Short On Staff And Shorter In The Memory Department. Friday, June 29, 2007. Travis Armstrong of the News-Press must think that we all have short memories. In his Wednesday column bashing the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, Armstrong complains about the Chamber having established a "separate political action committee to get its candidates elected to the Goleta City Council and toss out sitting Goleta council members."
According to Blogabarbara, during last fall's Goleta City Council campaign the Chamber-backed South Coast PAC, along with Goletans for Fiscal Responsibility, raised and spent about $150,000 in favor of Eric Onnen and Michael Bennett.
And just who did the News-Press endorse in the Goleta race last November? Onnen, Bennett and Roger Aceves, all of whom were elected over four sitting council members.
In that same column Armstrong makes this disclosure: "The News-Press and its sister publication, the Valley Voice, have been members of the chamber." Have been members? How about, are members? As in, right now. I called Grayson Peters, Communications Director for the Chamber, who confirmed that both the News-Press and Valley Voice currently belong to the Chamber.
By the way, the Chamber has no official position on Armstrong's recent accusations. "He's just engaging in personal attacks which we don't respond to" Peters told me.
At least one chamber member is having some fun with Armstrong's jabs. Shortly after Armstrong ran a piece wondering "how odd" it was that Bill Macfadyen, the president of the Chamber, neither lived or worked in Goleta, Bill introduced himself at a Goleta City Council meeting by saying, "It's always a pleasure for me to spend time in Goleta, although it's apparently been implied that I need a visa stamp to be here. I've brought my passport with me just in case." He pulled out his passport and turned it toward the camera, then Bill turned to the camera and grinned. It got a big laugh.
* * *
In case you missed it, the Contributing Editor, Assistant Editor and Production Manager of Blue Edge Magazine, another Wendy McCaw owned publication, tendered their resignations last Friday due to lack of retail sales support. The Independent has the full story.
* * *
Wasn't it nearly a year ago that News-Press owner Wendy McCaw promised readers she would bring a "nationally recognized editor" on board to run the paper? Well, last week co-publisher Arthur von Wiesenbeger was sighted in France. Perhaps he's over there searching for that nationally recognized editor. My prediction, O.J. will find the real killer before Wendy lands a nationally recognized editor for her paper.
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Freaked Out? Just Barely. Thursday, June 28, 2007. There's a scene in the movie "Woodstock" where singer Arlo Guthrie is standing on the stage and looking out at a crowd of over 100,000 and says "There's an awful lot of freaks out there!" That pretty well sums up how I felt after attending last Saturday's Summer Solstice Parade and celebration. And of course, I use the term "freak" only in its most endearing sense.
It's the one weekend of the year where the phrase "no visible means of support" isn't a reference to the homeless on State Street or the trust fund babies on Coast Village Road. I heard that Victoria's Secret chose Solstice weekend for their semi-annual bra sale. Judging from the women riding the Roman fountain float, business must have been slow.
If it's Solstice and a woman says "let's go for a ride with the top down, " it's likely that she doesn't own a convertible. The theme of this year's parade was "Stars." Perhaps "Bare" would have been more appropriate. Not as in bare skin but as in barely decent, which describes many of the "costumes." Maybe that explains why the parade draws crowds of 100,000 or so year in and year out. And just for the record, I'm not complaining. I was more amused than outraged.
Of course the best place to watch the parade is not from the sidewalk but from one of the Solstice parties held on an upstairs location along State Street. With plenty of food and drink these vantage points are the equivalent of a stadium suite. Not only do the parties offer an unobstructed view of the parade, they afford the opportunity to watch while enjoying the alcoholic beverage of your choice without getting a ticket, which you will get if you try that down on the sidewalk.
This year I was one of a large number of guests at a party hosted by realtor Chris Casebeer at his office located on the 1300 block of State Street. With guests drifting in and out throughout the parade it was hard to keep track of everyone who was there. The Daily Sound was well represented starting with co-publisher Charles Swegles, columnists Leslie Westbrook and Bob Wilcher and arts editor Steve Libowitz.
The News-Press was also well represented but by their former journalists rather than by anyone who is currently with the paper. Former writers John Zant, Dawn Hobbs and Melissa Evans were there. It wasn't exclusively a gathering of the fourth estate. Naturally, there were other realtors there including Mort Maizlish, at least one former realtor, Laura Inks, who now runs Arts Alive!, as well as former assembly member Hannah Beth Jackson, who was there with husband Judge George Eskin.
Further down and higher above State Street (which is a geographical reference and not an allusion to anyone's state of sobriety) COAST, the COAlition for Sustainable Transportation, which advocates for more trains, buses, and bicycles to reduce traffic congestion, hosted a party where, according to my special correspondent Dave Pritchett, about 40 sustainable transportation advocates watched the parade from the sixth-floor of the Balboa Building.
Greg Mohr, who just retired after 28 years as a County planner, was there and casually announced he just got offered a gig with a research firm in the building. Mary O'Gorman, assistant to Second District Supervisor Janet Wolf was also there as was COAST Board member Alex Pujo. Apparently losing her City Councilmember husband Grant, who may have been still stuck to his stilts, Peggy Jo Love-House, First Lady of the Eastside, visited the party shortly after the last float rolled by.
The only drawback was that the sixth floor outdoor patio offered no shade from the sun. However, Executive Director Kate Bechtel, in her hubba-hubba summer dress, saw to it that everyone was well hydrated.
Undoubtedly well-hydrated were those who gyrated to the music, both live and supplied by a techno-beat DJ., over at the Alameda Park post-parade celebration. The dancers were definitely getting their collective freak on. In watching them I couldn't help but wonder, where are all of these people the other 51 weekends of the year? Probably getting ready for Solstice!
* * *
In case you missed the parade or just want to see it again a half hour highlights show is airing on Community Access, channel 17. at the following times.
Fridays at 3 AM (June 29 and July 6)
Saturdays at 1 AM (June 30 and July 7)
Mondays at 11:30 PM (July 2 and 9).
Set your TiVos!
And there are lots of good photos of this year's Solstice Parade posted over at Edhat.
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When It Comes To Goleta, Mum's The Word. Wednesday, June 27, 2007. So is it true that the News-Press doesn't cover Goleta? That's the reason cited by Kristen Amyx the CEO of the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, when she was explaining to the News-Press' Travis Armstrong why that organization dropped its subscription.
Yesterday, the top stories in both the Santa Barbara Daily Sound and Santa Barbara Newsroom was the City of Goleta's adoption of a two year budget. There was absolutely nothing about it in Tuesday's News-Press.
* * *
I was a little surprised to see that the News-Press did run a story Tuesday on the $2.5 million pledge that Sage Publishing made to Cottage Hospital. The founder and chairman of Sage Publishing is Sara Miller McCune who has openly expressed her desire to buy the News-Press. The story that ran had no byline but rather was credited as a "staff report." I guess when the newsroom is so undermanned it's hard to resist running those press releases.
* * *
Yesterday in writing about how the News-Press, in its present state, is probably the exact kind of paper Wendy McCaw wants, I made note of the paper's undoubtedly low operating overhead.
Former Washington Post reporter and Reagan biographer Lou Cannon wrote to point out that one of the financial unknowns about the News-Press is its classified advertising. In the past classifieds were a big revenue source. But as Lou noted, "The hemmoraghing of classfied advertising is one of the great
financial issues for the newspaper business. Classifieds are departing for
Craig's List and similar sites. Unless newspapers come up with some creative
plan that allows clients to get on the web and in the paper for a single
price, this trend is going to continue and deepen."
Sounds like the only thing that will be harder to find than a journalist in the News-Press building will be classified ad dollars.
* * *
Brophy Brothers Restaurant, a Santa Barbara institution, is opening a second location at the Ventura harbor. From what I'm told it will have the look and feel of the Santa Barbara venue complete with an upstairs location, full bar and outside dining, only bigger. They are even reproducing the nautical chart of the Santa Barbara Channel that is in the downstairs clam bar at the Santa Barbara location. Santa Barbara artist Dan Seibert is one of two locals working on it.
* * *
Why does the Summer Solstice Parade draw huge crowds year in and year out? I think I have the answer in my column in today's Daily Sound.
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The Only Thing That's Lower Than The Expectations Is The Overhead. Tuesday, June 26, 2007. People ask me all of the time, where is the News-Press going to end up? I tend to think that in many respects it has arrived at its final destination. My guess, and it's only a guess, is that the paper you see today, as thin as it is and as light on local content as it is, is pretty much the kind of paper that owner Wendy McCaw wants.
She has total control over the content of the paper (that's why you see so many wildlife and animal articles) she can keep out stories that are unflattering to her or reflect poorly on the way she operates (the extent of the NLRB's charges against the paper for example) and she can run stories or columns to punish her "enemies" or anyone who crosses her (just ask Jerry Roberts or Kristen Amyx.)
Although the paper has lost a lot of subscribers and advertisers it's also running on a pretty low overheard. Where there was once an executive editor, a managing editor, a deputy managing editor and a city editor, the paper now only has an associate editor, Scott Steepleton. That's a whole lot of salary and benefits savings. Not to mention all of the reporters who have resigned or been fired and who haven't been replaced.
Being able to run her newspaper so cheaply leaves plenty of money for hiring lawyers to fight the union.
* * *
I'll share a little secret with you about myself, I'm a notorious procrastinator. We have an anniversary coming up next week, it's going to be one year since the meltdown at the News-Press.
I've been thinking about some of the things I've been planning to do to mark the occassion. You know, figure out where all of the journalists who have left the paper, both resigned and fired, have ended up. Do some "what is life like for them one year later" type stories but, quite frankly, I'm kind of way behind at this point. I'm sure I'll get it all done, after all, I usually work better when I'm on a deadline.
* * *
A number of you e-mailed me to report that contrary to what I said yesterday, there was indeed a News-Press booth at Saturday's Solstice celebration in Alameda Park. According to the e-mailers the guy who was manning it was lonelier than the Maytag repairman as he tried, without much luck, to give away copies of the paper.
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Solstice Celebration Offers A Good Reason To Get Off My Mesa. Monday, June 25, 2007. Saturday's Solstice Parade made the front page of yesterday's News-Press. As you might have expected there were lots of photos to accompany the article written by Associate Editor Scott Steepleton. (And what other newspaper would have its top ranking editor covering a parade?)
Of course one of the entries in the parade that you didn't see a photo or mention of in the News-Press' coverage was the Independent's "Angry Poodle Barbecue" float. And I use the word "float" loosely.
It featured columnist Barney Brantingham, formerly of the News-Press and now with the Indy, carrying a pink flamingo. Accompanying him was a rolling barbecue grill with copies of the News-Press on top of the grate. Walking alongside the grill was former News-Press columnist Starshine Roshell, who now writes for the Indy, carrying barbecue tongs with Barbie Dolls, complete with long fake blonde hair, attached to the ends.
Behind them was the Mission with a pink Trixie, the angry poodle, in front. I think the whole thing was meant to be a living tableau of the News-Press mast head.
See, this blog isn't the only place where the News-Press gets skewered.
At the post-parade celebration at Alameda Park, the only evidence of the News-Press was a banner hung on a fence along with those of other sponsors. Elsewhere in the park the L.A. Times had a booth set up where they were selling subscriptions. I signed up. $15 for 12 weeks of weekend delivery and a $10 Starbucks gift card was too good of a deal to pass up.
* * *
John Palminteri of KEY News did a story last Monday on the most accident-prone intersections in town. Most of the ones listed were downtown. I'd like to submit my own nomination, any intersection on the Mesa, which is where I happen to live.
Take last weekend. There were three accidents within three days on Cliff Drive. One each on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. In one of the crashes a car ended up plowing into a home. Someone was relaxing on his or her couch watching a golf tournament on TV and a NASCAR race broke out, or maybe that should be, broke in.
But if you're agile enough to dodge the cars, whether on the street or in your living room, the Mesa is a great place to live. I can hole up on the Mesa for days without ever having to venture down the hill to go downtown.
It's hard to go hungry up here. In the mornings you can choose from Starbucks or the Good Cup for your coffee. You can have a bagel at Manhatten Bagel or a full breakfast at the Mesa Cafe. For lunch you can get the best burrito in town at Super Cuca's or a pizza at Dean-o's. For dinner you can choose from Chinese, Thai, sushi or eat at one of Santa Barbara's most popular Mexican restaurants, the Rose Cafe.
Not only will you not go hungry, but also you'll never have to worry about getting thirsty either. The Mesa Cafe has a full bar and of course the Cliff Room is a bar whose slogan is "why go downtown?" which is exactly the point that I'm trying to make.
There's no movie theatre but then again there's no need to belong to Netflix when the Video Visions store is just a few steps away. There's a post office in the back of the Hallmark store, farm fresh produce at Mesa Produce and when you want an ice cream on a summer evening, one of the few Fosters Freezes left anywhere is right here on the Mesa.
What does the Mesa have that Montecito doesn't? The Montecito Pet Shop, which recently moved to the Mesa but kept its name. And of course half of Montecito can be found shopping at Lazy Acres at any given time.
On weekends, the other supermarket on the Mesa, Albertsons, can sometimes be reminiscent of Isla Vista with the daytime shoppers dressed like they are just heading to or returning from the beach and the late night shoppers looking like they're headed out to hit the clubs.
It's a short walk to the beach and why pay to join a gym to use the Stairmaster when you can get your workout at Mesa Lane Steps? There are a number of good parks on the Mesa starting with, what else, La Mesa Park and ending with the amazing views of the city that can be seen from Hilda Ray Park. Don't know where Hilda Ray Park is ? Most people don't. It's one of Santa Barbara's best-kept secrets. I could tell you where it's located but if I did, I'd have to kill you.
And speaking of getting killed, did I mention that you have to watch out for the cars?
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Warning! What You Tell The News-Press Subscription Department May Be Used Against You. Friday, June 22, 2007. The end of the week is when I usually give myself a day off from blogging by "repurposing" (as the big boys like to call it) my Wednesday Daily Sound newspaper column and running it here. But the re-run of Wednesday's column has been pre-empted for breaking news. The continuing campaign by News-Press editorial page editor Travis Armstrong against the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce and its head Kristen Amyx.
Running under the headline, "Goleta chamber going off course?" (and isn't "go off course" the exact thing Armstrong ended up doing the last time he showed up at a Chamber function?) Armstrong used his Thursday column to take more pot shots at the Goleta Chamber and its leaders.
As attacks go, this one wasn't very effective. His scandal wasn't very scandalous. The dirt he promised to dish wasn't very filthy. The results are in on the ballistics test of the smoking gun Armstrong tried to produce and guess what, its never been fired.
Much of Armstrong's sniping is a rehash of what he wrote last week, you know, Chamber board chairman Bill Macfadyen not living in Goleta or having a business there and supposedly assisting News-Press employees in finding jobs out of state. So what?
From what I've seen, no one has sent more News-Press employees heading for the exits and eventually out of town than Wendy McCaw.
And Armstrong is whining that Amyx told Chamber members that she was canceling the organization's subscription to the paper because it didn't cover Goleta when he claims she told the paper's subscription department that the reason for the cancellation was the paper's treatment of Jerry Roberts. Once again, if that's true, so what? And I'll bet she didn't expect that whatever she put down on the cancellation card would end up in the paper.
Doesn't Armstrong realize that the relationship between a newspaper and its subscribers is on an "at will" basis. A subscriber can cancel the paper for any reason at all or for no reason at all and doesn't owe an explanation to anyone, especially not to some flunkie sent on an errand by the publisher.
So now we know what the News-Press' plan for customer retention is. Cancel your subscription and we'll put all of your business in the street.
The fact that the effort to discredit the Chamber and Amyx in this case was so ineffective shouldn't diminish our sense of outrage over these kind of tactics.
Suppose you called Cox Cable and told them you wanted to cancel your cable TV and they responded by threatening to put every unflattering fact or rumor they can dig up about you on the news crawl that runs across the bottom of everyone else's TV screen? Well that's what the News-Press is doing. All because someone dared to cancel a lousy subscription to an even lousier paper.
Of course Armstrong's efforts to ruin didn't stop with Amyx or Macfadyen. He tried to drag Amyx's husband into the controversy by referring to a lawsuit that had been brought against him a few years ago and eventually settled out of court. What does that have to do with the Chamber?
Funny how McCaw, who is so obsessed with her own privacy, has no problem letting her editorial page editor loose to violate that of others.
Fox News' slogan is "Fair and Balanced." Around the News-Press the slogan ought to be "Fairly Imbalanced." Whether that's a reference to the paper itself or to the owner and her pit bull editor's states of mind is for you to decide.
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Pinch Hit Appearance Led To Travis' Wild Ride. Thursday, June 21, 2007. Now that News-Press editorial page editor Travis Armstrong has made it clear that he's on the warpath against the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce over their canceled subscription, it's worth asking, is there a history between the two? Not that I know of. But I do know that what must be one of the most embarrassing episodes in Armstrong's career occurred after his attendance at one of the Chamber's events.
It was May 6, 2006. The Chamber's "Goleta's Finest Awards" dinner was being held at the Bacara Hotel. As a sponsor of the event, the News-Press was to have a representative attend and present an award. Normally that would be a job for the publisher of the paper, but former publisher Joe Cole had left the paper just a few days earlier. As we all know by now, co-publishers Wendy McCaw and boyfriend Arthur von Wiesenberger don't do public appearances at civic functions, so the job of being the paper's representative that evening defaulted to Armstrong.
His appearance and presentation at the Bacara was apparently unremarkable. How much he may have drunk while he was there is unknown. In any event, he was back at home by 10 p.m. having had someone else drive him there. He later told the News-Press' Dawn Hobbs that he had a lot on his mind that night and once back home had a couple of glasses of wine to wind down. He then decided to go for a drive to sort things out.
Those two glasses of wine, in addition to whatever he may have had earlier, proved to be too much squeezin' of the grape. At 2:45 that morning he was stopped while driving the wrong way on Santa Barbara Street which is a one way street. He was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. He would later enter a plea which resulted in his conviction.
The details of Armstrong's plea and sentencing have never been reported in the News-Press. The news story that was written about the sentence was reportedly killed by McCaw herself. I guess she called herself doing him a favor. But if she really wanted to do Armstrong a favor she and her boyfriend should have shown up at the Bacara that night to represent the paper before the Chamber of Commerce.
* * *
A long-time copy editor is the latest to leave the News-Press. Allan McCabe, a quiet guy by all accounts (and apparently a union supporter) has taken a position with the Daily News. His last day will be tomorrow. He plans to commute from Santa Barbara to his new job in the San Fernando Valley. Will the last person to leave the newsroom please turn out the lights!
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Can Sara Save The News-Press? Wednesday, June 20, 2007. As the News-Press continues to circle the drain many people wonder whether a viable alternative in terms of a general circulation newspaper will emerge to take its place. The name that comes up most frequently as the person who could be a mid-wife to the birth of such a paper is Sara Miller McCune.
