Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/823104
wbjournal.com | May 15, 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 3 Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Digital Editor, Grant Welker, gwelker@wbjournal.com Staff Writers Laura Finaldi, lfinaldi@wbjournal.com (Manufacturing, higher education) Emily Micucci, emicucci@wbjournal.com (Health care) Contributors Susan Shalhoub Livia Gershon Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Associate Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com Custom Publishing Project Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Senior Special Accounts Manager Mary Lynn Bosiak, mlbosiak@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com COO, Mary Rogers, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Manager, Valerie Clark, vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel, rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources, Kim Vautour, kvautour@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Joseph Zwiebel jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com O n April 19, Staff Writer Emily Micucci stood up as I walked near her desk in the news- room with startling news: One of her long-time sources told her Reliant Medical Group of Worcester – the largest independent physician prac- tice in Central Massachusetts and a top 10 employer in the region – was going to be acquired. Since the source was a well- connected healthcare leader not prone to speculation and would check the facts before talking to a reporter, I knew the acquisition to be true. However, the source preferred to remain anonymous, given the source's role in the community and the sensitivity of the information. By the end of the day, Emily got some- one else to confirm what her source had told her, and even had more details, including what company would be buy- ing Reliant. Alas, this second source wanted to remain anonymous, too. I've never been a fan of stories relying solely on anonymous sources. As jour- nalists, we ask readers to trust the news we report is true and researched with integrity. Anonymous sources are a wrinkle in that trust, since readers aren't being told exactly where the information is coming from. Too often I've seen sto- ries from other publications relying on anonymous sources that turn out to only be half true, such as an ESPN report on a football player's salary where his agent is the anonymous source and widely inflat- ed the amount of money the player will be paid. I'm worried journalists are becoming over-reliant on sources who are not publicly accountable for the information they put out publicly. Yet, the Reliant news was too good to pass up; the story had significant ramifi- cations for one of the region's largest nonprofits in Central Massachusetts and its biggest industry. Knowing Emily trusted her anonymous sources made me confident the information we were pub- lishing was 100-percent true. The Reliant story has reached its sec- ond phase now: the company went from refusing to confirm or deny our initial reports when our first story published April 20 to having its doctors vote on May 9 to approve the sale and releasing a public statement. Having our initial Trusting anonymous sources Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-weeky, 24x per year, including 5 special issues in April, July, September, November and December, by New Engand Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2015. 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 $54.95. For more information, please email wbjournal@ cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 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 A division of: NEWS & ANALYSIS DEPARTMENTS 4 Central Mass. In Brief 5 Flash Poll 12 Focus on Family Business 18 The List: Top independent caterers 20 Know How 21 On the Move 23 Photo Finish 24 Business Leads 25 Opinion 26 Shop Talk: Stacy Lord & Laura Marotta, Creative Hub Worcester 8 Historic redevelopment As the demolition protection ends on the Mount Carmel church, another historic Worcester building enters the debate of preservation vs. teardown. 20 101: Beyond onboarding Advice Columnist Susan Shalhoub gives three ways companies can successfully bring a new hire into full productivity faster. I N T H I S I S S U E Worcester Business Journal WBJ Webster • Dudley • Oxford • Auburn • Worcester • Shrewsbury Keeping her customers' accounts safe and secure while efficiently managing their funds. At Webster Five, your success is important to us. Whether you're a small start-up or a large corporation, we offer all the financial tools, resources and progressive services you need to succeed. Make an appointment and tell Anjena what's important to you. Visit web5.com/Anjena or call 508.438.4716. What's important to Anjena? Anjena Kuzdzal, Business Services Officer KHJ23479_WEB-374_BuisLender_4.3x5.5_Anjena_Mech2.indd 1 3/31/17 11:38 AM report now validated by Reliant certainly goes a long way toward strengthening our readers' trust with us, but that is not why we did it. We knew the information was important to our audience, and we report- ed it with integrity. - Brad Kane, editor W