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By Sam Douglass
On February 24, Alison Novak of Seven Days published a hastily written, poorly proofread and fact-checked article about my new employment with the Vermont Daily Chronicle. And her editors let her do it. The article contains numerous serious errors.
For one, I did not resign my position in the Senate because of “the racist group chat”. I was very clear in my statements last year.
I resigned because people were mailing me threatening screenshots of my home from Google street view.
I resigned because people were harassing my extended family.
I resigned because Democrat activists across the state of Vermont were contacting me and threatening to “darken my footsteps with pain”.
I resigned because Vermonters were calling me and telling me to resign or they would kill me.
I resigned because people on FaceBook were talking about visiting my home and dragging my wife and me to death behind a moving vehicle.
I resigned because people were discussing openly on social media how they could have my child taken away.
She also claimed that the first story under my name for the Vermont Daily Chronicle was about Sen. Bongartz’s (great guy, by the way) education plan. That is definitely not true and shows that she didn’t scroll even a short way back considering the first story under my name was about the scourge of antisemitism in our schools at the end of last week.
Additionally, I checked with my editor and not once in the couple hours that she worked on her story did she ask or confirm if it was the same “Sam Douglass”. The Vermont Daily Chronicle listed no other information than my name for her to assume that it was me. I dearly hope no other Sams get into trouble and leave my name holding the bag.
Instead of detailing me, my work at the Chronicle, my life over the last few months, or even mentioning the hundreds if not thousands of very specific and credible death threats that my family received, Alison Novak decided to simply call me racist. I think I offended her by daring to be employed, and for buying my ink in bulk. She even pried into my personal life and tried to find out my salary.
Alison Novak did not email me or call me for a comment on her story. When she texted me, she gave me fewer than seven hours to respond to her text message and she didn’t give a timeline for a response. She knows that I have a child. She obviously knows that I have a job with deadlines and a time crunch. For all she knew, I got a new phone number and never saw her singular text. Also, presumably, it was far fewer than seven hours considering that stories tend to go through an editing and fact-checking process after they’ve been written.
As a new reporter myself, I have been very careful about my accuracy and getting stories correct. When I contact sources for my stories, I’m not just checking a box and then writing whatever I want before they can respond. I have strict standards for how I treat people. Her conduct belies a lack of journalistic ethics. And I’ll be honest, her story reads like someone with a vendetta.
The job of the media is to inform the public with the simple facts so they can draw their own conclusions, not to air personal partisan grievances and create your own narrative out of those facts. We cannot claim to belong to a noble profession when we pick and choose which material facts are relevant based on their convenience for our own bias. This is why journalists are listed among the least trustworthy professions, and why confidence and trust in the media fell to all-time lows in 2025 for the majority of Americans across all political parties, according to Gallup polls.
I am seeking corrections or the removal of the story and I am filing an ethics complaint with the management of Seven Days. Errors are common and mistakes happen, but not in these amounts. But I’ll leave you with one last thought, would Alison have reported about me if I had gotten a job at McDonalds or a gas station or really anywhere else than at her competition?
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Categories: Commentary, Media
The only thing good about Seven Days is that they are free and work damn good for starting fires in the morning. Mr. Douglass, thanks.
Sam, those people commenting could possibly be serious about their threats. You may want to considered purchasing a firearm for the protection of you and your family. Training is available throughout Vermont. Also, training is available in the Live Free or Die State if you choose to avoid the 6% sales tax. Stay Frosty!
Double Tap is a good term to learn and better to practice.
As I’ve said before, thanks for staying in the public eye. You may find that being a reporter allows you greater flexibility in influencing votes.
I agree!
“The job of the media is to inform the public with the simple facts so they can draw their own conclusions”
-Sam Douglass
Here is something that might anger people in a more productive direction. Though your anger towards Alison is merited, turning people’s attention to a major change in the CLA that affects everyone’s tax bills when it is projected to not fluctuate a little as it has been but dropping from 1.15 to .90 next year means a .25 drop that will make school taxes jump almost 22%. Who can afford that?
Sam Douglass
I am glad to see you are writing and staying involved. I very much respected the fact that when a Senator were willing to admit you had made a mistake and take responsibility for it, and committed to doing better. Which is what all of us whether in public or personal life should be willing to do. It should not preclude us from further service. Threatening violence on public officials, their families or individuals of whatever political persuasion must not be tolerated.