McCune, who is the Publisher and Chairman of Sage Publications as well as the President of the McCune Foundation, was in attendance at last Saturday's event to raise money to defend Jerry Roberts. Towards the end of the speeches it was announced that McCune had made a donation of $100,000 to Jerry's defense. There was a huge round of applause and I was standing behind Mercedes Eicholz, one of the hosts of the event, when Eicholz pointed her finger at McCune who was seated directly opposite her. McCune pointed back. Their gestures reminded me of basketball players after one of them scores a big basket and acknowledges the teammate who made the assist. It was a very cute moment.
After the speeches were over I was standing in the back yard chatting with some other people when someone came over and told me that McCune would like to talk to me. I excused myself and made my way over to the couch she was seated on in front of the living room fireplace. (There's a photo of us that accompanies J'Amy Brown's write up of the party at the Indy's web site.) I had made a couple of unsuccessful attempts in the past to contact her so I was pleasantly surprised.
Now, just so you understand, I didn't plan on interviewing anyone at the event and didn't have my voice recorder with me or a pad to take notes on, so I won't be quoting anything McCune said in the conversation but rather conveying the general sense of what was said.
Also, throughout the time we sat and talked people were constantly coming over to say hello to McCune. Some of the visitors included former assembly member, Hannah Beth Jackson, Jean Schuyler, Susan Miles Gulbransen, David Landecker and Stewart Holden, who is McCune's lawyer, to name a few. So you might say that our conversation took place in installments.
McCune told me that she reads my blog although not every day. I asked her if she had indeed made an offer to buy the News-Press and she told me that she had submitted a written inquiry to Wendy McCaw, had confirmation that her inquiry had been received, but had never gotten an answer or response to it.
I had the sense that she was very sad about the entire situation and was most concerned about the impact that the turmoil over the paper was having on the community. Someone else had told me earlier that McCune's concern over the paper, particularly the tone of the editorial pages, predated the events of last July.
Her original plan was to put together a consortium to buy the paper. She now has little hope that McCaw will sell the paper at all let alone sell it to her.
I asked her why she didn't think McCaw would ever sell. She said that she was having lunch at the Wine Cask recently when she spotted McCaw and boyfriend Arthur von Wiesenberger in another part of the dining room. She said during the lunch a number of people stopped by McCaw and von Wiesenberger's table to greet them. Each time she said she could practically see Arthur's head swell up. She has the feeling that he is indeed enjoying the attention too much.
I asked McCune, why not start a newspaper from the ground up? She said that doing so would be too costly and probably too ambitious for her at this stage of her life. In past conversations with others, I've always been told that the most costly components of putting out a newspaper are getting it printed and getting it distributed. The News-Press with its state-of-the-art printing plant in Goleta and its network of distributors and carriers has those critical components in place.
What about investing in another already established paper like the Daily Sound? She indicated she had discussions with the Sound's ownership but that differing goals were probably an obstacle to her getting involved with the Sound.
Towards the end of the conversation McCune said something to the effect of, who knows, the News-Press may fall into my hands yet. Stranger things have happened.
* * *
On Friday the NLRB denied a request by the union to seek a court injunction that would have led to the reinstatement of the eight fired News-Press reporters.
So why did the union lose in its quest for an injunction? I think Barack Obama unwittingly had the correct answer. On Tuesday at a campaign forum he said we need a "Department of Labor that actually understands it's the Department of Labor and not the Department of Management."
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Armstrong Was "Angry and Threatening." Tuesday, June 19, 2007. It seems like it's every other day that I'm updating you on Travis Armstrong's phone call and ensuing eruption to Kristen Amyx, President and CEO of the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce. Yesterday I was given a copy of the e-mail Amyx has sent to members of the Chamber explaining what happened. Here is part of that e-mail.
Dear Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce Members:
The Chamber Board of Directors and staff have been dealing with an issue
recently that I now need to bring to your attention regarding our
relationship with the Santa Barbara News-Press.
My husband and I read the News-Press at home each morning before going
to work. Lately there has been fewer and fewer business in Goleta
stories in this paper, so there was no reason to also receive the paper
in our office. Although our office use to diligently clip business and
Goleta news from the paper, without any stories to save I felt it
prudent to not spend money on a subscription. It was an executive
decision, not a public statement.
Travis Armstrong called Friday, June 8th to ask me about the
cancellation Mr. Armstrong and I have had a very productive
relationship; I always considered him someone I could talk to about
local Goleta issues. When he called about the subscription, I was happy
to hear from him, but sorry to give him the customer feedback about why
I had canceled the subscription. He was angry and very threatening. I
imagine there is enormous pressure at the News-Press these days and that
Mr. Armstrong is under a great deal of stress.
On Friday, Mr. Armstrong wrote an editorial questioning our volunteer
Chairman of the Board. This is an unwarranted criticism as it is common
for businesses and individuals to join a Chamber in communities in which
they live, work, volunteer or play.
I've never met Kristen Amyx but she must be a saint. I'm sure there's a lot of pressure working at an undermanned News-Press and a lot of resulting stress, but telephoning someone and reading them the riot act over a single canceled subscription is inexcusable.
If Armstrong is ready to throw down over a canceled subscription (which they're practically giving away anyway) how does he handle it when someone cancels an advertising contract?
As far as I can tell, up until last Friday, Armstrong never had a negative word to say about Amyx or the Chamber. As recently as January Amyx was a guest on Armstrong's radio show talking about Goleta business and politics. On October 1st of last year, Amyx authored a Sunday op-ed piece that appeared in the News-Press that was critical of the City of Goleta's new General Plan. Now he's ready to throw her under the bus over this?
Newspaper publishers are usually out joining the local chambers of commerce, not spending their time beating up on them. Steve Ainsley, who was one of the publishers of the News-Press when it was owned by the New York Times, was active in the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce. In fact, they even threw a going away party for him when he left. And if Wendy McCaw ever leaves town I guarantee you there will be a few parties thrown alright.
And while we're on this topic of business and community, has there ever been a newspaper that's been less civic minded than the News-Press under McCaw's ownership? As far as I know, neither McCaw, her co-publisher boyfriend or Armstrong serve on the boards of any local non-profits or civic organizations.
A number of years back I served on the board of a small local non-profit. Larry Crandell, who was also on that board arranged for then News-Press publisher Joe Tarrer, whom I understand was not the most popular boss with his staff, to come down and meet with us so he could get to know our organization. It was a nice gesture then and a striking example now of how disengaged McCaw is from the community.
* * *
Last Thursday, lawyers for the News-Press filed their answer to the NLRB's charges of violations of the National Labor Relations Act. Not surprisingly the paper has denied virtually all of those charges. The hearing is scheduled to begin August 14th.
Presumably the attorneys for the News-Press didn't rely on anything they read in the paper in preparing their answer since the News-Press never reported the fact that charges were filed.
* * *
Currently posted on journalismjobs.com: "We are looking for copy editors/designers to join our universal desk. Candidates must be able to work independently, yet play well with others . . ." Yep, that ad was posted by the News-Press and when you say must "play well with others" do you mean Travis and Wendy?
* * *
Finally, I was sorry to hear of the death of long-time Santa Barbara lawyer Joe Nida. Joe passed away on June 6th. You know at one time the Summerland Omelette Parlor had a sandwich named for Joe called the "Joe Nida, No Objection." Anyone who had a sandwich named after him had to have been quite a guy.
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Turnout At The Ranch Proves That Jerry Doesn't Walk Alone. Monday, June 18, 2007. Over in Hope Ranch this past Saturday evening, 165 people turned out at the home of former County Supervisor Susan Rose and her husband Allan Ghitterman to stand up to a bully. The bully of course is News-Press owner Wendy McCaw. The occasion of the gathering was to raise money to enable former News-Press editor Jerry Roberts to defend against the ridiculous lawsuit that McCaw has brought against him.
Ridiculous not only in the amount of money McCaw is seeking as damages, $25 million, but ridiculous that it is being brought at all. Not content to have ruined a perfectly good newspaper, McCaw appears to be intent on ruining lives and reputations. Unfortunately, Jerry seems to have landed at the top of McCaw's list.
While no one can ruin a newspaper the way that McCaw can, Saturday's gathering also made it plainly evident that no one can unite a community the way McCaw has. The fundraiser brought together a lot of people who don't ordinarily see eye-to-eye on a lot of things but were nevertheless unified in their determination to stand behind Jerry as he stands up to McCaw.
The sizable crowd had plenty of opportunity to mingle with one another and to greet Jerry and offer their support, both moral as well as monetary. Speeches were brief. I had the honor of introducing not only Jerry but the fired News-Press journalists, eight of whom were in attendance. I also read a message from former News-Press columnist Barney Brantingham who was home recuperating from a recent illness and unable to attend.
When Jerry addressed the gathering he started out by noting that McCaw's suit had forced him, on a regular basis, to put together three words that he never thought he'd have to use in the same sentence - "my legal team." He of course is in constant consultation with his team and those hours quickly rack up the legal fees.
He went on to note that it isn't only himself who is a victim of McCaw's efforts to bully and intimidate but others are targets as well including Susan Paterno, a college professor who had written an article about the News-Press debacle in the American Journalism Review and has been sued, and fired News-Press reporter and single mother Dawn Hobbs, whose application for a measly two weeks of unemployment benefits was contested by McCaw.
When it came to speeches, I thought the person who stole the show was 90 year old Mercedes Eichholz, longtime Museum of Art trustee and one of the sponsors of the event, who offered her own entertaining opinion of McCaw and boyfriend Arthur von Wiesenberger.
Besides the fired News-Press reporters many other former News-Press employees, writers and contributors were there to support Jerry. They included Jane Hulse, Randy Alcorn, Sarah Sinclair, Scott Hadly, Andrea Huebner, Susan Miles Gulbransen , Lin Rolens, Martha Smilgis, Michael Seabaugh, and John Leonard. Will Fleet, a former News-Press publisher under McCaw's reign was there and although his time at the paper was long before Jerry's tenure as editor, former News-Press writer Jerry Rankin came down from Oakhurst, California to attend.
Notables attending from the political world were former Santa Barbara Mayor Harriet Miller, former councilman David Landecker, current mayor Marty Blum and First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal.
The event raised nearly $32,000. In addition, it was announced that Sarah Miller McCune, who was in attendance, is making a contribution of $100,000 to Jerry's defense.
Nearly all of the expenses of putting on the event were either underwritten or donated including the wine which came from the Fess Parker Winery. That's not a name that's normally associated with "liberal" causes, but then again the support for Jerry's cause transcends all of the usual boundaries or attempts to categorize. So, if I've forgotten to note any names that should have been noted or left out any details that should have been reported, blame it on Fess.
If you want to contribute to Jerry's defense, donations may be sent to the Lawyers Alliance for Free Speech Rights, P.O. Box 5159, Santa Barbara, CA 93150
This is also a good time to remind you about the Journalist Loan Fund which has been established to help those former News-Press employees who may be in financial need. If you would like to support them, you may make your checks payable to the Journalist Loan Fund, attention Sue Broidy, 3412 Calle Noguera, Santa Barbara CA 93105.
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A Weak Attempt At Ruination. Friday, June 15, 2007. The other day I reported that Travis Armstrong told the head of the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, that he would "ruin" her. In this morning's News-Press Armstrong appears to to be getting a start on making good on that threat. Here's how he starts out.
Here's a head-scratcher: Kristen Amyx, president and CEO of the controversial Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, tells me that board chairman William Macfadyen neither lives in Goleta nor has a business based there.
Isn't this a case of the snail calling the sea slug ugly? I mean the News-Press' top editor Scott Steepleton lives in Ventura, as does his wife, features editor Charlotte Boechler. The paper has virtually no "news" reporters. On the business end, key people in the advertising and circulation departments commute from Santa Clarita and Lompoc. And of course, Armstrong and owner Wendy McCaw, appear to be from another planet. Now, that's a head scratcher.
Armstrong promises that in future columns, he'll examine the chamber's financial outlay in the last City Council election. Tighten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!
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Party At Doubletree Gets Students Into Hilton Like Jam. Thursday, June 14, 2007.
I had been going back and forth on whether to throw my two cents worth in on the Paris Hilton story. Then Rev. Al Sharpton jumped in and I figured if he could get involved then so could I. After all, having covered News-Press owner Wendy McCaw for nearly a year now, I should be an expert on blondes who feel they are above the law.
If you were watching the cable news networks last Friday then you saw the wall-to-wall coverage of the saga of whether Paris would have to return to jail. I'm not among those who were particularly outraged by the fact that she was sentenced to 45 days for violating her probation. After all, what part of "thou shalt not drive on a suspended license" didn't she understand?
I suspect that she understood perfectly well, but figured that her celebrity status would be the ultimate "get out of jail free" card.
When you're young you think that there's nothing that you can do that can't be undone. No jam that you can't be rescued from. Paris probably thought that her fame, a Mr. Fix-it lawyer, or ultimately her rich parents could get her out of this one. After all, weren't her last words upon being led out of the courtroom Friday "Mom! Mom! It's not fair!"
Closer to home some of our local high school seniors recently learned that neither mom or dad could get them out of a jam they recently found themselves in.
A couple of weeks ago Santa Barbara High held its Senior Prom down at Fess Parker's Doubletree Hotel. A dozen or so students attended an after prom party held in a couple of rooms at the hotel rented by their parents for the occasion and well stocked with booze. And I'm not talking about what was already in the mini-bar.
The drinking and partying attracted the attention of hotel security who called school principal Paul Turnbull. Turnbull, accompanied by one of his assistant principals, broke up the party and called the parents of those in attendance who had to come down to the hotel to pick up their kids. The kids were suspended from school and informed that they would not be allowed to participate in today's graduation ceremonies.
Is the principal being an ogre for putting his foot down? Some parents think so. They've hired a lawyer who's threatening suit in order to force the school to permit the students to participate in graduation.
Personally I think the students are lucky that it's the school principal who's putting his foot down and not some judge who's dropping the gavel on them. The "do overs" are over. And if you have any doubt about that just ask Paris Hilton. That is when she gets out of jail in about three weeks.
* * *
On Sunday morning I ran into former Santa Barbara City Councilman Dan Secord at Good Cup Coffee on the Mesa. Looking very relaxed and fit Dan told me he was spending his time these days sailing and bike riding as well as helping out at Recording for the Blind and assisting in raising money for Direct Relief International.
He also mentioned that he is caring for his wife while she recuperates from a broken leg. That means that the cast is literally on the other foot (or leg). Awhile back it was Dan who was out of action for a lengthy period of time with a broken leg.
* * *
Santa Barbara has eight new lawyers who are graduates of Santa Barbara College of Law and former students of mine. Sworn in last Thursday night as attorneys and counselors at law after successfully passing the California Bar exam are; Naomi Dewey, Laurie Thrower, Mic Deniro, Tava Ostrenger, Jerold Oshinsky, Alexanhdria Vo, Dana Rosenberg and that luckiest of all guys, Jordan Porter.
Congrats. Now that you've all passed the bar, how about taking your old professor out to one?
* * *
If anyone doubted how much the News-Press Mess has turned Santa Barbara upside down, just consider that the hottest ticket in town for this weekend will feature yours truly, a long-time lawyer, talking about journalism, and Jerry Roberts, who's been a journalist since before the Earth cooled, talking about the law.
It's on Saturday from 5-7:30 p.m. for wine and hors d'oeuvres. Info at 682-6208. And if you mention my name, they may still be able to get you in. Proceeds will go to the Lawyers Alliance for Free Speech Rights to help Jerry with his legal bills.
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Dial B For Bully. Wednesday, June 13, 2007. More details continue to emerge regarding Travis Armstrong's recent phone calls to community organizations that have canceled their News-Press subscriptions.
The business organization I mentioned when I first reported on this Monday turns out to be the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce. Armstrong spoke with the group's President/CEO Kristen Amyx. When he pressed her as to why she had cancelled the subscription she explained that the News-Press doesn't cover Goleta any longer. Armstrong responded that it was because the new volunteer chairman of the Goleta Chamber is Bill Macfadyen, who used to work at the News-Press.
That's an awfully feeble excuse for not covering a beat. Of course Macfadyen, who left the News-Press shortly after the New York Times Company sold the paper to Wendy McCaw is hardly part of the meltdown that directly led to the paper's immediate troubles. But hey, at the News-Press everyone is an enemy.
Apparently, the conversation didn't end there. At one point Armstrong told Amyx "I will ruin you."
All of this fuss over the cancellation of individual subscriptions? It's not like this is an advertising account that they lost. What's up with that?
* * *
If you've been around here for awhile and listened to local radio you probably remember Rick Bailey. Bailey was a news reporter for KIST from 1976 to 1980 and later served as news director for KTMS. He died last month in Cincinnati from an apparent heart attack.
Before he left for KEYT, John Palminteri worked with Rick at KTMS. Last night I asked John for his thoughts on Rick and here's what he had to say.
If you needed Rick Bailey at 5 a.m. to host a morning show, he was there. If you needed Rick
at 5 p.m. to host an afternoon show, he was there. If you needed Rick to do a talk show he did it.
If you needed Rick to stay up around the clock on a fire he would argue with you as soon as you wanted to send him home. I can remember him gasping and coughing his way through reports on the 1990 Painted Cave Fire while it was taking out 600 homes and businesses.
He gave his listeners, and our profession so much of his daily life in a dedicated, honorable way.
I am proud to have worked, and to have learned from him.
A memorial service for Rick will be held at 2 pm June 19th at Mission La Purisima in Lompoc.
* * *
Former News-Press columnist Barney Brantingham, who now writes his "On The Beat" column for the Independent, was hospitalized Monday night. He developed a high fever which left him feeling extremely weak. Doctors have attributed the fever to an infection. I spoke with him on the phone early Tuesday evening and he sounded like he was in good spirits. He missed his deadline this week though so his Thursday column won't appear in the Independent. I wish him a speedy recovery.
* * *
Today in my Daily Sound print column: There are some jams that your parents can't get you out of. Just ask Paris Hilton, or some local high school seniors.
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More "Customer Service" At The News-Press. Tuesday, June 12, 2007. Yesterday I told you how News-Press editorial page editor Travis Armstrong was working the phones going after those who had cancelled their News-Press subscriptions. Turns out that Armstrong isn't the only one in management who has been busy. Wendy and Arthur have been pounding the pavement in pursuit of advertisers.
Recently the two love birds, who are also the co-publishers of the paper, paid a visit to at least one retail establishment that had been an advertiser in the paper. After shopping around the store and purchasing a few items, perhaps for their upcoming trip to the Continent, they made an overture to the owner in an effort to persuade him to re-up the establishment's advertising contract. No word on whether the tactic was effective.
Yesterday I asked: "What's the editorial page editor doing looking through the subscription cancellations?" One veteran of the newspaper business, who prefers to remain nameless, offered this answer.
I would expect that department heads would pore over such a list. But, in almost every company, those reviews would be made in terms of customer service, starting with the premise that the
company had somehow disappointed its customers and aiming to improve performance and win back trust.
I daresay that every company in Santa Barbara save one would not use such a list to abuse, berate, bully, harass, threaten and, yes, extort a dissatisfied customer . . . I think it underscores desperation.
So are Armstrong, McCaw and von Wiesenberger, really so clueless as to what it is they have done to lose subscribers and advertisers that they have to start calling on them to find out what the problem is? Somebody over at De la Guerra Plaza needs to wise up and stop playing dumb.
