsroom in order to bring you even more of the in-depth news Maine deserves.

In the 18 months since, we’ve doubled the output of the newsroom, more than doubled our readership, launched three new newsletters, dramatically increased our fundraising, and added two reporters and two business-side employees.

Most importantly, our award-winning reporting is, as our mission statement says, helping to create a better Maine.

I’m confident the Monitor is well-positioned to continue this path of success. For that reason, I’ve decided to step down from my role as editor of The Maine Monitor.

I will remain as Editor into January 2024 to ensure there is a smooth transition with my successor. And I’ll remain a friend of The Maine Monitor, continuing to lend my support.

It has been an honor to lead The Maine Monitor at this pivotal moment. The Monitor’s reporters are top-notch and I’ve enjoyed a fantastic partnership and shared vision with Executive Director Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm and our board of directors, who are committed to the mission and role of The Maine Monitor in serving the public in Maine with excellent, nonpartisan, and free in-depth journalism.

Over the past many months, I’ve met hundreds of you around the state, in person, via email, and via Zoom. I’ve heard from old friends and made many new ones. You have stepped up to support our mutual belief that news is a public good and a critical pillar of our democracy.

Thank you.

I hope you will join me in continuing to support The Maine Monitor by reading our excellent coverage, sharing our reporting and newsletters with others, and contributing your financial support to make this incredible, unique newsroom possible for all of Maine.

The Monitor and the nonprofit organization that publishes it, the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, exist because traditional business models for news organizations are struggling. Our nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization delivers news for people, not for profit. Unlike so many other news organizations, we don’t have a paywall and our site isn’t filled with advertisements.

We are launching a robust search for the next editor who will build on The Maine Monitor’s momentum and serve you, our readers. While that search is underway, the newsroom will continue to produce the informative reporting you expect from us. Keep sending us your tips and feedback.

Thank you for your support and thank you for being such avid readers of The Maine Monitor.

Sincerely,

An image of editor David Dahl's signature

David Dahl
Editor, The Maine Monitor

David Dahl

Veteran journalist David Dahl serves as the editor of The Maine Monitor, overseeing its daily operations. David was most recently a deputy managing editor at the Boston Globe. Before joining the Globe, David worked for 20 years at the St. Petersburg Times. He was a Nieman fellow at Harvard University and a fellow at the Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program at Columbia University. He has also been an adjunct professor of journalism at Emerson College, Boston College and Boston University. David and his wife, Kathy, enjoy tennis and kayaking at their home in Friendship. They have two adult children.