It is also very distressing when the lines become blurred between reporting and editorializing. This is becoming increasingly more frequent in many publications. It is the responsibility of editors to recognize and prevent this. The Seven Days article on you is but one example. Education Secretary Zoie Saunders has been similarly trashed as well as Governor Scott’s two nominees to the Supreme Court. While Governor Scott is routinely attacked by the Democratic and Progressive Parties, which should be expected, this has seeped into news publications like Seven Days and VTDigger, and Vermont Public. We need to continue to call this out. Thank you.
Just a quick note about proofreading errors: You wrote: For one, I did not resign my position in the Senate because of “the racist group chat”. (The period belongs within the quote, not outside of it. In American English, periods and commas are placed inside closing quotation marks, regardless of whether they are part of the original quoted material. This rule is followed by major style guides like APA, MLA, and AP Style. For example: She said, “Goodbye.”)
This gentleman has had death threats against him and his family, and you are criticizing his punctuation? You need to find something more important to nit-pick and lambaste upon. In other words, get a life.
Lambaste (also spelled lambast) means to criticize someone or something severely, often publicly.
This is one of the dumbest, least helpful, and most irrelevant comments I’ve seen on these pages or elsewhere. Sam clearly was using the British style for placement of quotation marks. It is not wrong, and who cares, anyway? What difference does it make? Your snide, condescending, schoolmarmish comment has no bearing on Mr. Douglass’s article or his unfair treatment by an amateur hack posing as a journalist. Alison Novak shows herself to be an untrustworthy correspondent whose “reporting” is guided not by journalistic ethics or accuracy but by ideology and personal beliefs, which have no place in a news story.
I believe you are a frustrated person with a typical Liberal attitude that basically on a low mental scale in order to elevate yourself on the human mental scale, have to belittle others. Seven Days has a personal page listing males and females seeking some kind of companionship. It’s you world, most are very liberal as has been told. After a few months or years listed, no one answered or cared about Must have been a wasted time flipping those pages. Read the bible and don’t let cabin fever set in.. Once in a while Seven Days has a viable article. Go in peace and get the snotty head out of the clouds.
Seven Days is a disgraceful propaganda outlet, masquerading as journalism. This is just par for their progressive course.
Yes, fire starter — but the rag paper also makes for very good puppy litter, rolling up crap in crap.
Sam,
Alison clearly states that Guy personally confirmed your employment via email before the story was published.
And she didn’t call you racist, she labeled the group chat you were part of racist.
And although you speak out against it in your writings, this article is arguably being used to primarily air your personal grievances with Alison, her employer and to further develop your own narrative.
The politician to journalist pipeline…
good luck with your involvement in another one of today’s least trustworthy professions.
She has no vendetta, she has to follow an agenda.
While they do have some good stories, even some that are great, your story and what happened to you is purposefully put out for all to see. You, my friend are victim of being used as an example, the Romans had a more primitive form. If the army was out of line, they would take every 10th person, (hence deci, in decimate) crucify them on a cross on the apian way for all to see what happens when you step out of line.
You sir have not done what the uniparty wanted. You sir have a brain and ethics, this puts you as a serious opposition toward the propaganda Vermont borg.
For those of us who started a political party, what they did for “the story” rings true. They are not interested, nor were they interested in talking with us, they were, however, very, very interested in writing an hit piece.
This is the greatest honor afforded a man who sets himself apart from the cultural marxist and their minions.
Vermont has a dark underside no? Guy should really do an article on how politicians are treated in Vermont, he should interview all the people who said such kind words to you and just display the interview for all to see.
This would be so great and such great journalism, because I can ASSURE YOU, that the what you get will be epic. These people have never been interviewed (politicians too) and when they have a spot light on them and just mild, easy, considerate, respectful questions done in very loving and calm tone……that’s when things will get spicy, and really good.
If you need a camera man to hold a microphone or camera….let me know. We did a few interviews, and let me tell you, you don’t have to do a thing, the will all do it to themselves.
God Speed.
These days via technology, hateful emails, phone calls can be traced. Give the info to the FBI and let them harasser these people back. Lives have been threatened. A public person, office holder has been threatened. On a personal position, I’d make sure I could carry legally. There’s not a light motion detector available that I know that a sound of a mean dog barking 5 secs after the light goes on. When approached, the light comes on, then the recorded dog growl. / bark. Thieves hate dogs. Place the detectors on all sides of the house and property. They are cheap, internet infomercials cost about $20 and operate off solar, not house elec. Just screw them in place. I’ve seen them work, amazing. Again I wouldn’t hesitate to clean the barrel with a noise. These intruders / threateners are low life and that’s their thrill. Physiologically if they threaten people that means they are in control and make people fear them. Low Life.,