* * *
One of my regular readers, e-mailed me this question. "Have you watched the first Newsroom broadcast? I couldn't get through more than three minutes of it . . . they might be fine reporters but they can't do TV news."
Actually I haven't seen it yet. If I want to watch amateur TV reporting, I'll just watch one of my old videos from the Michael Jackson trial.
Pip! Pip! for now!
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Armstrong Makes a Couple of "Cold Calls." Monday, June 11, 2007. I know that a lot of employees have left the News-Press over the last 11 months but the paper must be more short-handed than I ever realized.
Late last week, editorial page editor Travis Armstrong was obviously asked to help out in the circulation department. I mean that's the only thing I can conclude based upon the fact that he telephoned two heads of local organizations, one a business association and the other an environmental group, and demanded to know why their organizations had cancelled their subscriptions to the News-Press. When he didn't get the answers he wanted he reportedly read them the riot act for a half-hour and an hour respectively.
After speaking with Armstrong the heads of the organizations were left with the impression that if their decision not to renew their subscriptions didn't change, coverage of their organizations in the News-Press might.
Sure enough, in Armstrong's column in yesterday's News-Press, at least one environmental group, (and I don't know if it's the one he actually called) the Community Environmental Council, got bad reviews from Armstrong regarding some of its recent activities.
What's the editorial page editor doing looking through the subscription cancellations? And how does the editorial page editor have any say in what gets covered or how it gets covered in the news pages?
Is this another example of the breach of the ethical wall separating business operations from editorial functions of the newsroom or is it evidence that the wall is nonexistent at the News-Press?
By the way, sometime within the next seven to ten days, co-publishers McCaw and von Wiesenberger will be leaving for Europe and undoubtedly, as was the case last year, will leave Armstrong in charge as "Acting Publisher" of the paper. Wonder if he'll be continuing to work the phone lines then?
* * *
On Saturday, the News-Press
finally ran a story about the NLRB's May 31st announcement regarding its latest decisions about the News-Press case. The story ran under the headline "Two union charges against paper dropped." The article said that two unfair labor practice charges filed by the Teamsters Union against the News-Press had been withdrawn and that "no complaints would be issued over the paper's restatement of its conflict of interest policy or statements made to the press by one of its attorneys."
Conveniently omitted from the article was the fact that the NLRB had announced that it is going to prosecute the News-Press for seven violations of the National Labor Relations Act including illegally firing eight of its reporters for their union activity.
Isn't that like writing a story about last night's basketball game and saying that Cleveland scored 92 points but not mentioning the fact that San Antonio scored 103 and won the game?
Of course, back in March, the News-Press didn't cover the NLRB's announcement of the list of charges it had decided to prosecute the paper for. April went by without any mention of the NLRB's decision that month to prosecute as an unfair labor practice the crashing of a union meeting by the News-Press' general counsel David Millstein.
Someone pointed out to me that if you do a search on the News-Press website for "NLRB" or "National Labor Relations Board" for the past year the results will return a string of articles. However, none of those articles will give any indication that that paper has come out on the short end of any of its disputes with the union other than the union's election win.
* * *
Last Thursday, Santa Barbara Newsroom, which is staffed by by reporters who were fired by the News-Press, debuted its newscast on Channel 17. If you missed it you can see it on demand at santabarbaranewsroom.com. The first cablecast was co-anchored by Dawn Hobbs and Melissa Evans. They plan to do a new newscast every other week.
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Armstrong Goes After Blum, Again. Friday, June 8, 2007, 8:00 am Update. Travis Armstrong's assault on Mayor Marty Blum's performance in office seems to have been taken to a new level. In this morning's News-Press he has a withering response to her letter, which I published in full in my Wednesday post, responding to his column of last Friday which attacked her.
The column includes quotes from the Mayor's letter to him and his response. It also includes a lot of gratuitous pebble tossing. Here's an excerpt.
The lack of aggressive journalism by some is one reason pols like Mayor Marty Blum and her campaign adviser/husband Joe are able to pull so many things over on Santa Barbarans. The duo, in 2005, had her campaign signs put in front of my apartment building. Then they had to drive by that night, in her words, to see "how nice" the new signs looked.
How odd is that?
How petty is that?
Armstrong opened his column with this statement: "It's confounding to me when reporters or journalistic wannabes in Santa Barbara become apologists for elected officials and their bad behavior."
"Wannabes?" This coming from a guy who is a never was?
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Jellin' With Helen. Friday, June 8, 2007. Being a blogger may not pay much. In fact, it doesn't pay anything at all, but it does have some pretty good perks. Take last Sunday night when I found myself inside the Hollywood Hills home of Oscar winning actress Helen Mirren and her husband, director Taylor Hackford. That's right, I was jellin' with Helen.
Hackford and Mirren were hosting a meeting of The Moron Society. Formed a few years ago by several people who had been snubbed by an elite L.A. literary salon known as "The Geniuses," the Morons are a diverse group of mostly writers, journalists and filmmakers that get together periodically for potluck dinners to chat with guest speakers about ideas, events, politics and books that have recently been in the news.
Sunday night's topic was the future of newspapers and news media in general and of course, no debate about the fate of newspapers these days can take place without a discussion of what's going on right here in Santa Barbara with the News-Press, which probably explains why I was invited to be on the panel.
The other panel members Sunday were Jim O'Shea, editor of The Los Angeles. Times, Blogger Kevin Roderick of L.A. Observed and Marianne Partridge, Editor In Chief of our very own Santa Barbara Independent.
I don't know if it was the topic or simply a chance to be a guest in a bona fide movie star's home, (in any event I know it wasn't me) but the turnout was huge, around 100 or so. A number of Santa Barbaran's made the trip to L.A. for the event including author, and founding Moron, Ann Bardach; former editor of Santa Barbara Magazine, Holly Palance: UCSB film professor, Constance Penley; and Jim Poett, husband of Marianne.
Also at the gathering was former News-Press managing editor George Foulsham with wife Patricia Marroquin; author Dominick Dunne, who is in L.A. to cover the Phil Spector murder trial; part-time Carpinteria resident Sherry Bebich Jaffe, who is the political analyst for KNBC in L.A.; Associated Press reporter Linda Deutsch, who has covered every major criminal trial in Southern California from Charles Manson to Michael Jackson; and humorist Harry Shearer.
Now, if anyone ever told me that one day I'd be in the same room with Dominick Dunne but that he'd be the one sitting in the audience and I would be one of the people sitting up front doing the talking, I would have thought that they were, well, a moron. What has the world come to?
Dunne, who at 81, is still going strong. During the discussion of the News-Press, which inevitably includes an account of the antics of owner Wendy McCaw, Dunne leaned over to Bardach, whom he was sitting next to and said, "what a bizarre, strange woman." Bardach told him you bet, - "she's your cup of tea...come on up and write about her." No word on whether Dunne will be accepting the invitation.
Mirren, who won her best actress Oscar for her role as "The Queen," was, for the most part, quiet as she observed the question and answer portion of the gathering from a comfy chair in the rear of the room.
One of the funniest moments of the evening occurred near the end of the discussion. The debate was interrupted by the sound of an unknown object hitting the floor in the vicinity of the entrance hallway. A voice then yelled out to those of us in the living room, "don't worry, it's only an Oscar." Everyone, including Mirren, cracked up.
Actually, her Oscar was nowhere in evidence. However, a couple of Golden Globes, Screen Actor's Guild Awards and Grammys (Hackford's for the soundtrack for "Ray" which he directed) were on display in the home.
I never thought I'd say it, but I'd rather be a "Moron" than a "Genius" any day. And I already know what you're thinking.
* * *
On Saturday June 16th former county supervisor Susan Rose along with Allan Ghitterman, and Mercedes Eichholz are hosting a benefit for former News-Press editor Jerry Roberts. The "very special guest," whatever that means, is yours truly. It's from 5-7:30 p.m. for wine and hors d'oeuvres. RSVP by June 9. Info at 682-6208. Proceeds will go to the Lawyers Alliance for Free Speech Rights to help Jerry with his legal bills.
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Something Old, Something New, Nothing Borrowed, But Plenty of Reason to Sing The Blues. Thursday, June 7, 2007. It was announced last Friday that the NLRB has issued a complaint against the News-Press and set an August hearing date. I really hadn't had a chance until yesterday to sift through the charges. While some of the charges are truly new, most of them had been previously announced. Some even had been the subject of hearings that had been scheduled only to be postponed to allow investigation into additional charges against the paper. Here's the rundown.
The Old. The unlawful firing of eight reporters. It all started with the firing on Melinda Burns. The NLRB issued a complaint against the paper alleging that the firing was unlawful and originally set a hearing date of February 26th on the matter. After owner Wendy McCaw fired six more reporters at the beginning of February over the display of the banner on the freeway overpass, which in turn caused the union to file additional unfair labor practice charges, the NLRB postponed the Burns hearing while it investigated the February firings. On March 13th the NLRB announced that it would file charges based upon the overpass incident.
Way back on November 14th, the NLRB announced it was charging News-Press management with violating the National Labor Relations Act by cancelling union supporter Starshine Roshell's weekly column in the paper, and for threatening to suspend a group of newsroom employees in retaliation for delivering a letter to McCaw.
As for the charges of having its General Counsel, David Millstein, intrude on a union meeting; and
coercively surveilling and interrogating employees engaged in legally-protected activities, those charges against the paper had previously been announced back on April 9th.
On March 13th the NLRB also announced it would prosecute for giving employees poor performance evaluations (and thus denying them their annual bonuses) for anti-union reasons and ordering employees not to wear "McCaw, Obey the Law" buttons or to display "McCaw, Obey the Law" signs on their vehicles.
The New. The only charge that was announced for the first time on May 31st was the firing of supervisor Bob Guiliano.
Reason to Sing the Blues. So, if the News-Press and its owner are found to have violated any of the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act, what's the penalty? According to union attorney Ira Gottlieb, who will be representing the organized newsroom employees at the hearing, "the law is incredibly weak in this area." At the end of the day the worst that can happen is that the News-Press would be ordered to offer reinstatement to the illegally fired employees, plus back-pay.
The upshot is that the law facilitates those employers who choose to intimidate a lot now, and perhaps pay a little bit later on, in order to chill the employees' enthusiasm for unionizing.
Still hanging out there is the possibility that the NLRB will circumvent the administrative process and go to court to obtain injunctive relief. This is a decision to be made by agency officials back in Washington D.C. If they opt for this they would go to federal district court to try to obtain, in a relatively quick process through a court order, the bulk of the relief that could result after a hearing before an administrative law judge. Failure on the part of the News-Press to obey the court order could be punishable by contempt.
* * *
Montecito resident Rob Lowe went out to play golf and shot a birdie. According to yesterday's Huffington Post, Lowe accidentally struck a goldfinch with his approach shot on fourth hole at Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa.
Will the errant shot that grounded the bird for life put Lowe in animal lover Wendy McCaw's dog house? Well, at least it's a big dog house.
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The Mayor Responds To Travis. Wednesday, June 6, 2007. On Monday I told you how News-Press editorial page editor Travis Armstrong had taken two apparently gratuitous swipes at Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum within three days.
I thought it was a little odd because I wasn't aware of anything the Mayor might have done to provoke it. I guess the mayor thought it was odd too. On Friday afternoon she hand carried a letter to the News-Press offices responding to Armstrong's op-ed column that had appeared earlier that day. Well guess what? As of Tuesday the Mayor's response had not run in the paper. Here it is below:
June 1, 2007
Travis Armstrong
News-Press Editorial Page Editor
Santa Barbara, California 93101
Dear Travis,
This letter is in reply to your column in the June 1st News-Press about me. I trust that you will print it as a response to your words. I know from Wendy McCaw's article last Sunday that she (your boss) was upset that the LA Times did not print her response to Lou Cannon's article. Along those lines, I am sure that you will want to print this letter in full in the News-Press.
Your diatribe against me in the June 1st Santa Barbara News-Press is patently false and full of lies and misleading innuendo. You apparently think that since you have the ink, you can write anything you want, whether true or not. I understand the role of any editorial writer is to be a watchdog on city matters, among other things, and to hold the elected officials accountable for their words and deeds. I have no problem with that. On the other hand, the editorial page editor has no responsibility to lie, attack and be just plain mean. Normal human decency, as well as journalistic ethics, applies to you as it would to any journalist, perhaps even more so due to your editorial leadership role.
There are too many absurd remarks in your column to answer all of them, but let me take on a few:
You write in reference to me, "She's refused to come on my radio show on AM 1290 to answer questions, even though the program treats everyone respectfully . . ."
I have only been asked to come on your show once, when I was running for reelection, and I DID APPEAR. In addition, I have always said (and say here again) that I will come on your show anytime you ask me. I am sure we can find a mutually agreeable date. Just ask me.
You write, "Somehow in Mrs. Blum's odd logic, she equates her refusal to appear to being 'banned' from the station."
Given that there has been no refusal on my part to appear on your station, it is YOU (rather than I) who is exhibiting "odd logic."This is a statement by you intended to mislead the public in dereliction of your duty as a journalist. As a further note on this point, your own News Press reporter, Josh Molina, wrote a year ago in your paper that your control of all appearances of elected officials on the News Press station constitutes a "ban from the station."Let it be known that I remain willing to appear on any show on your station. Just have someone call me to schedule it.
Your write, "Most recently, she's up in arms about a column pointing out her passive-aggressive tactics controlling citizen comments at a hearing."
I was not up in arms about a column you wrote. The most recent column you refer to was funny to me, because I have been known as being very straight-forward, not passive-aggressive. I don't remember speaking about that column you are referring to with anyone. I don't know where you got that information, but it is inaccurate.
You write, "She made a big deal in 2005 that she was never going to read the News-Press opinion section. Yet Mrs. Blum is still reacting to what's in the paper."
I have never said that I would not be reading the opinion section of your paper. You did not come to my election night party so you don't know what I said. You said that I promised never to read the opinion section, but that never happened. I have never promised not to read it.
Mayors from other cities in Santa Barbara County have asked me what I have done to deserve your wrath. I have no answer to that. I can't think of anything. Maybe you are afraid of women in strong leadership roles, or maybe your boss is. However, I am just guessing because I have no idea why you think it is OK to lie and treat the Mayor with such nastiness. This community deserves better.
Marty Blum
Mayor
Although she didn't mention it in her letter, the Mayor said she was particularly outraged by Armstrong's mention of her husband's name in his Friday column. Armstrong had cracked about the possibility of the Mayor sending her husband out in the darkness of early morning to find a newspaper for her.
The Mayor has a point. Her husband's not a public figure, why drag him into it?
* * *
On Saturday June 16th former county supervisor Susan Rose along with Allan Ghitterman, and Mercedes Eichholz are hosting a benefit for former News-Press editor Jerry Roberts. The "very special guest," whatever that means, is yours truly. It's from 5-7:30 p.m. for wine and hors d'oeuvres. RSVP by June 9. Info at 682-6208. Proceeds will go to the Lawyers Alliance for Free Speech Rights to help Jerry with his legal bills.
* * *
This past Sunday evening the editor of a city's oldest and largest newspaper faced a gathering of around 100 interested and concerned readers and answered questions, tough questions, about the future of the paper and the future of news media in general in the wake of the departures of scores of that paper's editorial staff.
The good news is that the conversation took place. The bad news is that the editor wasn't affiliated with the News-Press. The man answering the questions was the editor of the L.A. Times. Read more about the story behind that gathering in my print column in today's Santa Barbara Daily Sound.
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Short and Sweet Tuesday. Tuesday, June 5, 2007. Got back to town late Monday after spending spending about 36 hours in L.A., so it will be a brief blog today.
No. As far as I can tell, the News-Press had not run a story reporting on the decision of the NLRB to prosecute it for violations of the National Labor Relations Act.
* * *
Former News-Press editor Jerry Roberts' response to Wendy McCaw's infamous Sunday rant, is now posted on the L.A. Times' website.
* * *
McCaw was spotted at the recent Montecito Union School Fair, accompanied by the royal consort, Arthur von Wiesenberger. I guess Arthur asked her if she wanted to go hear the patter of little feet and she thought he was talking about checking out some feral pigs.
* * *
I didn't see it but did anyone watch Sunday night's Democratic candidates presidential debate? Did Bill Richardson really say, "sixty percent of our foreign oil comes from abroad?"
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Is The News-Press "The Recycler?" Monday, June 4, 2007. What the heck has gotten into News-Press editorial page editor Travis Armstrong? Not only is there no local news in the News-Press, the opinions are being recycled as well.
On Sunday, in his op-ed page column he once again goes after the local clergy whom he criticizes for "interjecting themselves" into public policy debates. After citing several instances of interjection on the part of of various clergy members Armstrong says; "[T]he weight these clergy carry can be mighty. Their political advocacy at public hearings, with their churches backing them, intimidates civic-minded residents who are on the opposing side of a policy debate."
Armstrong then talks about the "snarky" e-mail he received from Teena Grant. This is the second time he has brought that subject up in the last two months. Like the last time, he doesn't tell us what the e-mail itself said so that readers can judge for themselves whether it's "snarky." I ran Rev. Grant's e-mail before and if you want to see it again here it is.
If Wendy McCaw is really the animal rights activist she claims to be, she ought to tell Armstrong to stop beating this dead horse. Even someone like myself, who these days ventures inside a church only to attend a funeral or a wedding, can tell you that churches and temples aren't museums for saints and religion is not something that is only practiced on the Sabbath. It's part of every day life.
One of the films that was shown at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival back in February was "Amazing Grace." It's the true story of how William Wilberforce, with the backing of prominent members of the clergy, fought to end the British transatlantic slave trade in the 19th Century. I'm glad Travis Armstrong wasn't around back then writing op-ed pieces telling the clergy to keep their noses out of public policy debates.
In that same column, for the second time in three days, Armstrong goes after Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum. Of Blum he says;
[D]espite her promise never to read the News-Press, (Blum) was hot on the phones to people Friday morning regarding that day's column in which I wrote about some of her misfires on the job.
After refusing to appear on my program, she apparently now wants to come by to chat with me and plans to write a letter to the media about it. Mrs. Blum seems obsessed about talking about AM 1290.
If you ask me I'd say it's Armstrong who's obsessed about talking about Mrs. Blum.
* * *
Sunday saw the return of Dr. Laura's column to the News-Press after a two week absence. Her topics of discussion were abortion, "liberals" and free speech. Her lack of a local angle on either of these subjects highlights a common thread about those who have been hired by owner Wendy McCaw to write columns for the paper. None of them seems to be particularly interested in covering the local scene. Not Dr. Laura, not the recently departed Buddy Winston nor "London Britches" the gossip columnist who reports breathlessly about the Royal Family. Personally, if I'm in Santa Barbara the only time I want to hear about a "Beefeater" is when I'm ordering a gin and tonic.
And no, there was nothing in Laura's column about the recent controversy surrounding her son's MySpace web page. I know that many of you have wondered why I never mentioned that topic on this blog. Here's why I stayed away from it. I, like Dr. Laura, have a son who is in his teens. As I said here the other day, he's never given his mother or me the slightest bit of trouble. But if that ever changes he and I will deal with that in private and not on anyone's blog or in anyone's newspaper column. I wouldn't want it to be a topic of gossip. I believe in treating people the way I would want to be treated.
