The ownership of the Martha’s Vineyard Times is changing hands.
Longtime publishers and owners Peter and Barbara Oberfest are selling the Island news organization to Steve Bernier, West Tisbury resident and longtime owner of Cronig’s Market, who is well-known for his community service and quiet support for philanthropic causes.
The sale is expected to be finalized on Sunday.
Joining Bernier as acting publisher will be Charles Sennott, Chilmark resident, a journalist with more than 30 years of experience in local and international news, and a track record as a leader in new business models for journalism.
Peter Oberfest, in an emotional announcement on Tuesday, told staff that the paper is ready for new energy, and that they are ready to step down. The Vineyard Haven residents originally bought into the paper in 1994, and then became full-time owners two decades later.
“We’ve had a great run, learned a lot, and met great people. We deeply appreciate our staff, our readers, our advertisers, and our critics,” Peter Oberfest said in a note to readers.
“This is astoundingly good news for all Islanders,” Oberfest said of Bernier coming on as the new owner. He said that Bernier understands The Times’ mission of serving the community. And just as important, he is a businessman who has worked and made his living on the Island. He said that Bernier understands that the paper will need to rely on philanthropy to continue to exist.
Bernier was a quiet benefactor of The Times during the economic downturn of the COVID-19 pandemic. “He basically bankrolled us during the pandemic to keep us going forward,” Oberfest said. “And I didn’t know him from Adam.”
In a meeting with Times staff on Tuesday, Bernier said that he has been impressed by the ability of the news organization to cover the Vineyard. He noted the important role that The Times plays in the community, saying that without it, some news stories would not have come to light, such as the details surrounding the Sankaty incident reported by Times staff recently.
Bernier also noted that he wouldn’t be implementing radical changes, saying that not one employee would be laid off as a result of the sale. And he said that he is encouraged about the future of the organization.
“I know the Island well enough that we are not going to fail,” Bernier told Times staff. “We are going to make things better for this community.”
Bernier called on Sennott, who for the past 18 months has volunteered as an adviser to The Times along with a handful of veteran journalists connected to the Island, to step into the role of acting publisher. Sennott said he accepted because he and Bernier share a desire to sustain The Times’ tradition of service to an increasingly diverse year-round community that is growing rapidly and facing new challenges, from a housing shortage to the impacts of climate change.
“I’m inspired by Steve’s commitment to community service, and the idea that The MV Times can be sustained and eventually thrive by pulling the community together to work toward finding solutions to our challenges while celebrating the Island’s unique cultural and historical vibrance,” Sennott added.
Joining the news organization with decades in the field as an award-winning reporter, Sennott is also an innovative social entrepreneur. He was the Middle East Bureau Chief for the Boston Globe during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and was co-founder of GlobalPost, an online international news organization that was acquired by GBH in Boston. But Sennott said he started his career in local journalism.
Sennott is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Boston-based GroundTruth Project, which launched in 2014 as a nonprofit journalism organization that supports the next generation of journalists in under-covered communities across the U.S. and around the world. In 2017, GroundTruth launched Report for America, a service program that has since placed more than 600 reporters in 300 newsrooms across all 50 states to serve the communities where they live.
Sennott, who will stay in his position at GroundTruth while contributing part-time to The Times, said, “An incredible moment in history for this news organization is being written right now, and I’m proud to have a chance to help guide the MV Times into its next chapter.”
On Tuesday, the news came with a mix of emotions for MV Times staff.
“While I am very much looking forward to the new energy that will come with Charlie and Steve, I am forever grateful to the Oberfests for the opportunities they’ve given me and for their friendship and guidance,” managing editor Connie Berry said. “I’m excited to get to work!”
