Introductions

photograph by Jody RobertsFour years ago this week, I began writing a blog on politics for Down East. I was disappointed when that opportunity ended last week as the magazine shut down its group of Maine-focused blogs.

I’m excited, however, that The Tipping Point will continue at its new home right here at the Bangor Daily News. I’ll be joining a great set of political bloggers and columnists (check out the links on the right) that are already making the BDN the place to go for online commentary and analysis.

So what can you expect in this space?

First of all, it will be a continuation of the kind of writing that I’ve been doing since I first began blogging about Maine politics back in 2005, informed by what I’ve learned over that time are my strengths and what readers find interesting.

That means a combination of in-depth posts on things like campaign finance and polling as well as regular scoops and my take on breaking news. I also feel it’s important to spend time correcting misinformation and taking on bullies.

I’ll work to make things as visual and as interactive as possible, to write with a tone that’s personal and honest and to provide plenty of links to other sources of information.

If I’m ever failing to live up to these goals, please feel free to call me out.

I also hope to continue some of the fun experiments we’ve done together, like the election betting pools and campaign button reviews.

I’m very pleased with my conversations with the editors here so far about making sure this is a real blog and not just a newspaper column that appears online. The length, timing and subject matter of posts will vary and I’ll be able to continue to get into the weeds on things that are intensely interesting to some but not necessarily compelling for a general audience. I’ll also have the advantage of a faster turnaround time on posts going live than at the previous version of this blog and the benefit of being part of a growing ecosystem of bloggers that the BDN is cultivating.

I’m also happy to be contributing to the newest incarnation of the newspaper I grew up reading at the breakfast table in my hometown of Orono.

So please bookmark this new URL, subscribe to the new RSS feed here and, as always, use the comments section below each post to add your own thoughts.

Mike Tipping

About Mike Tipping

Mike is Maine's longest-writing political blogger and explores state politics and policy with a focus on analysis and explanation. He works at the Maine People's Alliance and Maine People's Resource Center.