Sure, it was ironic coming so closely on the heels of Dr. Laura saying that it "looked bad" for Jerry Roberts to be working for a college paper that published a "sex column." But I'm sure you don't check into this blog just to read me repeating what's obvious. Enough said.
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NLRB Will Prosecute News-Press For Unfair Labor Practices. Friday, June 1, 2007 2:20 pm Update. The NLRB has announced that it will prosecute the Santa Barbara News-Press for violating the National Labor Relations Act by unlawfully firing nine of its employees, going back to October of last year. The employees who are alleged to have been unlawfully fired are; Melinda Burns, Anna Davison, Dawn Hobbs, Barney McManigal, Rob Kuznia, Tom Schultz, Melissa Evans, John Zant and Bob Guiliano. In addition, the NLRB's General Counsel will be prosecuting the News-Press for other violations of the National Labor Relations Act including:
Cancelling Starshine Roshell's weekly column;
Threatening to suspend 11 employees for engaging in the protected activity of attempting to deliver a demand letter to Wendy McCaw;
Denying employees annual bonuses for anti-union reasons;
Ordering employees not to wear "McCaw, Obey the Law" buttons or to display "McCaw, Obey the Law" signs on their vehicles;
Having its General Counsel, David Millstein, intrude on a union meeting; and
Coercively surveilling and interrogating employees engaged in legally-protected activities, such as attending and participating in rallies and demonstrations, and information-sharing.
Still under consideration by the NLRB is whether it will go to court to immediately obtain relief in the form of an injunction against the News-Press to compel it to reinstate the nine fired employees and otherwise remedy the above unfair labor practices. The NLRB is also reviewing the News-Press' exceptions to the March ruling by an Administrative Law Judge rejecting the newspaper's objections to the Union's victory in the election.
When asked for his reaction to this latest news, union attorney, Ira Gottlieb, who represents the newsroom employees who wish to unionize told me this via e-mail:
The Union and the newsroom employees are looking forward to the next
significant step in the NLRB's law enforcement process, and are hopeful
that the agency will soon decide to take more aggressive action to
obtain real, overdue relief for the employees who have been irreparably
harmed by the depredations of management.
The hearing on the complaint is scheduled to begin August 14, 2007 at the bankruptcy court building in Santa Barbara.
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Maybe They Should Have Issued "Astronaut Diapers." Friday, June 1, 2007. As spring slowly heads into summer an annual rite of passage is returning. I'm speaking of the high school graduation. If you haven't attended one lately here's my advice. Make a trip to the bathroom beforehand and be ready to sit for a long time.
I hadn't attended a high school graduation since my own (and we won't talk about how long ago that's been) but all that changed this past weekend when my son, Grant Smith, graduated from Cate School down in Carpinteria. Just two weeks shy of his eighteenth birthday, I can honestly say that he's never given his mother or I the least bit of trouble. I can only hope that the young lady who he escorted to the Senior Prom a couple of Saturdays ago can say the same thing.
Memorial Day weekend does seem early for a high school commencement. Most of the other local schools hold their graduation ceremonies closer to the middle of June. However, the early graduation was fine with me. I couldn't have afforded another two weeks of private school tuition.
Started by Curtis Cate in 1910 as The Santa Barbara School it reputedly was renamed for its founder. However I discovered that CATE is really an acronym that stands for, Could Anyplace-else (be) This Expensive? After four years of hard work that resulted in a straight "A" average (so much for "the fruit not falling far from the tree") my son found the answer for me in the form of another acronym. YALE. As in, Yep, Ain't Less Expensive!
But I'm not complaining. He had a great opportunity to attend one of the finest preparatory schools anywhere and I wasn't about to let my desire to drive a Porsche Turbo Carrera or drink 18 year old single malt Scotch Whiskey stand in his way.
So with only 63 seniors graduating, how long could the ceremony last? A lot longer than you'd think. As each diploma is awarded, headmaster Ben Williams gives a personal synopsis of each graduate's time at Cate. Although it's a very nice touch, one that couldn't be accommodated at schools that have larger classes, it does make for a ceremony that was over two and a half hours in length. I've been to baseball games that weren't that long. This commencement needed a seventh inning stretch.
In any event, congratulations to all of the grads and my sincere thanks to Headmaster Williams and the faculty and staff of Cate. And by the way, why is it that "commence" and "commencement" have the opposite meanings?
Sunday evening my son selected The Palace restaurant downtown for his graduation celebration dinner. While we were waiting in line to get in we were entertained by Santa Barbara magician Mark Collier. Mark asked one of the kids who was standing in front of us; "What's the difference between a magician and a large pizza?" Answer; "a large pizza can feed a family of four." Remember that, all of you grads.
* * *
The above-post originally appeared on Wednesday in my Daily Sound print column. Yesterday my son complained to me. "Why did you have to put my name, G.P.A. and college I'll be going to in the paper?" Well, I guess there's one person who's happy that the News-Press didn't cover the Cate graduation.
And sorry son, I won't do it again.
* * *
Thursday evening there was a nice gathering of "Hacks and Flacks" (writers and publicity types) over at Peabody's on Coast Village Road who got together to say goodbye to Guillaume Doane, editor of the Montecito Journal, who is leaving that publication to continue his journalism career in France. First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal showed up to present Guillaume with a resolution from the Board of Supervisors. And no, no one from the News-Press was there to cover the event.
* * *
It looks like Buddy Winston, who wrote a weekly column that appeared on Wednesdays in the Life section of the News-Press is the latest to abandon ship. His column did not appear this past Wednesday.
Word on the street is that the current management wanted him to rove around and collect more gossip to include in his column and he balked.
My take is that it's kind of tough to ask someone to write gossip when the biggest source of gossip in this town, what's going on at the News-Press, is off limits as a subject to write about.
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Lou Cannon Responds to Wendy. Thursday, May 31, 2007. 11 am Update. Having both e-mailed his written response to her Sunday rant and having confirmation that it was delivered to the News-Press via priority mail, and still having received no acknowledgment of its receipt. journalist Lou Cannon has released his letter to McCaw that responds to her Sunday column.
It can be viewed in its entirety by clicking the link above. Needless to say McCaw is no match for Cannon and he cuts her arguments to shreds. My favorite excerpt from Lou's letter:
There are too many absurdities in your Sunday column to respond to all of them. But let's set the record straight on a few points. The first is your pretense at being concerned by child pornography and the implication that I somehow condone it. I am much more concerned about this problem than you are, being a father of four, a grandfather of six, and a great-grandfather, as well. Child pornography is EVIL, and we need to combat it. What have you done?
Bravo Lou!
Also, contrary to what I reported on my 8 a.m. update, The Times did not print McCaw's response on its op-ed page but rather ran it as an on-line only.
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Stanford Or No Stanford, McCaw Blesses The Beasts But Not the Children. Thursday, May 31, 2007. I've asked the question before but her Sunday rant causes me to ask it again. How did News-Press owner Wendy McCaw ever make it through Stanford?
I mean, the woman cannot write. Take this little gem for example. "Mr. Cannon once had a reputation as a journalist of note, but his recent op-ed piece exemplifies how so-called "journalists" have tumbled into incredulity, self-destroying the image they so carefully created." Was he incredulous at something that he wrote? Or were we, the readers, not supposed to believe something that he said? And I thought the only thing one could "self-destroy" is one's self? Destroy anything else and you're destroying, well, something else. Which, by definition, is not yourself.
I don't think she could have passed Bonehead English let alone a college composition course.
A recent news item out of Palo Alto may suggest an explanation for how McCaw can claim Stanford alumna status. Did you hear about Azia Kim? She was the young woman who for eight months, using excuses and explanations ranging from housing mix-ups to "roommate" issues, was able to dupe "classmates" into thinking she was a full-time Stanford student. Could McCaw have done the same? Just asking!
Grammar aside, there was another eyebrow raising quote that appeared in McCaw's Sunday column. "Now we have a real story: it's a story of just how cavalier many in our country are to the suffering and misery of the children subjected to this depravity." She then assures us; "We intend to write more about the scourge of child pornography." While that's all well and good it does cause one to ask, what's with this sudden tender concern for the victims of child abuse?
As many of you know, McCaw has her own charitable foundation, The Wendy P. McCaw Foundation. (And I'm the last person who would give her a hard time about naming something after herself.) McCaw's foundation has nearly $37 million in assets. How much money has McCaw given through her foundation to child abuse prevention? As far as I can determine, not one dime.
In 2005, the last year for which figures are available, McCaw's foundation gave away over $1.7 million. Who got it? The largest single donation was in the amount of $1 million to the Trust for Public Land towards the acquisition and protection of the Ellwood Mesa. The next largest gift was in the amount of $500,000 to the Granada Renovation Project. She gave $10,000 to the Unity Shoppe. The other 12 gifts she made, ranging in size from $1,000 to $100,000 all went to animal or wildlife groups. McCaw gave more money to Santa Cruz Island pig protection or for the care and feeding of feral cats then she's given to any cause that helps abused or neglected children.
You can view the foundation's tax returns going back to 1999 by going here and clicking on the link to each year's return. (Warning, they are large "PDF" files.) The donations to "human" causes are few and far between and there are no donations to any groups that assist or protect children.
And while you're perusing those tax returns check out the list of corporations "environmentalist" McCaw's foundation has money invested in. Not exactly a list of "green" companies. Can you say ExxonMobil?
8 a.m. Update. Wendy's Sunday rant appears on the L.A. Times' op-ed page this morning.
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Jacobs Uses His Ladder To Exit The News-Press Building. Wednesday, May 30, 2007. Well, he didn't really use a ladder, but he did leave. Add another name to the list of those who have resigned from the News-Press. This time it's Tom Jacobs, the paper's arts and culture writer for the past 13 years.
Jacobs joined the News-Press in April 1994 having moved up from Los Angeles, where he was an arts and entertainment writer for the Daily News.
His reviews of concerts and plays were a staple of the Friday "Scene" section, which lately has been about the only section of the paper, other than sports, with any significant local content.
Tom had this to say about his decision in an e-mail he sent me Tuesday evening:
I have felt deeply conflicted over the past months torn between my commitment to the amazing Santa Barbara arts community and my unease with the direction of the paper. On April 22 the day of the infamous front-page article concerning Jerry Roberts' computer I realized it was time to leave. I stuck around just long enough to wrap up coverage of the spring performance season.
Tom went on to say that he had worked for five newspapers during his 30-year career, and with the exception of the past 11 months, the News-Press gig was the most satisfying of them all. He offers his deep respect, thanks and best wishes to the many outstanding colleagues and editors he has worked with at De la Guerra Plaza.
Tom submitted his resignation Tuesday morning. By Tuesday night, his name had been removed from the staff list on the paper's website.
* * *
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Wendy McCaw's claim, made in her Sunday rant, that Lou Cannon had made no attempt to talk to her or co-publisher Arthur von Wiesenberger, was simply not true. On Tuesday, Lou provided me with the text of the letter he and others sent to McCaw in August of last year.
August 27, 2006.
Dear Mrs. McCaw,
We are local residents who are concerned about the ongoing situation at the Santa Barbara News-Press. In our view, the continuing controversy is damaging to the community, to journalism, to present and former employees of the newspaper and certainly to you.
If anything it's likely to get worse after Sept. 5 when the drive to cancel subscriptions to the newspaper is intensified. There has to be a better way.
In an effort to get beyond the confrontation and name-calling, we are asking that you meet with us in an open-ended discusssion to explore any and all alternatives to this damaging and seemingly endless confrontation.
We would like to meet with you before Labor Day weekend. Please call Harriett Phillips, (phone number deleted) to arrange a specific time and location.
The letter was signed "sincerely" and carried the signatures of Harriett Phillips, Sander Vanocour, Connie Hannah, Cannon, the Rev. Teena Grant, and the Rev. Ken Collier. Phillips hand delivered it to the paper's receptionist, being unable to get past the receptionist's desk at the News-Press building. According to Lou, none of the signatories ever heard back from McCaw or anyone else at the News-Press.
In addition to this letter Cannon had previously written and phoned McCaw on his own and had received no response to either of those inquiries.
For what it's worth, Cannon's written response to McCaw's Sunday column was sent off Tuesday by priority mail. Anyone want to take any bets upon whether receipt of it gets acknowledged let alone printed?
* * *
In my Daily Sound print column today, I give the following advice to any of you who may be attending a high school graduation in the coming weeks; make a trip to the bathroom beforehand and be ready to sit for a long time. Of course it helps to have a horse in the race as I did when my son graduated from Cate School last Sunday.
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McCaw Can't Be Bothered With The Facts. Tuesday, May 29, 2007. I have a new slogan to suggest for Wendy McCaw's News-Press: "Taking Hypocrisy to New Heights, One Article At A Time." Take this past Sunday's opinion page piece, penned by none other than McCaw herself. Riled that the L.A. Times would dare to print an op-ed page piece, authored by the eminent journalist Lou Cannon, that was critical of the News-Press and the smear tactics McCaw resorted to with respect to former editor Jerry Roberts, McCaw cleared the cobwebs off of her keyboard and started throwing down. The only problem; the woman doesn't know what she's talking about.
Since next to nobody is reading the News-Press these days, and even fewer people than that probably read it on the Sunday before Memorial Day, you may have missed it. Cannon has sent McCaw a letter responding to the Sunday piece and is waiting to see if she prints it before releasing it. But in the meantime, this is what my response to McCaw would be.
The introduction to the piece noted that it had been submitted to The Times as a response to Cannon's article but that the The Times had refused to publish it. Of course when was the last time you ran the response of someone who was on the wrong end of one of the News-Press' editorials or a Travis Armstrong column? Ask Marty Blum, Brian Barnwell, Hap Freund, Susan Rose or Gail Marshall. I'm sure they'd all give you the same answer. Never. Or when has the News-Press ever run at least one of the hundreds of letters you have undoubtedly received deploring what you have done to the paper or the way that you've treated your journalists? And while we're at it, how about publishing a response by Jerry Roberts to the attack that you made on him?
McCaw goes on to say; "In 2005, before all the rancor at the News-Press, we conducted an independent survey of our readers; we were shocked to learn that 64 percent of our readers believed our news articles were biased." Of course, if you conducted a poll today I'm sure the number of readers believing that the News-Press is biased would be pretty close to 100 percent. Congratulations on improving in that department.
"Last spring, after the former publisher left, Arthur von Wiesenberger and I demanded that the biased articles stop. The head of our newsroom, editor Jerry Roberts, quit in a fit of pique."
Not exactly. After being told he would have to report to the editorial page editor and acting publisher Armstrong, Roberts submitted a resignation letter in which he offered to stay on for 30 days to help with the transition. Armstrong insisted that he had to leave immediately and "perp walked" him out of the building. The rest is history.
"In order to keep our paper running smoothly, we reviewed the two computers Mr. Roberts was using to determine where we could locate the stringers and freelancers, information that apparently was kept only on his computers." Excuse me but you pay those stringers and freelancers don't you? Wouldn't that information have been with human resources or your chief financial officer at the time, Randy Alcorn?
"(Lou Cannon) purports to be a journalist, yet has never met me, much less made any attempt to talk to me or the co-publisher . . ." If I recall correctly Cannon was part of a group that did in fact write a letter back in August of last year seeking a meeting with you about the situation at the paper. Of course he never got a response which was the same treatment that you gave to the members of the clergy and News-Press writers when they sought to meet with you.
"We are at the dawn of a new age in the news business. The newspaper, the TV news, the news media in general, has been turned upside down by the Internet." The dawn of a new age? It's more like high noon. You must have been sleeping in on your yacht in the Mediterranean when the French rooster crowed and the Internet age "dawned".
"The public now is choosing to get their news elsewhere." Well we sure aren't getting it in the News-Press!
"The old school of media owners not being involved in the actual publication of their papers is at an end, if they are to survive." Who died and made you queen? Give me one name, other than your boyfriend, who agrees with that statement.
Much easier to come up with is a list of the publications and organizations who disagree with McCaw and her methods. That list would include, The Society of Professional Journalists, The University of Oregon School of Journalism, The Poynter Institute, The Santa Maria Times, The Voice of San Diego and Doc Searls, to name but a few.
And then there's the student run newspapers at Santa Barbara City College and Santa Barbara High School. An editorial that appeared in the May 18th edition of the high school's paper, "The Forge," observed: "You have to wonder why more people aren't outraged about how a woman with a fat checkbook is creating a war of words in our once sleepy little seaside city." Out of the mouths of babes.
From Lou Cannon to the kids at the local high school they all agree, McCaw is out of bounds. Can all of these organizations and individuals be wrong? Most people with common sense would look around a take a clue from the fact that they're going it alone. But not McCaw. She's stubborn and she's ready to fight any and all comers.
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Will The Mayor Change Her Tune? Friday, May 25, 2007. Last weekend I tuned into Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum's new radio talk show. (The show airs on Saturdays from noon to 1 pm on KTMS AM 1490.) Naturally, the show is devoted to discussion of current municipal issues. For being a newcomer to radio, the Mayor does a good job, but one suggestion. Madame Mayor, that bumper music has got to go!
"Bumper music" is what is played to transition from news and commercial breaks back to the program. On Saturday, the bumper music was more like elevator muzak. I half-expected to hear a voice chime in and say "third floor, lingerie."
On Saturday's broadcast, with the exception of "Downtown" by Petula Clark, all of the bumper music was pretty sleepwalk inducing. Here are my suggestions for some songs that the Mayor and her radio sidekick, Jim Sirianni, ought to consider playing. Note the municipal theme to each song.
"Hot Child In The City" (Nick Gilder)
"Paradise City" (Guns N' Roses)
"Living For The City" (Stevie Wonder)
"A Town Without Pity" (Gene Pitney)
"We Built This City" (Jefferson Starship)
"In The City" (Joe Walsh)
And when the conversation turns to power outages and blackouts how about?
"When The Lights Go Down In The City" (Journey).
And as a lead-in for stories on water conservation or droughts I suggest,
"Gimme Some Water!" (Eddie Money).
* * *
My friend Leslie Westbrook, who writes the page three column for the Daily Sound that appears on Mondays, reported the other day that the only newspaper available to inmates at the Santa Barbara County Jail is the Santa Barbara News-Press. Haven't those jail inmates suffered enough?
No truth to the rumor that local attorney Bob Sanger, who handles a lot of prisoner rights cases, will be filing a lawsuit claiming that forcing jail inmates to read the News-Press is cruel and unusual punishment.
* * *
The upcoming Memorial Day weekend is the traditional kick-off of the backyard barbecue season. Last Friday Miss Kitty, who writes the "relationships advice" column for the Daily Sound, wondered why is it that couples that have been together for many years spend more time barbecuing than making love? I wish she had asked me that question because I would have given her . . .
My top 10 reasons why married couples would rather barbecue than make whoopee!
10. Want to make sure that the tri-tip is as done as the marriage.
9. Chilly in the bedroom? Fire up the grill!
8. For a man, it's nice to hear someone say "throw another shrimp on the barbee" and know that they're not talking about you.
