Andrea Estes, the Globe's quit/fired "investigative journalist" resurfaces

Mistake riddled MBTA story

In a move reminiscent of the clergy sex abuse scandal, Andrea Estes who was quit/fired from the Boston Globe this spring, has resurfaced at a local journalistic startup that has yet to print a word but is touting Estes as an “acclaimed” investigative journalist.

The Plymouth Independent lead by former Globie Mark Pothier announced on Facebook that hiring Estes was a “major move” to “bring accountability reporting back to town”.

But Estes, who disappeared from the Globe roster after incorrectly maligning three MBTA managers for living far beyond the service area of the T, has not explained how the mistakes in the story came to be printed. The Globe reluctantly printed a lengthy correction and parted ways with Estes without future comment from either party.

How can Estes hold Town leaders accountable if she is not accountable, transparent and responsible for her own reporting?

Assuming the absence of malice and no intent to defame (hence limited legal liability), Estes and the Globe should be able to explain how and why the mistakes occurred.

But no, better to send the her off to a new parish, haven’t we seen this movie before?