wbjournal.com | November 11, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 3
and we are relying on the trust we've built
up with readers over the years to know
everything you read is verifiable fact.
– Brad Kane, editor
I
've never been a fan of using
anonymous sources in news
stories. Ultimately, the main prod-
ucts of any media organization are
trust and integrity, which includes
proving to readers over and over again
that articles are well researched, without
bias, and based in fact.
When the sources of information for
stories are unnamed and granted ano-
nymity, media organizations are asking
readers to take an extra leap of faith,
which – over time – could erode the
trust our audience has in us, especially if
stories rely on anonymous sources friv-
olously. WBJ uses anonymous sources
rarely, and I can count on one hand the
number of times we used them in our
stories in my nine years as editor.
However, sometimes using anony-
mous sources is necessary to learn vital
information, where the sources are
taking great personal risk to provide
knowledge important to the public trust.
At WBJ, we only will use anonymous
sources when people providing us with
information realistically will face reper-
cussions to their safety and livelihoods if
they are identified.
is is the case with the "Failed
oversight" story on page 10 about the
toxic dysfunction at the Massachusetts
Cannabis Control Commission, which
is impeding business growth in the legal
marijuana industry, along with con-
sumer protections. e story relies on
anonymous sources, as agency insiders
faced significant retribution if they were
identified.
Keeping with WBJ policy on anony-
mous sourcing, the identities of all the
sources were known to me and both re-
porters on the story, Eric Casey and Dan
Adams. We verified all the information
the anonymous sources provided with
documents and second sources, and we
made sure those sources weren't all from
the same faction of the agency who might
have had a personnel axe to grind with
agency leadership.
We know we are asking our audience to
take an extra leap of faith in reading this
well-researched and comprehensive story
on a state regulatory agency gone awry,
A note about anonymous sources
Member FDIC
The financing from
Rockland Trust allows us to
continue to build the capital
stack of resources necessary
to revitalize this large track of
underutilized property at the
former Saint-Gobain
Abrasives property.
For more information, contact:
Eric Goodwine
VP, Commercial Banking
508.361.3865
Eric.Goodwine@RocklandTrust.com
Craig L. Blais, President
Worcester Business
Development Corporation
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
4 Central Mass. In Brief
14 Focus on HR & Recruitment
18 List: Largest IT services providers
19 Know How
20 Movers & Shakers
21 Opinion
22 Shop Talk: Trivflic
8 Leadership change
More than a year after the position became
open, UMass Memorial has named a
new leader of the largest hospital in Central
Massachusetts, along with two new
executive hires.
19 The failure of small business to
understand copyright laws
Know How columnist Julia Becker Collins,
chief operating officer of Vision Advertising
in Northborough, offers advice on how
businesses can avoid legal and PR pitfalls
in navigating the modern intellectual
property landscape.
W
Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-
weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September,
October, and December by New England Business Media. 172
Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid
at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2024. All rights reserved. Postmaster:
Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal,
PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894.
Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $84.00. For
more information, please email circulation@wbjournal.com or
contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008.
Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray
at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860.
Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for
unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return
them to the sender.
Worcester Business Journal
172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604
508-755-8004 tel.
• 508-755-8860 fax
www.wbjournal.com
Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
A division of:
Editor, Brad Kane,
bkane@wbjournal.com
Staff Writers
Eric Casey, ecasey@wbjournal.com
(real estate, manufacturing)
Mica Kanner-Mascolo,
mkannermascolo@wbjournal.com
(health care, diversity & inclusion)
Contributors
Sloane M. Perron, Giselle Rivera-
Flores, Emily Micucci, Livia Gershon
Photographers
Matt Wright, Edd Cote, Christine
Peterson
Research Director,
Stephanie Meagher,
smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com
Research Assistant, Heide Martin,
hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com
Production Director, Kira Beaudoin,
kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com
Art Director, Mitchell Hayes,
mhayes@wbjournal.com
General Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Christine Juetten,
cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Accounts Manager
Timothy Doyle
tdoyle@wbjournal.com
Human Resources Manager,
Tracy Rodwill,
trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com
Director of Finance, Sara Ward,
sward@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Clerk, Rae Rogers,
rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Event Coordinator,
Patty Harris,
pattyh@wbjournal.com
Director of Audience Development
and Operations, Leah Allen,
lallen@nebusinessmedia.com
Business Office Assistant,
Nicole Dunn,
ndunn@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
President, Tom Curtin
tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com