7. Wives finally get to see what a foot long hot dog really looks like.
6. Getting "marinated overnight" doesn't mean closing down a bar.
5. Four words, "boneless breast of chicken!"
4. Real men stir the coals slowly.
3. Everybody gets their meat charred on the outside and tender in the middle.
2. On the patio, meat that falls off the rib is a good thing.
1. Guarantees that the couple can always honestly say, "there's plenty of pork in this marriage!"
* * *
The News-Press is advertising on craigslist for a restaurant critic. If you're interested, the job pays $125 per review which includes dining expenses. And, you are required to eat at each restaurant twice before writing the review. I hope that whomever takes the job likes peanuts because after you pay for your meals that's all you'll be writing for.
And yes, it's probably safe to say that the new restaurant critic won't be reviewing "Lucky's" anytime soon.
* * *
With the Memorial Day Holiday on Monday, I don't plan on having a new blog post until Tuesday. If you're stumped as to how to spend your long holiday weekend, why don't you try barbecuing?
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Will There Be A Brown Out At The County? Thursday, May 24, 2007. If Santa Barbara County Chief Executive Officer Mike Brown survives this, he can survive anything. The "this" I'm referring to is the lawsuit that was filed last Friday by former Santa Barbara County Public Defender Jim Egar.
The suit for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, assault and battery names both the County and Brown as defendants.
I've seen the complaint, which is around 50 pages long, and as these things go, this is one of the more interesting complaints that you'll ever come across. It describes several alleged outbursts on Brown's part which were directed at Egar. For instance, it is alleged that Brown subjected Egar "to hostile and abusive tirades in which he became visibly angry and red-faced, yelled, screamed and swore at Plaintiff, spit at Plaintiff, and verbally disparaged, insulted and threatened Plaintiff in an intimidating manner." (And no, this is not a post about what goes on behind the scenes at the News-Press.)
According to the complaint, the whole thing stems out of Egar's vigorous advocacy for resources for his office in the form of attorney positions and funding to represent the office's mostly poor clientele. The impression one gets from reading the complaint is that Brown didn't want Egar rocking the boat in front of the Board of Supervisors and resorted to the alleged tactics to keep Egar in line.
Egar is represented by Santa Barbara attorney Janean Daniels. Most recently, she represented former Santa Barbara Police Officer Ruben Lino who sued the Department for discriminating against him because he is gay. I heard that early on in that suit she offered to settle the case for a few hundred thousand dollars but the City turned down the offer, most likely on the theory that Santa Barbara juries tend to be stingy and "don't hand out that kind of money." The case went to trial and in the end the City ended up paying Lino close to a million bucks.
I understand that with this latest case, Daniels sent a draft copy of her complaint to the County before filing it in hopes there could be some type of settlement without the necessity of filing in court. (It's not known whether she attached a note to the draft saying "you can pay me now or pay me later.") In any event, the County is still pondering its response, but with filing deadlines looming, Daniels felt she had to go ahead and file the case, which she did.
This is not the first time that Brown and the County have been sued over Brown's alleged behavior. In 2004 the County settled a suit with former personnel director Ann Goodrich who had accused Brown of "discriminatory and harassing workplace conduct." Despite having doled out some big bucks to settle that claim the County just a little over a year later gave Brown a raise and a new title. The former County Administrative Officer was given expanded powers as County Executive Officer.
On Tuesday, I was interviewed by KEYT's Michelle Cole for a legal perspective on the story. I told her that no matter what the outcome, this is going to be a public relations nightmare for both Brown and the County. (How's that for insightful legal analysis?)
The County had their media relations guy William Boyer go before KEYT's camera to give their side of the story. He said that anybody could sue anyone for anything but assured everyone that the claims being made by Egar in this case were "without merit." Reassured? Don't be. In the Goodrich case county officials maintained that there was no justification to the claims made there. The County ended up paying Goodrich $925,000 to settle the case.
* * *
I went up to TV Hill to film my interview for the Brown story. Earlier that same day, Rob Lowe was up at KEYT to tape a public service announcement. When the news department heard he was in the house, reporter Michelle Cole was sent over to ask him a few questions about the recent settlement of the lawsuit between him and his Padaro Beach neighbor over the cutting of hedges. I guess there wasn't going to be any "bonus coverage" as far as Rob was concerned. Instead of answering questions Rob headed out to his car in the parking lot and was followed by Michelle and her cameraman. Rob got in the car and closed the door on Michelle nearly catching her microphone cord in the process.
* * *
So, was I surprised that KEYT called me to appear on camera just a day after I was giving them a hard time on this blog for yanking ABC's Hi Def signal off of Cox Cable? Not really. KEYT is not the News-Press.
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Should They Stay Or Should They Go? Wednesday, May 23, 2007. My fellow blogger and friend George over at "I'm Not One To Blog But . . ." sure stirred up a hornet's nest yesterday morning with his listing of the names of every writer who had a by-lined local story that ran in the News-Press between May 15 and May 21. His attempt to raise the question of whether continuing to write for the News-Press shows implicit support for owner Wendy McCaw's attack of former editor Jerry Roberts was met with a backlash from his readers who left comments.
By my count, the comments were running about 3 to 1 in favor of those who felt he was out of line in calling out those who still write for the paper. George was compelled to explain what he was trying to do in a comment he left on his own blog before mid-morning Tuesday. Late Tuesday afternoon he gave me the following explanation:
Obviously I realized I'd be stirring things up, perhaps even more than they needed to be stirred. But I was curious myself--how is this paper coming out when at least 40 (50?) employees have left since last June? If possible I had hoped to make the list without comment and then readers could have made their own conclusions, but with my set-up the previous week my position was already on record. I realize people need to make a living, have families, mortgages. I realize that there isn't a huge job market for journalists in Santa Barbara. I realize some are still hoping to fight the good fight from within. But what does it mean when by my count maybe 6 of the people in my top list of 35 writers got to vote for the union? The rest are freelancers or management. That's a very typical way for anti-union forces to stop collective bargaining--make sure no one is in the bargaining unit and then squash it like a gnat. So some of these stringers need to be made reporters...and given union rights. Of course Ampersand seems as willing to recognize the union as the Bush White House is wiling to recognize global warming.
My own take on this is that there is no "right" answer to the dilemma these folks face. I'm gratified when people walk away and cite the Roberts smear as the reason. But at the same time I understand that in a town like Santa Barbara, where jobs can be hard to come by, the employer/employee relationship is like a Catholic marriage. You stick it out no matter how bad it gets. For me writing is a hobby, it's not my livelihood. If it were, my attitude might well be the same as those who are still in the building on the south end of De la Guerra Plaza.
* * *
Back on April 17th, I reported that the judge hearing Ampersand Publishing's lawsuit against Susan Paterno, the author of the unflattering American Journalism Review article about the News-Press, granted Ampersand's request to postpone consideration of Paterno's motion to dismiss the case, to allow Ampersand to gather information to assist them in opposing the dismissal motion. Now it looks as though even that small victory by Ampersand will be taken away.
Paterno's attorneys had taken a writ (which is an expedited appeal) on the Orange County Judge's order. Now an appellate court in Orange County has stayed the trial judge's order and has ordered attorneys for Ampersand to appear and explain why the judge's order should be allowed to stand. That hearing is expected to take place in the latter part of July. In the meantime, all proceedings in the case are stayed, meaning that nothing will be happening in the case pending the appellate court making a final ruling on this issue.
* * *
Had the pleasure of having dinner Tuesday night at the Hollister Brewing Company which is located in the Costco Shopping Center at Storke Road and Hollister Avenue. Hollister Brewing is the restaurant that former Downtown Organization executive director Marshall Rose owns with his son Eric and friend Larry Kreider.
The restaurant has been open a bare three weeks but it was very busy when we were in there last night. Marshall told me that they hadn't had a break crowd-wise since they opened.
Although I didn't have a beer (I would have been too wiped out to write this post if I had) I noticed they had nine house brews listed on the board. They have a full bar (and yes I did have a cocktail with dinner.) The food was excellent (I ordered the steak sandwich) but the biggest surprise was dessert. Marshall suggested I try their Stout Float which is just like a root beer float only it's made with real beer instead of root beer. Beer and ice cream? Believe me, it was surprisingly good. And who came up with that idea? According to Marshall it was Eric's invention. And my thanks to Marshall. Dessert was on him.
* * *
If you'd like to read this coming Friday's post today you can. Just pick up a Daily Sound and read my weekly print column which appears on Wednesdays. Today I offer the Mayor a suggestion for her new radio show, describe one of the more horrendous conditions that exists at our county jail, and I talk about that Memorial Day institution, the backyard barbecue.
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Maybe That's Why They Call It "Digital" TV. Tuesday, May 22, 2007. It's been a month since KEYT forced Cox Cable to yank the ABC High Definition (HD) signal from its hi def lineup. That means that those of us with flat screen TV's whether they be plasma, LCD or anything that's Hi Def capable, aren't seeing our favorite shows in high definition. In other words, no NBA playoffs on the weekends, no "Lost," no "Grey's Anatomy" and yes, no "Dancing With the Stars."
I didn't know that "digital TV" meant giving your viewers the finger.
If you're wondering what the big deal is, then you've probably never seen a true high definition picture. Once you've seen it, you wouldn't want to go back to watching regular TV anymore than you'd want to go back to watching black and white after seeing color.
Wondering what the dispute between KEYT and Cox cold possibly be about, I placed a couple of calls last week. First I tried to reach KEYT's General Manager Cathy Jacquemin. She wasn't in so I left a message on her voice mail explaining why I was calling and asking her to call me back. I guess she was too busy watching "All My Children" or "General Hospital" because she never returned my call.
I also called Dave Edelman, who's in charge of community relations for Cox. Dave did return my call. However he told me that he couldn't answer any of my questions because Cox and KEYT had agreed not to talk about the negotiations. Agreed not to talk? I thought "I've Got A Secret" went off the air 30 years ago.
I did manage to ask one question; did Dave know if the negotiators had hi def TV's of their own at home? He chuckled and said he didn't but that he doubted that would have anything to do with it. Easy for him to say.
So, once again, what could they possibly be negotiating over? Isn't it simply a case of Cox having to carry the signals of local stations?
Since neither Cox or KEYT are talking, I asked a friend Hans Laetz, who formerly worked in TV news in the L.A. market, if he could shed any light on what the impasse might be over. Laetz told me that while a local station can demand "must carry" status for their analog signal from cable systems they can still hold out and demand monetary compensation or other concessions for the right to carry their digital or HD signals.
So what might those concessions be? Laetz doesn't know but he did offer this example. KTLA in L.A. is carrying KTLA-SD, KTLA-HD and a music channel called "The Tube" on its digital signal. The Tube competes with MTV, and the cable companies don't get any the commercial revenue from the Tube, as they would from MTV, so the cable companies down there are balking at carrying it.
Laetz gives another example; "Univision has just informed cable companies and satellite firms that it is going to demand $1 per month per subscriber for KMEX-DT. Since Univision commands 60 percent of the Spanish language TV audience they think they have the cable companies by the cajones." Or maybe that should be by the huevos?
So how long will the stand off between Cox and KEYT last? I don't know but if it isn't resolved before the NBA Finals it won't be just the housewives around here who are desperate.
* * *
There's a lot of food for thought today over at "I'm Not One to Blog But . . . " where George is asking those who are still at the News-Press how they can stay there in light of Wendy McCaw's treatment of Jerry Roberts.
* * *
Correction. Contrary to what I said in yesterday's post, it's the Employment Development Department (EDD) and not the Labor Commissioner who has been determining whether fired News-Press reporters are entitled to unemployment benefits.
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The Incredible Shrinking Sunday Paper. Monday, May 21, 2007. I thought the Sunday paper was supposed to be the biggest and fattest edition of the week? Not so at the News-Press where yesterday's paper looked like it was on a Jenny Craig diet, that worked.
I counted two, that's right, two by-lined local stories in yesterday's paper. Everything else was either a photo-essay or a press release masquerading as a "Staff Report." Even Dr. Laura's column was MIA.
Another thing that's been missing from the News-Press lately is free ads for local non-profits. For example, I serve on the board of the Endowment For Youth Committee. This past weekend we put on our annual Black Achievement Awards at UCSB's Campbell Hall recognizing African American Students for their academic excellence. In previous years the News-Press has always donated a complimentary ad where the names of the students being honored were listed. Not this year. The request for an ad was turned down. Fortunately, the Independent stepped up and ran the ad in the paper that hit the racks last Thursday.
Its not a case of the EYC being singled out. News-Press co-publisher Arthur von Weisenberger has put a halt to giving "free" ads to non-profits.
With so little coverage of local news, you'd think they'd at least want some local ads with local names in the paper.
* * *
The News-Press has been contesting the unemployment benefits applications of the reporters it fired. So far two cases have gone to hearing and the News-Press has lost both of them. Barney McManigal and Dawn Hobbs have prevailed in their hearings before the Labor Commissioner with a hearing officer ruling that both McManigal and Hobbs are entitled to collect unemployment benefits. At Hobbs' hearing, Barry Cappello himself showed up and put on the News-Press' case. There hasn't been that much high-priced legal talent showing up before the labor commissioner since the last time I showed up and appeared before the labor commissioner.
Can anyone remember the last time the News-Press had a favorable ruling on a legal issue?
* * *
I caught one of Leana Orsua's first reports for KSBY-TV. I must say, she comes across better on TV than she does in print. Kind of the opposite of me.
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This Week's Daily Sound Print Column. Friday, May 18, 2007. Santa Barbarans are, generally speaking, a good-looking and attractive bunch of people. That fact was reinforced when I took my 11-year-old daughter to Disneyland this past weekend for what has become our annual trip.
(And I know what you're thinking. After 11 months of covering the News-Press meltdown, isn't this guy tired of writing about Mickey Mouse operations?)
Tourists at Disneyland look pretty well fed, which is kind of surprising considering how expensive it is to eat there. While few may leave Disneyland hungry, just about everyone walks out of the place broke.
A fast food lunch for two at the Pizza Port in Tomorrowland ran us nearly $20. That bought us two slices of pizza at 6 bucks a slice, a milk for my daughter and a Coke for myself. A whole pizza would have cost us $31.99. 32 dollars for a pizza! I'll bet that a pizza at Spago in Beverly Hills wouldn't cost you 32 bucks.
It didn't stop with the pizza. McDonald's fries at Disneyland are $3. That's about double what you pay on the street, on any street outside of The Magic Kingdom that is. Disneyland's theme this year is "The Year of a Million Dreams."Now I know what they're talking about. Cha-ching! All day long.
One thing I saw on this trip to Disneyland that I don't recall seeing on previous visits there was lots of newlyweds. How do I know they were newlyweds? The women had on white mouse ears complete with a bridal veil and the men wore top hats that sported mouse ears. Also each couple wore matching T-shirts that said "Bride"and "Groom,"in case there was any doubt.
I thought it took years for married couples to start looking and dressing alike, I never dreamed it could be accomplished within the first week of the honeymoon.
And I thought that a honeymoon was an opportunity for newlyweds to go off by themselves and find each other, not to join the masses of kids at Disneyland who are finding Nemo.
Is Santa Barbara the only place that brides-to-be go on a diet to insure that they will be able to slip into their wedding gowns? Now, how can I say this without getting myself into too much trouble with that segment of the readership that tends to be politically correct? Let me put it this way, without exception everyone of those Disney brides that I saw was rather, shall I say, corpulent? These brides looked like they had spent a lot of time auditioning the applicants for the job of wedding cake baker.
While it may not be true in Santa Barbara, it seems that everywhere else the first words out of a bride's mouth after saying, "I do"are, "let's eat!"
If this is the "happiest place on earth"then why are there so many little kids screaming their heads off? Actually, if my daughter had forced me to ride the California Screamin' rollercoaster in California Adventure, I would have been screaming my head off too. The sign in front of the rollercoaster entrance says; "Expectant mothers should not ride."Now, if I could get them to add to that list the party responsible for the mother's expectant state, any mother's expectant state, even if it was 11 years ago, I'd have a face-saving excuse for stepping out of the line.
* * *
If you're like my daughter, and don't want your trip to Disneyland to end, check out what two members of the local blogging brethren had to say about their recent trips to the Magic Kindgom. Starshine Roshell's post on her Disney experience, appeared last week. And over at "I'm Not One To Blog, But . . ." George talks about the trip he made last fall.
* * *
In case you haven't heard, former News-Press reporter, Leana Orsua, who quit earlier this month has been hired by KSBY TV, as their Santa Barbara based news reporter.
Orsua had actually applied for the KSBY job long before the April 22nd Jerry Roberts story, which she cited as her reason for quitting. Back in April, Orsua was up at KEYT's studios, where she worked part-time prior to her gig with the News-Press, working on her audition tapes with the help of KEYT reporter/anchor Joe Gehl. In fact, she was up there so frequently after hours using their editing machines and computers that someone complained to management. It resulted in a memo being issued stating that only KEYT personnel were permitted to be on the premises after hours.
I know what many of you must be thinking; given her reporting at the News-Press, that must have been one hell of an audition tape that she made.
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Radio Free Marty? Thursday, May 17, 2007. Last Saturday, Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum's radio show debuted. In an e-mail she sent out announcing the show, the Mayor said that the idea to take to the airwaves was a direct result of the lack of City Hall coverage by the News-Press.
After the first show, I asked the Mayor via e-mail how it went? After confessing to being a little nervous doing the show the Mayor told me; "For some people to be expected to talk for 60 minutes, actually 48 after breaks, would be easy, but I have never been long-winded. So I had to work pretty hard, but it turned out to be a great adventure. The time flew by. I took a few phone calls, I loved it, and I think I am hooked!"
The show airs every Saturday, noon to 1 pm on KTMS 1490 AM. No word yet on whether the News-Press will be jamming 1490's radio signal on Saturdays.
* * *
Yesterday, in response to my post on The Hump, a number of you sent me links to sex columns that are carried by Ivy League school newspapers. All I can say is that, I can't thank you enough.
A reader, who identifies himself only as "Sonny," tells me that it was his blog and not mine, that first broke the news about the shot Dr. Laura took at Jerry Roberts. Sonny, if your last name is Corleone, you're not going to get an argument out of me.
* * *
J'Amy Brown of the Indy, is reporting that Guillaume Doane, editor of the Montecito Journal. is leaving the paper. What could possibly entice him to leave Montecito? An opportunity to live in France.
Although J'Amy's Montecito Montage post stated that "former editor Jim Buckley will come out of retirement to join his son, publisher Tim Buckley, to pick up the slack," I have it on good authority that Tim later called J'Amy to say, very adamantly, that his father will not be "coming out of retirement." Apparently, admitting to coming out of retirement in order to go back to work is the quickest way to lose one's street cred in Montecito.
* * *
This Sunday, May 20th, from 2 - 5 p.m. at Crane School in Montecito, Storyteller Children's Center is presenting its StoryFaire.
It's a family event with activities for children and free refreshments. It also features a number of local children's book authors including my good friend Mary Hanson whose newest book, "How to Save Your Tail" has just been published.
For more information call 682-9585 or e-mail jenny@storytellercenter.org. And did I mention that the event is free?
