A new era for Martha’s Vineyard Times

At 7:30 am, it’s a chilly 29°. The first workday in the New Year. Early morning light glistens as Stephen Bernier rolls a pushcart out to the parking lot of Cronig’s Market in West Tisbury, and with a push broom and dustpan, begins sweeping up. It’s a ritual he has done every morning except Sundays since he bought the Island grocery store 38 years ago. 

That would add up to 11,856 days of cleanup.

Born on Jan. 1, 1948, the first baby of the new year at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Brighton, Bernier is now 76. Dressed in jeans and a Patagonia jacket with a wool baseball cap, he has a youthful energy as he stops sweeping now and then to wave to employees arriving for work or to banter with the first customers of the day. It’s his signature way of staying in touch with his business, and with what’s happening on the Island.

Sitting down for a moment on one of the benches out front, Bernier pauses to answer a few questions from The Martha’s Vineyard Times. He has always been known for his work ethic and a deep commitment to public service. But this business leader, quiet philanthropist, father of five children, and husband surprised many on the Island by announcing last week that he would take the reins of The Times. 

A big part of the reason he made this decision, he said, was to help the previous owners, Peter Oberfest and Barbara Coles, to finally retire after stewarding the paper for nearly 30 years. Bernier provided critical financial support for the paper during the strain of the COVID years, which not only left the news organization struggling to survive, but nearly took Bernier’s life when he fell deathly ill early in the pandemic.

After those difficult years, Bernier started planning his own succession at Cronig’s. A year ago, he handed ownership and management over to Andrea Donnelly, who began working as a cashier and rose to become Cronig’s bookkeeper for most of the previous 22 years. Bernier is known for a leadership style where he makes decisions from the heart, and is often more comfortable sealing them with a handshake than with lawyers. And purchasing The MV Times seems to be part of that tradition. 

The transition in ownership at The MV Times marks a new era for local journalism on Martha’s Vineyard, and an opportunity for the paper to survive amid a crisis in local journalism that has ravaged the media landscape in nearly every corner of America for the past 20 years, leaving behind a trail of dead or dying newspapers and more than 2,000 “news deserts,” or communities that no longer have any local news organization holding public officials accountable. Without a local newspaper, data show communities see a decline in voter participation, a rise in polarization, and a drop in municipal bond ratings, as banks grow reluctant to invest in communities where no one is watching the store. Bernier was determined not to allow any of that to happen on Martha’s Vineyard, and he decided to do his part to help reinvigorate local news on the Island. 

He said the acquisition of the paper, which took effect on Jan. 1, will provide new resources and new energy to The MV Times staff in its efforts to cover a surging year-round population that is increasingly diverse, and that is facing complex challenges, from housing shortages to teaching English as a second language in the schools, where an estimated 40 percent of the students do not speak English at home.

On the enormous challenges that lie ahead in making a local news organization sustainable, Bernier had this to say: “Bring it on! This is going to be amazing. Think of the opportunity we have to be the voice of our community. Think about the knowledge base here, the amazing voices we have … How do we bring all that together? … That’s a dream. Admittedly, not a practical one, but an important dream nevertheless.” 

Bernier’s first job was delivering the local newspapers in his hometown of Stoneham, and then working for a paper store, where he managed the delivery of all the local papers for the surrounding towns and regional dailies. After that, he began working at a local Star Market, and eventually worked in every facet of the grocery business for Star. In 1980, he first came to Martha’s Vineyard for a summer vacation, and fell in love with the community. In 1985 he began a discussion with Robbie Cronig, which evolved into a deep friendship and eventually a partnership. In 1986, he acquired the grocery store and its century-long tradition of feeding the Island. 

With this business background as a grocer, Bernier was asked, Where did the motivation to own a community news organization come from?

“I keep saying yes to what is in my heart,” said Bernier, who shares that faith and spirituality often guide his decisions, and lie at the center of his life with his wife, Constance Messmer, an author and public speaker on spiritual and personal evolution.

But he is also known as a practical businessman with a strong track record for success as an entrepreneur, so what makes him think The MV Times can succeed?

“There is an extraordinary staff already in place, and a team of advisers who are top journalists connected to our Island, and out of which we have found a new publisher. The culmination of all the teamwork and goodwill and incredible talent is going to help us build a news organization worthy of this community.” 

What public service role does he want to see The Times provide for the community? 

“We will need to be asking how do we build a better school system, a better healthcare system? How do we manage all the diversity, and how do we make sure we are welcoming to all?

“We have to be the kind of team that does not just show up when there is a fire, but to show up so there is not a fire,” he said, his voice rising with more intensity as he makes the point. 

How will we know if The Times is succeeding in finding its own voice?

“To me, it is all about the voice of the common people; it is all about the voices that are the backbone and the heart of the Island,” said Bernier, adding that this approach, which was always the signature of The Times, is a necessary complement to the venerable Vineyard Gazette, which has a long history of serving the Island’s summer community and celebrating the natural beauty and Island life that makes it a summer destination known throughout the world. 

Speaking of The Times, Bernier said, “This will be a paper of the community, not just written to the community. Let’s all of us try to shift out of the immediacy of the internet and the second-by-second demands of social media, and let’s ponder and think. That is what a good newspaper can do for its community. We need to share the stories, we need to get to the truth. The internet offers bits of data, but it can’t tell our story. That is only done when the whole fabric of the community comes together to weave our own stories.” 

He added, “I hope The MV Times can be a vehicle for all of us to come back to the human element of what it means to live in a community.”

This article is based on a conversation this Tuesday between Stephen Bernier and Charles Sennott, whom Bernier has asked to join The Times as publisher. An awardwinning journalist and entrepreneur, Sennott founded the nonprofit news organization the GroundTruth Project. Sennott will start his role as publisher later this month with an inaugural column about how he plans to reach out to readers, and how The Times will set out under his leadership to serve the community.