The Press and the Pot Smokers

In case you don’t read a newspaper or watch TV news, here’s what happened:

Two Libertarians began lighting up on The Square in Keene, exercising what they feel is their legal right to smoke marijuana.
They met at 4:20 – the time to toke in pot lore.
“We’d decided to let it become kind of an event, and we’d started telling people about it, and it was doubling daily …”
That’s Rich Paul, one of the first at the 420 protests.
Meanwhile, across from The Square in City Hall, officials were considering a request from former city councilor – and former cop – Fred Parsells.
He wanted them to support decriminalizing marijuana ahead of a discussion in the state legislature.
Melanie Plenda, the Union Leader’s Keene correspondent, was covering that story when she saw people on the Square holding signs.
"I walked into the Square and I walked – I kind of took a smell around and I’m like, ‘gee, I think I know what that smells like.’ ”
The Union Leader put the story of the protests on its front page above the fold the next day.
We put the story on The Keene Sentinel’s front page.
Local radio, WMUR TV, and soon Boston television stations showed up to get tape of people breaking drug laws on a public square in New Hampshire.
The number of protestors swelled with the coverage to about 120, and one weekend they took their smoke-in to the Police Station.
The police, in general, had touted a hands-off approach, but at one point they did arrest Rich Paul for smoking pot and were followed to the police station by the group of protesters.
“We smoke these in remembrance of lost liberties and in hope for a day when people don’t fear the government because the government fears the people.”
Paul’s arrest further fed the story, and other protests sprung up around the state.
Neal Connor’s a libertarian who moved from Florida to Manchester And took part in protests there.
”you know this never was really intended to be a big media event or anything so much as just a couple of friends smoking a joint in the park”.
Among the hundreds of comments the Sentinel’s coverage received online, many criticized us as a megaphone for the cause.
Some pointed out that health care advocates had been on the Square every week for a year and never got front page coverage.
Paul Miller is The Sentinel’s managing editor.
“In this particular instance there was a very public event in which people were admitting to or acknowledging that they were doing something illegal. Instantly that makes that news.:
While there was no question of the news value of the protests, Miller said, the paper didn’t want to blow it out of proportion.
“ we have an obligation to our readers to cover an event that is newsworthy in our own minds and also knowing that we can perpetuate this story by being there every day, so I think we sought balance in that “
Mark Timney teaches media law and ethics at Keene State College.
He acknowledges the coverage helped create the temporary growth of the group.
But, he said, that’s hardly the point.
Spreading the word about a daily protest may help feed its numbers, he said, but that doesn’t mean news outlets shouldn’t talk about it.
“There was no choice for local media but to cover this. And it has a little to do with the sensational aspect that we’re talking about: they’re smoking pot. But it also has to do with the fact that you were seeing a public movement that was getting actual traction in a political venue that people were responding to.”
The 420 protests met the test of news he teaches his students: the story was timely, it was close, and it had consequence.
As with all big stories, other news moved in to kill the 420 media buzz.
The crowd in the Square is back down to a couple of dozen most days.
At Pumpkin Festival a few lone tokers wandered the square looking for the pack.
Meanwhile, police arrested three in front of city hall on charges of marijuana possession.
Three more were taken in for protesting the arrests.
For NHPR news, I’m Donna Moxley, in Keene.