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Let's All Get Over The Hump. Wednesday, May 16, 2007. (Reader alert: If you're not interested in reading about sex, this is a good time to pick up today's Daily Sound and read my print column where I write about Disneyland.)
I think I can take credit for starting the conversation so I will finish it. I believe I was the first in the local blogosphere to point out the shot that Dr. Laura took at former News-Press editor Jerry Roberts on Sunday when she said; "I must say, however, that Mr. Roberts working at The Daily Nexus, which typically presents its own version of vulgar sexuality (check out the "Wednesday Hump" section www.dailynexus.com) looks bad . . . "
For those of you who aren't hip to The Hump, it's the UCSB student run newspaper's weekly feature penned by the paper's sex columnist Jenny Paradise. (Which I understand is her real name.)
And yes, college papers now have sex columnists, or at least the Daily Nexus does. If the Daily Bruin had a sex columnist position back when I was attending UCLA I might have taken up journalism a lot earlier in my career. Of course any woman who dated me back then probably would have advised me to stick to writing about what I know.
Back when I was in college we used to pay good money to buy a Penthouse magazine just so we could read the letters section. (Never mind the pictures.) Now you can get the equivalent of the Penthouse letters section for free in the Daily Nexus. The Hump is raunchy, frank and sometimes, very explicit. You got a problem with that?
Based upon the e-mails I've gotten and from looking at the comments left at other local blogs, I'd say some people do. People who are united in their opposition to Wendy McCaw are divided over The Hump. And people who are rock solid in their support of Jerry Roberts also have differing opinions about The Hump. The Hump is controversial because a good number of people think that it promotes promiscuity.
I'm not a sociologist and I'm not about to start playing one on this blog. I don't know whether it does or not. But like it or not, The Hump is probably here to stay.
You don't have to be a sociologist to know that we're all hung up on sex. Is sex dirty? (I'm of the Woody Allen school of thought on this one.) "Only if it's done right."
Is The Hump an example of your taxpayer dollars at work? No. The Nexus is funded by student fees and advertising sales. No tax dollars were wasted in the creation of The Hump.
Is Jerry Roberts responsible for the contents of the Daily Nexus including The Hump? Jerry explained his role as publications director far better than I can in an April 5th article. But the short answer is no. The Nexus is a student run paper with all decisions about coverage and content being made by student editors. Roberts has nothing to do with The Hump and I'll bet even less to do with any images that were found on any News-Press hard drives.
Does it look bad for Jerry Roberts to be associated with the Daily Nexus? Does it look bad for Chancellor Henry Yang to be running UCSB? Does it look unseemly for all of those Nobel Laureates UCSB is constantly bragging about to be teaching at a school where the newspaper has a sex column?
Should The Hump be allowed to continue to run? UCSB students are virtually all adults and enjoy the First Amendment right of free speech. And if you're bothered by what the kids are writing and reading in The Hump, then you better turn on the TV and check out "The OC" "The Entourage" and "The Whatever Else That's Explicit and Raunchy That They're Watching That I Haven't Heard of Yet."
So you, I, Dr. Laura, and the guy on the corner who's panhandling for change need to all get over The Hump.
And finally, because I know you're dying to ask; am I bothered by the fact that the Daily Nexus runs "The Hump?" Let me put it this way, I'm glad my son will be attending an Ivy League school in the fall.
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Don't Let Wendy Get Wind of This. Tuesday, May 15. 2007. Let's keep today's post between ourselves and hope that News-Press owner Wendy McCaw doesn't get wind of it.
Over the weekend, several of you e-mailed to alert me to the article that appeared in Friday's L.A. Times about a news web site in Pasadena that is outsourcing its local news coverage by hiring reporters in India. Yep, apparently you can go to the Indian edition of craigslist and hire freelance writers to cover your local news. Even if the writers and the stories they're covering are 9,000 miles apart.
The owner of the website resorted to outsourcing because he wanted to broaden his site's content from news releases and event listings to analyses of issues before the city council. We don't know any newspapers around here whose content is limited to news releases and event listings do we?
Experts of course are dubious about this idea. Take Bryce Nelson, a University of Southern California journalism professor and Pasadena resident, who was quoted in the AP version of this story as saying; "This is a truly sad picture of what American journalism could become. Nobody in their right mind would trust the reporting of people who not only don't know the institutions but aren't even there to witness the events and nuances."
This guy has obviously never met Wendy McCaw or read the News-Press in the last 11 months.
If McCaw get's wind of this she might discover an answer to her inability to hire any reporters or editors. Perhaps in the interest of good international relations we should warn the Indians.
If McCaw were to outsource news coverage to India it would open up some interesting possibilities.
Travis Armstrong would turn somersaults when he reads the headline saying "News-Press Hires a Bunch of Indians." I wouldn't want to be the one who has to tell him that they're east Indians and not Native Americans.
Recipes for curried dishes would suddenly dominate the Food section. Make that, vegetarian curried dishes.
Lots of Bengal tiger stories.
Of course it could all be over very quickly if McCaw ever has to call customer support in India and gets put on hold for three hours.
* * *
If I had bothered to re-read Jerry Roberts retraction demand letter, I would have had the identity of the eighth law firm that represents Wendy McCaw. The lawyers are Adela Carrasco and James, Rosen of Rosen & Saba, a Beverly Hills outfit. They are one of two firms that represent McCaw in the arbitration proceedings against Roberts.
* * *
In yesterday's post I wondered out loud what's Dr. Laura doing reading the Wednesday Hump, a weekly feature of UCSB's Daily Nexus.
The good Doctor e-mailed me to say that she had received a number of complaints, going as far back as last year, concerning the Hump and its apparent promotion of hooking up among the undergrads, so she checked it out.
And if any of you readers out there have any complaints about similar sites you'd like me to check out I'd be glad to do it for you.
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If They Were So Happy To Print It Then Why Wasn't Anybody Smiling? Monday, May 14, 2007. So, how grudging a retraction was that? Some have said it was a "non-retraction." In case you're joining this conversation late, let me reset the table for you.
Three weeks ago on April 22nd, the Santa Barbara News-Press ran a front page article that, by any fair reading, attempted to associate former editor Jerry Roberts, with a computer that was discovered to have had child porn on it. Roberts vehemently and adamantly denied the insinuation and Roberts' lawyers served a demand for retraction on the News-Press the very next day.
There was no response to that demand until yesterday, when the News-Press ran on its front page, in the same spot where the offending article had appeared, a "clarification."
The clarification denies that the original article
accused Roberts of being responsible for the presence of the porn.
The clarification states that there were in fact two other people who had been in possession of the computer. The original article said that there "may" have been others who had access to the computer.
Finally, yesterday's clarification reported that the police had been provided with a statement from Roberts' attorney that Roberts had no knowledge concerning the pornography. The original article had reported that when police asked to interview Roberts, he, through his attorney, had refused.
The clarification still does not explain why of the three people who had been assigned the computer, Roberts was the only one who was named in the original article. Of course, of those three people Roberts is the only one whom the News-Press' owner is suing for $25 million, a fact conspicuously absent from both the original article and the clarification.
Sunday afternoon, I spoke by phone with Roberts attorney, Andrine Smith, who demanded the retraction on Roberts' behalf. She felt that the clarification fell short of being a full retraction. Perhaps most importantly she was disappointed that the clarification contained no apology and expressed no regret for the pain the original article caused Roberts and his family. Also disappointing to her was the fact that the News-Press has sunk to this level of journalistic ethics (or lack thereof) to print this story and to use as a weapon in the $25 million arbitration.
So, will yesterday's article be enough to stave off the libel lawsuit that Roberts' attorneys said he would bring if there was not a retraction? Not necessarily. I would say that the article was an attempt to do the bare minimum to comply with what the law requires, and the law does not require a retraction but rather only a correction.
California Civil Code section 48a allows newspapers an opportunity to limit their exposure for publishing defamatory material by making a timely correction of the offending article. If they do so, they can avoid liability for general damages (the damages that would flow naturally and typically as a consequence of the libel) as well as punitive damages (which would be awarded as punishment). Instead, the plaintiff can only recover special damages (damages he suffers that are unique to his particular situation.) For example, if Roberts could show he lost a business opportunity as a result of the article, he could recover monetary damages for that but not for the general injury to reputation that results from liable and no damages to punish the paper for its maliciousness in running a false article.
Special damages are usually harder to establish than general damages but of course, if the correction is deemed inadequate, then those types of damages can be recovered as well.
So yesterday's article, even if it were adequate as a correction (and whether it is is highly debatable) would not necessarily have avoided a libel suit by Roberts. According to Smith, that will be decided rather soon. If they do go ahead and bring a suit Smith hasn't made a decision as to whether they will file a separate suit or to pursue it as a counterclaim within the pending arbitration.
The clarification, which ran without a by-line, concluded by saying; "The News-Press is happy to publish Mr. Roberts' counsel's comments." Yeah, right.
While the clarification which was giving up some ground to Roberts appeared on page A1, Dr. Laura, whose Sunday column appeared on page A2, was taking it back. In her column, which was also about the Roberts story, she said; "[t]he story was about facts. The facts were that the computers were assigned to Mr. Roberts for a significant amount of time."
This is one of those rare occasions when I feel compelled to quote Ronald Reagan; "there you go again." Roberts was just one of three people whom the computer was assigned to but to only associate his name with what was found on computer is to once again insinuate that he is the responsible party.
Towards the end of her column, Dr. L. makes this observation: "I must say, however, that Mr. Roberts working at The Daily Nexus, which typically presents its own version of vulgar sexuality (check out the "Wednesday Hump" section www.dailynexus.com) looks bad . . . "
Didn't the University of California and the students fight the free speech battle about 40 or so years ago in the streets of Berkeley, and didn't the students win?
And what's Dr. Laura doing reading the Wednesday Hump? I mean, it's not like she's out on campus and picking up the paper at the kiosk.
* * *
At least we can count on former Washington Post columnist and current Summerland resident Lou Cannon to raise the level of conversation about the News-Press controversy. Lou had an op-ed piece that appeared in yesterday's L.A. Times, recapping the sorry saga up to this point. The print version of the Times Opinion section prominently displayed the Independent's "Have You No Shame Mrs. McCaw" cover alongside the article.
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A New Hire At The News-Press. Friday, May 11, 2007. The News-Press has hired someone new. However, it's not a reporter or an editor (or even a lawyer). It's an administrative assistant! In other words someone who will finally answer Scott Steepleton's phone and answer his e-mails and deliver the mail. It's a position that has been vacant since Joy Wells left the paper at the end of the year.
* * *
More lawyers? Spend Money! Following up on my posts of the last two days, one of the lawyers representing Ampersand Publishing in the Jerry Roberts arbitration is Wanda Dorgan of the downtown L.A. law firm of Sinnott, Dito, Moura & Puebla.
* * *
Nice article over on Santa Barbara Newsroom yesterday about Goleta City Councilman Roger Aceves' retirement from the Santa Barbara Police Department after 32 years in law enforcement. Roger started out as a dispatcher, then became a Deputy Sheriff prior to signing on as a city police officer. And I'm proud to say that I knew "Deputy" Aceves from my days in the DA's office.
* * *
And, in case you missed it, here's my column from Wednesday's Daily Sound. Haven't changed a word.
Surprised? Well where did you expect me to show up writing a column, the News-Press? Yes, the guy who has become known for chronicling the self-immolation of a newspaper is now writing for one.
If my mother could only see me now. On second thought, maybe it's just as well that she can't. I can hear her voice; "Your father and I paid for you to go to law school and you end up writing a newspaper column!" Not that she would think that there's anything wrong in writing for a newspaper, she just probably figured that at this stage of my career I'd be invoicing my services out at $600 per hour a la local lawyer Barry Cappello and not writing for pennies on the billable hour.
Yes, somewhere in a cemetery in Los Angeles two once proud parents are turning in their graves. Meanwhile, over at De la Guerra Plaza, someone is waving smelling salts under the nose of a certain fifty-something blonde.
I can assure News-Press owner Wendy McCaw that this column will not keep her news-clipping service working overtime. Although I might have made a modest name for myself in this town by telling the inside story of what has been going on at the News-Press for the past 11 months this will not be the hard copy version of Craig Smith¬¨¬®¬¨¬Æ’ÄôˆÝˆ’Äôˆ¢ˆù¬¨¬®À܈ù’ÄôˆÝˆÀܬ¥¬¨¬®À܈ù¬¨¬®’ÄôˆÑ¬¢s Blog. (That's www.craigsmithsblog.com in case you want to take a peek.)
So what will I be writing about? The only thing I can say for sure is that if there's a punch line to be had, there's a fair chance I'll cover the story. So, okay, maybe I will be writing about the News-Press occasionally.
* * *
Judging by the crowds in De la Guerra Plaza this past weekend and the large numbers of college students on State Street Saturday night, I'd say that Cinco de Mayo has become Santa Barbara's true Fiesta Pequeña. If you walked through the Plaza on Saturday you would have sworn that it was the first week of August and that El Mercado was in full swing.
By late Saturday night there were huge lines of people trying to get past the velvet ropes and into the nightclubs. Adding to that first-week-of-August-feeling were the porta-potties that were brought in for the celebration. After all, you can't buy beer you can only rent it.
Earlier on Saturday, 23 graduates of Santa Barbara College of Law received their degrees in a ceremony that took place in the Mural Room at the Court House. Among the group, who are all former students of mine, three graduated with high honors, Linda Liu, Laurie Thrower and Mic DeNiro. DeNiro, a Professor of Geological Sciences at UCSB, is better known to those who frequent the local blogosphere as a regular leaver of comments on the News-Press mess.
If you noticed Mic's feet you might suspect that he's a non-conformist. He accessorized his graduate's robe with Birkenstocks worn with socks. He must have gotten the memo, no shoes, no socks, no diploma.
Graduating with highest honors was Class Valedictorian Jordan Porter. Standing at the podium in front of a room that was jam packed with people, graduation day suddenly turned into Valentine's Day when Jordan, in thanking those who had supported him throughout school, looked over at his pretty wife Heather, who was seated in the front row, and said for all in attendance to hear, "I love you." Now that's one about-to-be lawyer whom you'll never be able to accuse of not having a heart. I'll bet he got "lucky" that night too.
I'm sure Jordan's parents are very proud as well. Although they've probably got their fingers crossed hoping that he doesn't end up as a newspaper columnist.
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Is Wendy McCaw The Lawyers Full Employment Act? Thursday, May 10, 2007. My call for help yesterday seeking the identity of lawyers who have represented Wendy McCaw and her Ampersand Publishing Company got lots of responses. Get your scorecards out so we can update them.
Besides representing Ampersand Publishing in its suit against Susan Paterno, Dreier, Stein & Kahan represents Ampersand in its copyright infringement suit against the Independent. Yesterday I said it was Alcshuler, Grossman. However, Alschuler Grossman split up at the beginning of the year; the firm Dreier, Stein & Kahan was formed from about one-half of the lawyers from the "old" Alcshuler, Grossman.)
Also, a number of you have asked what happened to McCaw labor lawyer, Sandra McCandless? She's still on the case. I should have made it clear that McCandless is a member of the Sonnenchein firm, who I indicated is representing Ampersand in the proceedings before the NLRB.
Besides attorneys who represent her in litigation, McCaw has hired more than a few to fire off the occasional "cease and desist" letter. For instance, Bay Area attorney Wallace Doolittle followed up on a trademark infringement claim against the Teamsters that was first initiated by Ampersand's General Counsel, David Millstein.
Martin Singer has also sent warning letters or e-mails on behalf of the News-Press or its agents. Most recent recipient, the Indy's Nick Welsh.
Interestingly Singer, who proudly holds himself out as the pit-bull to the stars, has threatened legal action against tabloids who cross the line by publishing "dirt" on his clients (including Tom Selleck, Priscilla Presley and Arnold Schwarzenegger) [Singer threatened a "bobble head doll" maker who did one of the Governator with a claim of misappropriating the governor's image, and that threat went nowhere]).
Singer apparently also has a favorite correspondence tag line, in which he says that his threat letters are protected by copyright law, so don't publish them or else. He did that in 2004 with the Arnold threat, and got his letter published on the Internet along with a "booklet" entitled "Sue Me Asshole." He made a similar threat to thesmokinggun.com, which didn't stop it from publishing at least one of his letters as well.
And yes, if I get one I'll publish it here.
Haven't been able to nail down who represents Ampersand in its arbitration with Jerry Roberts. Also, a couple of you wrote to remind me that McCaw is currently in a spat with the Hope Ranch Homeowner's Association over a 12 foot fence she built bordering her property without getting permission. Haven't figured out who represents her in that one either.
I'll bet that when a lawyer's phone rings and its McCaw on the other end saying she'd like to discuss a "legal problem," the attorney probably sends a limo over to pick her up and bring her in.
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You Can't Keep Track of the Lawyers Without A Scorecard. Wednesday, May 9, 2007. Yesterday, in their editorial asking for contributions, the staff of Santa Barbara Newsroom noted that News-Press owner Wendy McCaw has no less than eight law firms representing her. In looking at the comments posted on the other local blogs many people seem to be asking, how can that be? Let's see if I can run down the lineup for you.
I'll start by listing the litigation McCaw has going on that has grown out of the events of last July. Here are the lawsuits and the attorneys who represent Ampersand Publishing, which is the News-Press' parent company:
Ampersand v. Santa Barbara Independent. (Alschuler Grossman)
Ampersand v. Jerry Roberts (Unknown [in arbitration])
Ampersand v. Susan Paterno (Dreier. Stein & Kahan)
Ampersand v. City of Santa Barbara (Barry Cappello)
The NLRB Proceedings (Sonnenchein, Nath & Rosenthal)
Then don't forget that San Francisco attorney David Millstein is Ampersand's President and General Counsel, which in his case seems to mean he does their general bullying.
As Barney Brantingham reported in his on-line column yesterday, Nashville
unionbusting newspaper specialist Michael Zinser has given notice to the NLRB that he will be representing Ampersand before that body. I have also heard that Cappello has also given notice that he will be participating on Ampersand's behalf in future NLRB proceedings.
Except for Cappello, none of the law firms or lawyers are locals. Many of McCaw's legal matters used to be handled by Santa Barbara's Seed Mackall, the former firm of one-time publisher of the paper, Joe Cole, but I understand that its been some time since they have represented her.
So I believe, I'm at least one attorney or law firm short. A little help please!
* * *
McCaw may employ a lot of lawyers but the busiest person at the News-Press must be whomever is in charge of maintaining the staff contact directory. The names have been flying off the page so fast lately they should have Vanna White standing there turning the letters.
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Former News-Press CFO Randy Alcorn is the new chief financial officer of Santa Barbara-based Lack Construction Company.
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It took awhile but I've finally figured out how to make money off the Internet; get a job writing for the print media. Today marks the debut of my weekly print column in the Santa Barbara Daily Sound. And no, its not simply a hard copy version of what you're reading right now. Each week will be an original piece written specifically for the newspaper. Yes, some of the columns may end up posted here, but not until Wednesday's edition of the Sound is off the newsstands.
