Mark Arsenault

Latest Articles

The political story everyone missed

John Robitaille almost beat Lincoln Chafee in the race for the corner office. How did he come so close -- and why did the local media leave him almost wholly unvetted?
The headlines from this year's gubernatorial race were Democrat Frank Caprio's indelicate suggestion that the leader of the free world "shove it" and Lincoln Chafee's historic victory as Rhode Island's first independent governor.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | December 22, 2010

A media market splintered

Online
The fragmentation of the local media market, long predicted, is finally a reality.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | May 05, 2010

Political pig pile

Kennedy sets off a free-for-all; bad news for Loughlin and Dennigan
For some time now, we at Casa Diablo have been aware of what is either a heinous conspiracy involving the timing of local news revelations or just another unfair law of nature.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | February 24, 2010

By | January 01, 0001

Paging Dilbert

Fonting around at the Urinal. Plus, celebrity karaoke, and more.
What’s black and white and re(a)d all over? Certainly not the Providence Urinal, whose circulation has been falling faster than a 1000-pound safe pushed out of a sky-scraper window.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | November 04, 2009

Noir comes to Providence

In Cold Blood
Former Providence Journal reporter Mark Arsenault’s new novel, Loot the Moon , is the second in a series focused on obituary writer, inveterate gambler, and investigator Billy Povich.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 28, 2009

By | January 01, 0001

Buyout falls short of goal; questions remain

As The ProJo Turns
Twenty-two Providence Journal employees, 12 in news and 10 in advertising, have taken the company up on its latest buyout.
By IAN DONNIS | August 27, 2008

The battle of the smallest state

The Rhode Island wields a rare impact as Clinton and Obama go head to head
Clinton bathed in the intense affection of an adoring crowd, her every statement punctuated by wild applause, chants, and a rising sea of blue signs touting her campaign.
By IAN DONNIS | February 29, 2008

A Wire runs through it

The HBO drama is spot-on in diagnosing newspapers’ woes
Here’s the scenario: Local ownership sells off a mid-market, well-respected and Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper to a huge media conglomerate in a major American city.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | January 23, 2008

Dollar Bill-ed

Senator Alves comes under scrutiny
Phillipe + Jorge are surprised and sad to see that state Senator Stephen Alves of West Warwick is being investigated by the FBI.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | October 03, 2007

The brain drain

Rhode island needs a more robust economy to retain the young and the educated
Rhode Island is lucky to have Kipp Bradford.
By IAN DONNIS | February 15, 2007

Rhode Island’s man of mystery

Projo reporter Mark Arsenault carves a budding sideline in fiction
The hard-luck obit writer has just made his literary debut, in Gravewriter , a fast-paced mystery that represents a promising new chapter in Providence Journal reporter Mark Arsenault’s budding sideline as a fiction writer.
By IAN DONNIS | December 14, 2006

Fancy footwork

Halitosis Hall denizens still excel when it comes to self-inflicted woes
Could Little Rhody get a national award for the skill with which its politicians steadily shoot themselves in the foot?
By PHILLIPE & JORGE | November 29, 2006

Separated at birth

The partisan difference is the big thing dividing Chafee and whitehouse
Six years ago, when Lincoln Chafee won the US Senate seat to which he’d been appointed after his father’s death, it wouldn’t have been surprising if Sheldon Whitehouse approached him during the victory celebration at Providence Marriott to offer his congratulations.
By IAN DONNIS | October 25, 2006

Rhode Island’s great communicator

Is Carcieri RI's Barry Goldwater?
The Governor's message mastery is a prime asset — and a leading challenge for democrats — in the 2006 campaign
By IAN DONNIS | January 13, 2006