Reporter Calls Pawtucket Residents “Bullies, Haters, and Liars” in Facebook Post
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
A Facebook post by Valley Breeze reporter Ethan Shorey calling out "bullies" in Pawtucket has drawn rebuke from candidates and residents — and defense from the newspaper’s publisher.
"The Pawtucket Facebook Bully Club is accepting members," wrote Shorey on Facebook. "Must be full of hate; love to spread blatant lies; be desperate for attention; have no life; have a personal vendetta that clouds of all your opinions."
Former State Senate and now Mayoral candidate David Norton said he took issue with the post on Monday.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“This is unprofessional and spiteful for a newspaper reporter,” said Norton. “I had to ban this Valley Breeze reporter from the 'You know you're from Pawtucket' Facebook page because of awful stuff like this. There are about 9000 members of our Facebook page and this guy has just insulted them all with this.”
“I believe reporters should hold a higher ethical standard. As the admin, I am not required to post Valley Breeze stories on the ‘You know you're from Pawtucket’ page and neither is anyone else. Mr. Shorey should stop trying to bully me and others to post his articles on that page,” said Norton.
Post Response
Community activist Khrystyne Bento — who as said she has sparred with Shorey before, including calling him a “racist b-tch” — which led to her account being temporarily suspended — spoke to the issue on Monday.
Bento has been vocal critic of both Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien and the Pawtucket Red Sox deal to move to Apex, and has been outspoken on such issues as the Hope Artiste Village backlash when former tenants spoke up against owner Lance Robbins.
“Shorey put [this post] up after I got blocked — someone sent it to me, “said Bento. “I couldn’t even say thanks to the people who came to my son’s graduation party [after getting blocked] on Facebook.”
“[Pawtucket resident] Sean Gannon posted something about Ethan not running a story correctly,” said Bento. “I went on [Facebook], and as soon as I put something up, Ethan comes after me. I said [Sean’s] been taunting Ethan and he hasn’t gone after him, just me. So I called him a racist b-tch.”
“I’m a resident, taxpayer, voter, advocate. How are you going to go and play games — then you go bullying?” said Bento. “Shorey always take Grebien’s side. It’s not just what I saw, he’ll undo anything we try to say. I’ve said worse things about the Mayor, but somehow I get in trouble saying something about Ethan. It’s unprofessional.”
When asked if the post impacted the Breeze’s ability to cover issues impartially, Breeze publishes Tom Ward said, “Not at all.”
Shorey did not respond to request for comment.