If you're having trouble finding a copy of Wednesday's Daily Sound, it's probably because I've driven all over town and grabbed them all. But don't worry, the Daily Sound can be read on-line as well and the electronic version of their paper is compatible with all browsers and computer operating systems.
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One local response to youth violence is City at Peace - Santa Barbara. The group will be presenting their original musical play, "Being Human" at Center Stage Theater, May 10, 11 and 12. Tickets are $12 adults, $8 students, and shows are Thursday at 7:00, Friday at 8:00 and Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00. The Thursday show is free to youth. There's a dinner (provided by Aldo's) on Friday at 6:00. $35 includes dinner and the show. For more info call Nancy Davis at 963-6765 x2.
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More youthful thespians can be found over at Santa Barbara High, where they are staging "The
Pajama Game." Playing at 7:00 pm tonight through Saturday (May 9, 10, 11 & 12) it features a live orchestra, professional choreography and a high-energy cast of forty high schoolers singing and dancing their hearts out. The production is set in the 1950's in the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory where a labor dispute (shades of the News-Press) figures into the plot. Ticket prices are $10 adults and $5 students. Santa Barbara High is at 700 E. Anapamu Street.
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Seven Resignations In Seven Days. Tuesday, May 8, 2007. It's official. All three book review writers for the News-Press have resigned. While, Lin Rolens and Susan Miles Gulbransen were e-mailing their resignations on Sunday and Monday respectively, Fred Klein hand carried his for delivery to his editor, Mindy Spar. But Mindy wasn't there to receive it. Nevertheless, here it is:
Dear Mindy:
It pains me to make this decision to leave the paper now. I admire you and the Life Department for its commitment to promote the reading and writing experience. And you represent a long line of Life Section editors who have done such a good job in this important endeavor. I also have great regard for the work of my friends in other departments of the paper. However, the latest attack on the reputation of Jerry Roberts is something I cannot accept. I can't work for an owner who could stoop to such tactics. So it is with regret that I leave the paper after more than ten years as a correspondent.
Good luck to you.
Sincerely
Fred Klein
That makes Fred the seventh News-Press writer to resign in as many days over the controversial Jerry Roberts story.
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For those of you wondering where editorial page editor Travis Armstrong has been, I don't know. He was last seen sitting in the back of the courtroom at last Wednesday's hearing on Ampersand Publishing's motion to get its computer hardware back. For what its worth, while Sunday's edition of the News-Press carried no editorials nor a column by Armstrong, it did carry the following Note to Readers: "Daily editorials will return the week of May 15."
BTW, isn't it about time they changed the name of the Sunday Opinion section from "Voices" to "One Voice?"
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Over at Blogabarbara, guest blogger David Pritchett asks the question; "Is It Still a Paid Subscription if the Sales-Person Gets a 100% Commission?" I'd say the answer is yes. After all, what advertisers want is people who desire to receive the paper. And what better indication of desire to receive the paper is a willingness to pay for it? The fact that the money paid ends up in someone else's pocket is irrelevant to the subscriber. While subscription fees for the most part subsidize the cost of home delivery, it's really advertising that makes or breaks the bottom line of a paper. Now, those unwanted papers that keep arriving long after the subscriber has stopped paying, those are the one's that shouldn't be included in the paid circulation count.
* * *
Speaking of subscriptions, Santa Barbara Newsroom, the website started and staffed by fired News-Press reporters, is asking for donations. A commentary posted on their website on Monday notes that they are in the midst of what figures to be a very long legal and labor battle with News-Press owner Wendy McCaw and needless to say, they are sorely outmatched in the financial resources department. While they look for work and hope for a resolution before the NLRB, they have to find a way to pay their rent, their mortgages and their health insurance.
Also, consider this. A very reliable source has told me that Wendy and her not-so-royal consort, Arthur von Wiesenberger will be heading off to Europe in early June and not returning until the end of July. While the circulation numbers and presumably revenue, at the News-Press are down it's not, as the paper's gossip columnist London Britches might say, "putting the crimpers" on McCaw's lavish lifestyle.
My suggestion; a subscription to the News-Press can be had for as little as 22 cents per day. Take that $80 per year and donate it to Santa Barbara Newsroom.
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Susan Miles Gulbransen Is Latest To Resign From News-Press. Monday, May 7, 2007. Susan Miles Gulbransen, who has reviewed books for the Santa Barbara News-Press since 1986, has submitted her resignation. Like others who have resigned within the past week, she cites the ill-conceived April 22nd article regarding former editor Jerry Roberts as being the last straw.
Below is the letter of resignation that she sent to the News-Press shortly after 12 noon on Monday:
My connection to the Santa Barbara News-Press goes back to a wondrous afternoon when I was in grammar school. On my father's chair was the freshly delivered evening News-Press with a headline update on the Korean War. For the first time, I didn't grab the funnies but read the article. Right then I realized that newspapers provide a link to the world no other resource could.
Ever since, I've felt a deep attachment to this paper, especially when I joined as a book reviewer in 1986 and could say, "I write for the News-Press." When my book column, InPrint, began in 1993 as part of the Book Pages in the Life section, I would tell people with pride, "I"m in the middle of Life each Sunday."
In the past several months, our News-Press has become the ghost of a paper-past. This was driven home with a force I could have never imagined when I opened the paper on Sunday, April 22, and saw the article about Ampersand accusing Jerry Roberts of downloading child porn on a company computer. Santa Barbara is home to CALM (Child Abuse Listening and Mediation), which makes reporting such a serious allegation based on suspicion not fact and front-page news even more reprehensible to me.
It is with a grieving heart that I can no longer be affiliated with this kind of journalism and must withdraw my column. I have had a great run and worked with some outstanding editors, Marcia Meier, Linda Bowen, Melinda Johnson, Steve Ainsley, and Jerry Roberts among them. I have admired them and many others professionally and as human beings. I would love to have those days back, but for now must sign off.
That brings to at least six, by my count, the number of editorial staff who have quit and cited the Jerry Roberts article as a factor in their resignations.
Last week business writer Steve Bonser and news reporter Leana Orsua resigned. Last Thursday, The Indy reported that sports stringer Dan Shiells and Life section writer Judy Foreman also quit. As I reported yesterday, Lin Rolens, also a book reviewer resigned. The resignation of Fred Klein, a third book review writer, is believed to be imminent if it has not already been submitted.
As for Gulbransen's immediate plans, she hopes to devote more time to ensuring that the Granada Theater opens on time next spring (she serves on the Granada's board) and also has some on going writing projects.
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News-Press Book Reviewer Lin Rolens Resigns. Sunday, May 6, 2007. Lin Rolens, whose book reviews have been a regular feature of the Sunday News-Press for the past 12 years, has resigned. As with other recent resignations, the Jerry Roberts smear story is one of the reasons. On Sunday morning she notified co-publisher, Wendy McCaw, associate editor Scott Steepleton and Life Editor Mindy Spar by e-mail of her decision. Rolens' full statement is set forth below.
I elect to stop reviewing books for the News Press with a heavy heart. My commitment to the paper for the last dozen years has been both a pleasure and an ongoing attempt to continue the tradition of quality journalism in Santa Barbara.
It has become an increasingly difficult matter of conscience to write for Ampersand Publishing and for a paper ever thinning in substance and relevance; for some time only the advice of one former columnist to "write as long as they'll let you" has kept me going.
I am grateful to my editors, who have been consistently supportive and professionally inspiring, in particular Linda Bowen, Melinda Johnson, Gary Robb and Andrea Huebner. I'm also grateful to readers of my reviews for their helpful feedback, and, of course, it has been a delight to be on the books page with Susan Gulbransen and Fred Klein.
Two things have brought me to this point. The first and more obvious was when the News Press stepped over the line and used an unsigned article on its front page to insinuate that Jerry Roberts downloaded child pornography on a company computer; they did this apparently in full knowledge that local authorities had decided there was no basis for filing charges.
The second element in this decision was an 800 page book on the Holocaust that I reviewed several weeks ago. It was a painful read and a difficult review, and one of the chilling points of the book was how much the German people clearly knew about the genocide undertaken in their name; the only heartening portions of the book chronicled the several occupied countries that took responsibility and stood up to successfully protect their endangered populations, as they did in Denmark and Belgium.
The obvious lesson is that, when we encounter a direct affront to decency and what we value, we have two choices: we can be part of the problem or part of the solution. As a correlate, if we assume we don't possess power, we'll quickly be correct. As writers, readers, advertisers, even liners of bird cages, we need, each of us, to make choices that honor our conscience and the very nature of the place we live.
Let us not be indifferent or intimidated: we must work toward a press that represents us as a community and reflects our values.
Rolens' resignation is effective immediately. She had earlier submitted a book review to the paper that has yet to appear. Whether it will run at this point remains to be seen. In the meantime, she plans to continue teaching creative writing and contemporary literature at Brooks Institute and Ventura College.
With Rolens resignation one can only wonder whether fellow book reviewers Susan Gulbransen and Fred Klein can be far behind.
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Leana Talks to Craig. Friday, May 4, 2007. During the nine months that she worked there, she managed to stay out of office politics. In other words, she avoided the controversy over the ethical wall and unionization. But when the Santa Barbara News-Press ran a front page story on April 22nd that attempted to link its former executive editor to kiddie porn, News-Press staff writer Leana Orsua had enough. By the very next day, she made up her mind that she was resigning.
I spoke with Leana by phone late Thursday afternoon. She had joined the troubled paper because she wanted to pursue a career in journalism. But day in and day out she reported to a newsroom that was a sea of empty desks. The story on Roberts convinced her that this was no longer a healthy working environment, "not that it ever was" she added.
When she showed up to submit her resignation on Thursday morning, no one from management was there to receive it. Human Resources Director Yolanda Apodaca was gone, as was her boss Associate Editor Scott Steepleton. She was cleaning out her desk when Steepleton called with a story assignment for her. She told him she had actually come in to resign which seemed to surprise him.
I asked her if a particularly harsh front page correction which appeared in Wednesday's paper and appeared to single her out played any role in her decision to quit. "Absolutely nothing to do with it" she said. The fact that she, according to others at the paper, had taken a number of sick days off in the past week (knowing she was a short-timer) would appear to corroborate that.
Leana (who is shown talking to me in this picture taken in February) told me that it "feels like heavy burden has been lifted" and that there is a "ton of bricks off of her shoulders." "I should have been out of there a long time ago." She wants to stay in journalism and has a couple of irons in the fire elsewhere, but for now, is looking forward to taking a couple of weeks off.
As one reader pointed out, with Orsua's resignation that leaves the News-Press with more publishers than hard news reporters. No one buys tickets to a Lakers game to watch Jerry Buss sit in the owner's box. I'm amazed that McCaw can sell any papers these days.
* * *
I mentioned last week that there had been a flurry of subscription cancellations in the wake of the Jerry Roberts smear story. One of my readers who cancelled in response to the article, sent me a copy of a letter she received from co-publisher Arthur von Weisenberger. The letter, dated April 27, starts out by saying; "I am sorry to hear that you have cancelled your subscription to the Santa Barbara News-Press. It was especially distressing to read that it was Sunday's story about child pornography found on a News-Press computer hard drive that influenced your decision." The letter goes on to maintain that "the article is not libelous" and makes a number of other assertions which, in my opinion, flirt with repeating the libel. For that reason, I've elected not to post a copy of the letter. But I do think the fact that this letter has been sent out as a part of a process of damage control, evidences the extent of the backlash the article has evoked.
Many people have speculated about the mysterious follow-up editorial on this subject that was posted briefly on the News-Press website before being removed. The editorial never appeared in the print edition. My theory, and its only a theory, is that they had planned to run the editorial and then pulled it when they realized that continuing down this sordid path would only lose them more readers.
It's been quite a week on the News-Press front. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a break.
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News-Press Reporter Leana Orsua Resigns. Thursday, May 3, 2007, 1:12 p.m. Yet another news reporter has resigned from the Santa Barbara News-Press. Leana Orsua, who had been with the paper for less than a year handed in her resignation this morning. As with the recent resignation of business writer Steve Bonser, the catalyst for the resignation was the April 22nd story regarding former editor Jerry Roberts.
More details will follow as they come in.
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All That Was Missing Was A Box of Doughnuts. Thursday, May 3, 2007. I've spent a lot of time in courtrooms in this county and except for the Michael Jackson trial, I don't think I've even seen the local media show up for a hearing the way they showed up for yesterday's motion by the News-Press to compel the police department to return some of its computer hardware.
It seemed like everybody who was anybody in the media was there including even a few nobodies like myself. I sat next to Barney Brantingham who looked quite dapper in his blue blazer and tie. (Barney usually sports an Hawaiian style shirt.) Also covering the case for the Independent were Matt Kettmann, Nick Welsh and photographer Paul Wellman.
Sally Cappon was there for the Santa Maria Times, Colby Frazier was reporting for the Daily Sound, and Tom Schultz was the correspondent for Santa Barbara Newsroom. UCSB was well represented with David Ferry from the Daily Nexus and Cathy Murillo of KCSB. Besides myself, Peter Sklar of Edhat was there to represent the "fringe" media.
Speaking of "fringe" media, the News-Press was even represented with Associate Editor Scott Steepleton (who wrote the article on the hearing that appears in today's paper) and Editorial Page Editor Travis Armstrong watching the proceedings from the back of the courtroom.
KSBY's Carina Corral was the lone TV reporter in attendance and her story ran near the top of their 6 o'clock news. Carina was able to get a post-hearing interview with Barry Cappello. She had better luck than documentary filmmaker Sam Tyler. When Tyler introduced himself to Cappello, Cappello said somthing like "oh yeah" and then turned and started walking away with Tyler and his camera crew in pursuit.
Also there covering the story was a video crew from the new News-Press TV. Yes, you heard me right, newspress.tv.
It was not a good morning for anyone who had a camera. Although cameras were permitted into the courtroom the bailiffs (and I had not seen that many bailiffs in a courtroom since the Jackson trial) firmly ordered them shut off assuring all present that the judge would address the question of when they could be turned on and what could be filmed or shot. Judge Brown took the bench and called a number of cases before calling the News-Press matter. Once he called the News-Press case he plunged into hearing the arguments without ever addressing the camera question. As a result, there is no inside the courtroom footage of the proceedings to be had.
One of the matters on the calendar that morning that was called before the News-Press case involved well-known developer and wheeler-dealer, Bill Levy. Why was Levy in court? Two words, debtor's exam.
A crowd of nearly 60 people showed up for the Shame On Wendy Demonstration outside the courthouse prior to yesterday's hearing.
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Starting next Wednesday, I will be writing a weekly column for the Santa Barbara Daily Sound. Each week will be an original, print only column. Of course I'll still be doing the blog. But now once a week, I'll be easier than ever to pick up and take home.
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Judge Sticks To His Guns, Denies News-Press Motion. Wednesday, May 2, 2007. As expected, Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge James Brown denied the News-Press' motion to force the Santa Barbara Police Department to return the paper's computers and hard disks which the police took custody of during the course of an investigation.
As I said yesterday, judges rarely change their minds after having issued tentative decisions, and this case was no exception. Barry Cappello, the attorney who represents Ampersand Publishing, which is the parent company of the News-Press, made an argument at Wednesday morning's hearing before a packed courtroom, consisting mostly of media types, in which he suggested that there were three points the judge had not given proper consideration to. After listening patiently to Cappello and City Attorney Steve Wiley who represented the police department, the judge stuck to his guns. The only change he made was to extend from 60 to 120 days the period during which the police department is prohibited from destroying any evidence they have in their possession.
So what did we learn new from this proceeding? First, the News-Press' theory of why they need the computers and disks back is that it may be useful to them in their pending lawsuit against former Executive Editor Jerry Roberts which is being heard by an arbitrator. In fact Cappello said that the hard drive is "our defense to emotional distress damages." The judge's response to that argument, as set forth in his tentative decision, was if that's the case then the proper forum to address return of the hard drive is through a discovery motion before the arbitrator and not the Public Records Act request which was before Judge Brown. In fact, the judge in the tentative ruling suggested that this was an "end run" around the discovery process. Cappello apparently got that message because at one point in his argument he stated; "We're going to go to the arbitrator and deal with that."
According to Wiley, the investigation is not over. The FBI, who has a clone of the hard drive, continues to investigate the matter. Wiley, in an apparent reference to the April 22nd front-page News-Press article that linked Jerry Roberts to the computers in question, expressed his concern over the "ability to tarnish someone's reputation before the prosecutorial authorities have a chance to weigh in." That comment was the one that presumably caused Cappello to accuse Wiley of "grandstanding" when it came time for Cappello to make his argument in rebuttal. But Judge Brown indicated he was not interested in hearing that kind of talk.
Cappello, for the first time as far as I am aware, made the claim that the hard drive was not "used" and would at some point in the future be producing a declaration from the company that sold the computer to the News-Press to that effect. He also claimed that the police department used "inadequate software" in their effort to determine when the objectionable images were placed on the hard drive.
So look for this skirmish to go before the arbitrator where the News-Press will undoubtedly try to have a subpoena issued to the police department requiring them to turn over the computer hardware. Whomever loses that battle will undoubtedly be back in court before Judge Brown trying to get the arbitrator's ruling overturned.
Outside the courtroom after the hearing, Dennis Merenbach, who represents Roberts and was inside the courtroom as an observer made the point that the News-Press' tactics in running the April 22nd were not merely an attack on an individual but was rather an attack on the fourth estate. And no, they have not heard anything from the News-Press in response to their retraction demand.
I've known Barry Cappello casually over the years as a fellow member of the local bar. But I was taken by surprise when at the conclusion of the hearing Barry turned, extended his hand over the rail that separates the spectators from the lawyers (I was sitting in the first row) and warmly greeted me saying; "I read your blog every day." Aw gee Barry, I'll bet you say that to all the bloggers.
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The News-Press Faces Losses In Circulation, In the Newsroom, and In The Courtroom. Wednesday, May 2, 2007. As I reported yesterday, the latest circulation figures for the News-Press are in and like most newspapers the News-Press reported a decline. Total daily circulation for the News-Press is down by 9.5 per cent. Industrywide it's down around 2.1 percent, which means that the News-Press is declining at almost five times the rate of most other newspapers.
The paper's official audited daily circulation now stands at 38,000. A year ago, the paper's daily circulation was reported as being 41,000. When Wendy McCaw bought the paper from the New York Times Company in November 2000 daily circulation was pegged at 45,300. As late as the mid-1990's, the paper's daily circulation was as high as 58,000. Regardless of the optimistic statements coming out of the building at the south end of De la Guerra Plaza it seems that McCaw is leading the paper in the wrong direction, and taking it there fast.
However, declining circulation numbers are not necessarily inevitable. North of us at the Santa Maria Times circulation has increased by as much as 6 percent over the same period last year. I'm sure it helps to be based in the fastest growing part of the county. It probably also helps not to be at war with the community that you serve.
