Questions Surround Joseloff as News Maker, Publisher: Media Experts

First Selectman Gordon Joseloff’s role as publisher of a town-focused news website while serving as Westport's highest elected official likely represents a conflict of interest, media experts say.

Founded in 2003, two years before Joseloff was elected, WestportNow covers Westport and, by extension, happenings in Town Hall that include Joseloff himself. Though the first selectman changed his title at WestportNow from editor to publisher before taking office, Joseloff's continued involvement is troubling, according to Charles Davis, an associate professor at the Missouri School of Journalism who focuses on access to governmental information and media law.

“That ought to be handed over to professionals because clearly [that] has lots and lots and lots of conflicts of interest,” Davis said.

The award-winning WestportNow offers briefs, photos, news and feature stories. Joseloff told Patch that his role in the publication largely has involved financial support and in setting a general direction since stepping down in 2005 as editor — a position held by several people in the intervening years. The Democrat was re-elected in 2009.

“I’m a publisher,” Joseloff told Patch. "I pay the bills. I set the tone. We have some very good reporters and contributors and they do their thing.”

That sometimes includes posting stories with no byline, a practice that has fueled questions about Joseloff's own contributions. In an interview for this article, Joseloff told Patch that he himself doesn’t write stories, and that un-bylined stories come from writers who wish to remain anonymous. Joseloff, who has a background in journalism, said he that he also guides WestportNow editorially.  

“Frankly, I don’t have time [to write stories],” he said. “I have a town to run.”

The responsibility has placed Joseloff in unique situations as both news publisher and major subject of local news. For example, when a town board recently considered Joseloff’s , WestportNow linked to stories on sites such as Westport Patch rather than posting its own.

Joseloff's balancing act has drawn the ire of some Republicans in town, who question the integrity of the site, especially in light of coverage of Joseloff’s pension request, which was .

"Since WestportNow, by their own admission, cannot report on issues involving Gordon Joseloff and his administration in an unbiased way due to the conflict of interest, they forfeit their status as a real news outlet,” Karen Hess, vice chair of the Westport Republican Town Committee, told Patch in an email. “WestportNow continues to be a nice photo-blog, but for objective, in-depth reporting on the critical issues that face Westport, readers clearly must go elsewhere."

James Ezzes, chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, said he has has known Joseloff for years and sees the website differently.

"Gordon is a very passionate guy, but two of his main passions are journalism and the town of Westport," he said.

Ezzes added: “I don’t see it as a conflict. I see it as a guy who was really on the cutting edge who continues to care about the town. I don’t think he uses it as a mouthpiece for the administration."

Joseloff said nobody is forced to read WestportNow, and that his contributors wouldn’t stand for it if he was forcing an angle on the news.

“It’s one of numerous sources out there,” Joseloff said. “If they don’t like it, they don’t need to read it."

Media experts Patch that, with a proliferation of websites and easy Internet access, citizen journalism — including among politicans — likely will become more common. Yet for Dale Maharidge, an associate professor at Columbia Journalism School, what Joseloff does is different from what's typically considered "citizen journalism."

“ 'Public official journalism' doesn’t quite do it for me," Maharidge told Patch. "I’m just not sure if it can be trusted."

Though it isn't clear what Joseloff does day-to-day for the site, the first selectman has always maintained that he holds an editorial leadership position at WestportNow. Noted at the bottom of the website's homepage is this text: “WestportNow Publisher Gordon F. Joseloff is also First Selectman of Westport.”

Some experts interviewed by Patch say there would be nothing troubling with Joseloff maintaining a financial stake in the site if the first selectman were removed from its editorial functions.

Jeremy Gilbert, assistant professor of media and design at Medill School of Journalism, said there is nothing “inherently contradictory” about a politician owning a news outlet as long there is transparency. He credited Joseloff for noting his involvement on the website.

“Publishers have long aspired to and sometimes succeeded in 'king making.' I'm not sure that WestportNow qualifies in that role,” Gilbert said in an email. “Perhaps Joseloff just feels it’s important to serve the community in two ways: providing information and leadership.”

Joseloff has compared himself and WestportNow, on a smaller scale, to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P.

Sree Sreenivasan, dean of student affairs for Columbia’s journalism schools and an online media expert, told Patch in an email that he sees similarities as well as differences.

“For a mayor to run a news site makes no sense — the inherent conflicts of interest are way too many," Sreenivasan said. "In New York City, when Michael Bloomberg became mayor, he had to install several different firewalls to reduce his influence at Bloomberg the news company. In a small town, the situation will be even more complicated and rife with problems.”

Complications do arise, Joseloff said. For example, Joseloff said that sometimes he doesn’t like what his contributors write about him on WestportNow, but it’s still published. He added that he occasionally takes photos for the site while attending a notable event.

“If someone wants to sue me or say it’s a conflict for taking photos of a Staples football game, they can,” Joseloff said.

Editor's Note: The penultimate paragraph was edited to reflect that Joseloff was talking about his contributors. This article first was published at 5:30 a.m. March 9.