Media Monster

A New Journalism Business Model? New Details Emerge About Sportswriter-Turned-Pimp

Kevin Provencher was living the American dream, working as a sportswriter for 23 years at the Union Leader newspaper in Manchester, N.H., doing something one would he think he had a passion for, and doing it for a living. But as we all know, the newspaper business is tough sledding these days, and when the paper reduced Provencher’s salary, he responded the way any of us would…he started a prostitution ring. Whoa…what?

Yes, it’s true – a few days ago Provencher pleaded guilty a few days ago and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for quite the laundry list of offenses: “two counts of deriving support from a prostitute, two counts of procuring a person into prostitution, two counts of solicitation for prostitution and one count of witness intimidation.”

And while he did claim that a reduced salary was the motivation behind his foray into pimping, considering reports also indicated he had sex with two women before hiring them, we’re inclined to think he had…other goals in mind besides some extra cash. Oh, and he also lied about the ring to prospective employees, saying it was run by women in an online ad.

And this morning, USA Today posted some more details about Provencher’s unusual venture – namely, which hotel he used to run it. What chain will be grabbing this bit of dubious publicity?

Hotel staff told police that Provencher, 52, had been booking rooms at the hotel for several Thursdays and Fridays and “paying with a credit card linked to a rewards points system used by the chain of hotels owned by the Marriott hotels,” the report says.

In other words, he booked rooms for prostitutes using Marriott Rewards credit card.

Well…it does get the Marriott name out there. “And maybe he chose to come back to conduct business again and again because of our outstanding service!” they could tell themselves. Plus, it was the Marriott’s initial phone call to police that helped bust Provencher, so there’s that, too. Still, if I were, say, Marriott CEO Bill Marriott, I’m not sure this is the context in which I’d want my company discussed.

Photo via