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As I also reported yesterday, News-Press business writer Steve Bonser, who had only been with the paper since January 2nd of this year, resigned Friday. Yesterday afternoon I caught up with him by telephone. He confirmed that his resignation was his own personal protest over the Jerry Roberts article that ran on April 22. Steve told me that he simply felt that he could not continue as a writer for a news organization that was capable of allowing its pages to be tarnished with what appeared to be nothing more than an unfounded and direct personal attack on a private citizen. Steve proved himself to be an old fashioned news reporter, one who believes that a newspaper should print news and opinion, not innuendo. He did have kind words for his colleagues though:
I'd like to emphasize that without exception, the reporters, photographers and copy desk people I worked with and came to know in the News-Press newsroom are wonderful, talented and highly professional journalists. So too were the reporters (who were) fired in February. That's the real tragedy about the recent troubled past of this once fine newspaper - lives are being disrupted and careers are being ruined or at best, put on hold. I believe that virtually each person that walks through the doors every day of the historic building on De la Guerra Plaza all share one united desire - to simply see things change for the better.
I'm sure that Steve will be missed at the News-Press. When Steve informed his superiors he was leaving, business editor Dale Rim asked him to reconsider and think about it over the weekend. Steve is the one who came up with the idea for the "Started In Santa Barbara" column, which highlights local business that, well, got started in Santa Barbara.
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In the courtroom this morning, the News-Press' luck figures to be no better. Based upon the tentative ruling that was issued by Judge Brown yesterday afternoon, the News-Press is going to lose in its attempt to have its computer hard drive returned to them so they can comb it for evidence to use in their case against former executive editor Jerry Roberts. I plan on doing an update later this morning on what transpired at the court hearing.
Prior to the court hearing The Shame On Wendy Demonstration will take place from 8:45 to 9:15 a.m. this morning at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Arch on Anacapa Street.
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If you're a Mac user like me, you haven't been able to access the Daily Sound's electronic edition which is available on the web. It was PC/Internet Explorer only compatible. No more, the electronic edition is now available across all browsers and platforms Mac and PC. It can be found at www.dailysoundonline.com/ Check it out, it's very cool.
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Court Indicates Its Intention to Deny News-Press Motion For Return of Computer Hard Disk. Tuesday, May 1, 2007. Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge James Brown has posted his tentative ruling indicating his intention to deny the News-Press' request for the return of a computer hard drive that was allegedly in the possession of former executive editor Jerry Roberts.
The hard drive was discovered to have pornographic images on it. Although the computer from which it was taken was purchased by the News-Press as a used item and was assigned to and within the control of a number of people at the paper in addition to Roberts, the News-Press argued that it needs the data from the computer as it might be pertinent to its civil suit with Roberts which is pending before an arbitrator.
Judge Brown indicates in his ruling that while that may be so, that should really be determined by the arbitrator. The judge has indicated he will deny the motion but that the return of the drive is something that can properly be considered by the arbitrator.
It is a "tentative" ruling and the News-Press will still have a chance to argue their case before the judge tomorrow morning (Wednesday). My own experience though is that once a court announces a tentative ruling it is very hard to get the judge to change his mind.
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Smear Appears To Have Caused At Least One Resignation. Tuesday, May 1, 2007. News-Press business writer Steve Bonser, reportedly unhappy with the paper's attempt to smear Jerry Roberts, has quit. This all according to sources inside the paper. Bonser had only been with the paper for a few months. Attempts by me to reach him on Monday evening were unsuccessful.
* * *
7:15 a.m. Update. According to this morning's L.A. Times, the latest ABC audit figures are out. News-Press circulation dropped 9.5% to 38,000. According to the Times, that's one of the biggest declines in the region. I'm sure we'll be seeing more analysis of the decline in the days to come.
* * *
The slogan "McCaw Obey The Law" appears to have been overtaken in popularity by "Have You No Shame, Mrs. McCaw?"
The quote has its origin in the Army-McCarthy hearings which took place over 50 years ago. The man who uttered the words was Joseph Welch in an attempt to put the brakes on Senator Joseph McCarthy who was about to smear an innocent man as being a communist. Although the quote is often remembered as "have you no shame" these are the words that Welch actually uttered:
Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator; you've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
He then left the room to loud applause from the spectators, and a recess was called. That showdown and those words are thought by many to have been the turning point in the infamous McCarthy hearings and the beginning of the end of Joe McCarthy. We can only hope that the same will happen here, at least insofar as the return of humanity and decency to the publisher's suite.
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Lamenting The Lost Vegas. Monday, April 30, 2007. It had been 23 years since I last visited Las Vegas, and I have to tell you, I much preferred the old Vegas. The one I last stopped off at for the $1.99 breakfast buffet on the way to Utah to go skiing, The one that I stopped at on the way back for the $5.95 prime rib dinner. The Vegas that I first visited when I was 10 years old and was a stopover on a family trip to the Grand Canyon. The one that is depicted in Ocean's Eleven, the original version not the 2001 remake. But that Vegas is gone and, like Sinatra and Elvis, its not coming back.
If I remember correctly, four of the five hotel/casinos that figured so prominently in the original movie are no longer. No more are The Sands, Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn, The Stardust or The Dunes. The only one that still remains is the Flamingo. Where is the historical landmarks committee when you need them?
I'm glad I didn't bring my 11 year old daughter with us on this trip. I would have had a lot of explaining to do about all of those billboards we saw on the short shuttle ride between the airport and the hotel. ("Daddy, what's an 'escort' service?") The old Vegas left a lot to the imagination. The new Vegas leaves very little. Judging by all of the placards on taxis advertising "Gentlemen's Clubs" its obvious they didn't build this city for rock and roll. They built it for women who dance on the pole.
The old Vegas had virtually no competition when it came to gambling. That is until Native Americans took down the tipis on their reservations and replaced them with casinos. I remember my grandmother had one of those crass kitchen aprons that said; "To Hell With the Housework, Let's Go to Las Vegas!" Now if grandma wants to play blackjack, poker, slots or bingo, you no longer have to pile everyone into the car and head off to Vegas. You only have to drive over to your neighborhood Paiute Palace.
Perhaps because Indian gaming not only threatened to compete on the casino floor but on the showroom floor as well in its ability to attract headline entertainers, Vegas started promoting its adult entertainment angle. You know, "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." I find that a little bit deceiving, because in my case the only thing that happened to stay in Vegas was my money.
The tawdry "Sin City" reputation is about the only thing that is cheap about Vegas anymore. Certainly not the entertainment or the food or the drink. $175 bucks will get you into the standing room only section of Prince's show at the Rio and entitle you to buy cocktails at $12 a pop. In the city with more hotel rooms than any other in the world its hard to come by an inexpensive one on the weekend. When a room at The Venetian costs more than a room in Venice, Italy, something is seriously wrong.
So after a 23 year absence, it was all quite a shock. Anyone care to wager on how long it will be before I return?
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The highlight of the trip was seeing Prince in concert. Rather than tell you about it here I'll just refer you to the article about his Las Vegas gig that appeared in the New Yorker. The first paragraph describes my experience to a tee.
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In order of preference, my five favorite movies about Las Vegas.
Ocean's Eleven. (Original version.) As far as I'm concerned, this was the birth of cool.
The Cooler. In case you had any doubts that the odds are always stacked in favor of the house.
Ocean's Eleven (2001 remake.) George Clooney is the new Frank Sinatra, Julia Roberts is the new Angie Dickinson.
Leaving Las Vegas. Two words, Elizabeth Shue.
Showgirls. I know, I'll get e-mails, but this is the movie that was so bad its become a camp classic.
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ABC HD Viewers Still Held Hostage. Weekend two of the NBA playoffs and ABC HD is blacked out in Santa Barbara. KEYT's general manager was out of town for the weekend and won't be back until Tuesday. So it will be at least that long before the squabble is resolved. In the meantime, Doc Searls suggested this workaround on his blog.
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From The People Who Brought You Operation Cold Shoulder. The Shame On Wendy Demonstration. Described as a demonstration of community outrage it will be held:
Wednesday, May 2, 2007, 8:45 to 9:15 a.m. at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Arch on Anacapa Street. Bring your covers from this week's Indy to hold up as a sign of disapproval. For more info: operationcoldshoulder@gmail.com
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Not A Pretty Picture. Friday, April 27, 2007. If you have a high definition TV (HDTV) and subscribe to Cox Cable's HDTV service you are probably aware of the nasty little spat that has broken out in the last fews days between Cox and local ABC affiliate KEYT.
KEYT was the last holdout among the three local network affiliates when it came to broadcasting a high def signal. When ABC had the Superbowl in Febrruary 2006, Santa Barbara viewers were in danger of not being able able to see it in high def because KEYT didn't have a high def signal. At the last minute, Cox Cable threw the high def feed of KABC, the ABC owned and operated station in L.A. onto channel 703, the spot reserved for KEYT. KABC has occupied that spot ever since. That is, until last Friday when KEYT, who finally has a high def signal, exercised its right to bump KABC off the cable. After all, KEYT's audience was being cannibalized by the presence of KABC. Local advertisers who bought ads during prime time were not having their ads seen by Santa Barbara viewers who had HDTV's. Rather they were seeing the local ads being carried by KABC. And of course KABC's local newscasts competed with KEYT's.
So KABC HD has been replaced by KEYT"s HD right? Wrong! Due to a contractual dispute between Cox and KEYT, there is now no HDTV programming from ABC available to Santa Barbara viewers. If you're like me and are looking forward to seeing the Laker game in high def on ABC on Sunday afternoon, we're probably out of luck. Same for those of you who are fans of Dancing With The Stars, Lost, Grey's Anatomy or Boston Legal.
So who's at fault? Cox points the finger at KEYT saying they are demanding too much money for the right to carry their signal. KEYT says they merely want to be treated like the other local network affiliates. Cox counters by saying if that's all they wanted they would be on the cable system right now. In the meantime all I want is my ABC HD!
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Speaking of KEYT, I caught former KEYT weather dude John Fredericks on the tube while I was in Las Vegas. Fredericks is the morning weather guy on the NBC affiliate there. Fredericks was the original weather guy on KEYT's Morning News about 10 or so years ago.
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And while I'm on the KEYT alumni club, former KEYT reporter Lance Orozco, who is now the news director and reporter at KCLU-FM, was honored last month by the Associated Press Television and Radio Association of California and Nevada as Radio Reporter of the Year.
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Add Edhat to the list of websites that have been blocked by the News-Press.
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Not a Pretty Picture Either. Besides containing two insightful perspectives, written by Barney Brantingham and Nick Welsh respectively, on the shameful sliming of Jerry Roberts by Wendy McCaw, this week's Independent has one of the most talked about covers in a long time. I was thinking what better way for the community to show its displeasure with McCaw's actions than displaying the cover in their place of work or business. Instead of discarding this week's Indy when you're done with it, display the cover in the window of your retail business or prop it up on the reception desk where the public can see it when they walk in the door. After all, how can someone threaten to enjoin you for displaying a weekly newspaper? Let's see Barry Cappello try to cease and desist that!
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As They Say, What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas. Thursday, April 26, 2007. Wednesday night I had the pleasure of speaking to George Thurlow's "Exploding Media Myths"
class which is part of the Omega program at SBCC. One of the questions I was asked was how I put together each day's blog and how long it takes me.
I explained that I usually start writing the next day's post each evening after dinner and hopefully, am finished by 11 pm, but the information gathering process occurs throughout the day.
Yesterday was a good example. I had been studying the documents that Jerry Roberts had provided to the media at his press conference on Sunday. One of them was a letter from Eric Hanson, the Chief Trial Deputy for the District Attorney's Office, explaining why there wasn't enough evidence to establish who may have been responsible for the images on the hard drive.
Eric is one of my oldest and best friends. We started working in the DA's office around the same time. He was even one of the groomsmen at my wedding 20 plus years ago when I married my now ex-wife. I figure if anybody can get the real scoop from Eric it's me.
I call him late in the morning and get his voice mail. I leave a message. He calls me back early in the afternoon. I ask him, "How was your ski trip to Mammoth?" "Fine." He answers, "but I know that's not the reason why you're calling." (I think to myself' I knew they picked a smart guy when they made him Chief Trial Deputy.) "You got that right!" I reply. "I'm calling about the Jerry Roberts thing." He says, "Well, I talked to the boss and she says our answer is strictly 'no comment.'" "Can you talk off the record?" I inquire. "Nope." "Well, let me ask some questions anyway." "You can try."
I forge ahead. "Did you write this letter because the News-Press was unhappy with the investigating officer's conclusion that there was no case and they asked you for a second opinion?" "No comment." "Is the hard disk still with the FBI?" "No comment." Seeing that I'm getting nowhere fast I abandon the questioning.
Obviously relieved that the inquisition is over, Eric then asks; "So what else is new?" "Well, I just got back from Vegas." "Oh really, how was it?" "No comment," I answer.
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An editorial that was posted on the News-Press website shortly after midnight, and then removed by 8:30 am Wednesday morning, claimed that the police department "blew" the investigation into the source of the images on the hard disk. The editorial didn't appear at all in Wednesday's print edition. So what's the explanation for the "now-you-see-it-now-you-don't" editorial? According to a source familiar with the way things work at the News-Press; "The publication of it on the web was a combination of an automated web publishing process and human error. Looks like they originally intended it to run (Wednesday) but changed their mind."
As I discussed yesterday, it looks to me like the backlash from the Roberts article has been significant. The damage control plan appears to be "if the police won't investigate this properly, we will!" In light of the fact that both the Santa Barbara Police and the FBI have come up with nothing, it would look awfully fishy if the News-Press somehow miraculously produces a smoking gun. I'm sure their $25 million claim against Roberts would have nothing to do with it.
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The News-Press building is now blog free! As reported in the Indy's Media Blog, computers on the News-Press network are now blocked from accessing yours truly's blog as well as Blogabarbara. Also, blocked from access are Independent.com and Santa Barbara News-Room. In the case of the latter two sites, perhaps News-Press management doesn't want employees to see what a real news reporting organization looks like.
I have heard that the motivation for blocking access may have been, in part, related to productivity. With so little going on these days in some of the departments, employees were spending too much time surfing the web. Well, they certainly won't have that problem anymore if the only news-site they can access is newspress.com.
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Best selfless act of the day. A News-Press employee, who for obvious reasons shall remain nameless, told me that s/he is donating the equivalent of a day's wages to Jerry Robert's defense fund.
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Spotted having dinner Tuesday night at Lucky's in Montecito were Wendy McCaw and the new News- Press gossip columnist, London Britches, or whatever his name is.
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Slapdash Smear Results In Backlash. Wednesday, April 25, 2007. I would say that if there was anyone who was still sitting on the fence that divided News-Press owner Wendy McCaw's supporters from her opponents she pushed them into her opponent's camp with Sunday's attempt to slime the reputation of former editor Jerry Roberts. I wouldn't be surprised if a number of supporters end up jumping that fence to defect as well.
Indeed in perusing the comments left on the other local blogs, there was hardly anyone willing to speak up in defense of McCaw. My sense of things is that even people who were heretofore indifferent to the controversy at the News-Press are now outraged by what was published on Sunday.
According to well-placed sources, the News-Press experienced a flurry of subscription cancellations in the wake of the Roberts article. A reader of this blog e-mailed to tell me that her mother was finally canceling her subscription to the News-Press and was going to contribute the amount of the one year subscription to Jerry Robert's defense fund. Best idea I've heard all day.
My guess is that about the only people in town who still support McCaw are those who are billing her by the hour or are getting paid by the word. If you're sharpie lawyer Barry Cappello then McCaw is the goose who laid the golden egg, the new Ferrari in the driveway of your Hope Ranch Estate, that new vacation home that you always wanted in Aspen. To the rest of us she's a one woman destruction crew who has single-handedly demolished what was once a solid newspaper. The Cleveland Wrecking Company ain't got nothing on Wendy.
You've probably already read it elsewhere by now, but I should have mentioned it in my post yesterday, Jerry Roberts has made a formal demand that the News-Press retract Sunday's story.
If you take the time to read the documents posted on Santa Barbara Newsroom that detail some of the events that led the Santa Barbara Police Department as well as the District Attorney to conclude that there was no case to be made against Roberts, the person who emerges as the true hero in all of this is Raul Gil, the former Director of Systems for the News-Press. Raul believed that the paper's ownership was out to ruin Roberts' reputation. Rather than remain silent and keep his job Raul chose to speak up.
Speaking of courage, the nine journalists who resigned from the News-Press last July to protest McCaw's interference with news coverage will be receiving the 2007 Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism. The former staffers sharing the award are Roberts; George Foulsham, former managing editor; Don Murphy, former deputy managing editor; Gerry Spratt, former sports editor; Michael Todd, former business editor; Jane Hulse, former city editor; Colin Powers, former presentation editor; Scott Hadly, former reporter; and former columnist Barney Brantingham.
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Finally, I adjourn today in memory of Kathy Morrelli who died on April 19th in a one car crash at the intersection of Highways 246 and 154. Kathy had been a probation officer for Santa Barbara County for the last 13 years. A memorial service is being held this morning (Wednesday) in the Courthouse Mural Room at 9:30 am.
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Lack of a Story Doesn't Stop the News-Press From Printing One. Tuesday, April 24, 2007. As several of you have e-mailed to point out, I picked a bad weekend to go out of town. How was I to know that News-Press owner Wendy McCaw would choose Earth Day to get as down and dirty as one could imagine?
While many of us have long suspected that McCaw is a ruthless, vindictive and vengeful woman, she removed what little doubt that remained by undoubtedly personally ordering that an article smearing her former editor Jerry Roberts be run on the front page of Sunday's edition of the News-Press.
So how did I first find out about the article? I was strolling through a Las Vegas casino on Sunday morning when I noticed that a voice mail message had been left on my cell phone. I listened and learned that the weekend I gambled and went to Vegas, Wendy chose to double down on the sleaze.
I'm not going to try to attempt to play catch up with what has transpired in the 48 hours since that article appeared. If you haven't already seen them, there are good reports on what has taken place in the Daily Sound, The Independent, the Santa Maria Times, Santa Barbara Newsroom the New York Times and Barney Brantingham's Monday on-line only column.
Consider the following; Sunday's News-Press story had no by-line. Whomever wrote it was too ashamed to put their name on it.
The story glosses over the fact that law enforcement has no evidence that anyone associated with the News-Press, let alone, Jerry Roberts, was responsible for loading those images onto the hard drive. After all, the computer was bought used and had been assigned to several people over a period of years at the paper.
The story totally omits the fact that McCaw has a $25 million dollar arbitration claim pending against Roberts, which of course would be suggestive of what the motive behind all of this might possibly be.
The story was literally stuck into the paper after everyone else had been sent home. Yep, the copy editors, except for one, were allowed to go home on Saturday evening, while the other was told to stay behind because there would be one more story coming. That was the Robert's smear piece. It made it into the paper virtually unchecked by any editors, which also explains why it did not make it onto the News-Press website until very late on Sunday.
McCaw had been spoiling to run this story for quite some time. But when it didn't turn out the way she wanted it to, she apparently had the story written anyway. Back in early February, News-Press lawyer Barry Cappello filed a motion in the Superior Court seeking to obtain through the California Public Records Act, the computers and hard drives that were being held by the Santa Barbara Police Department. The stated basis for the motion at that time was that the "records at issue are Plaintiff's property and are necessary for the Plaintiff to protect its commercial and legal rights." The supporting papers filed with the court at that time said nothing about pornographic images. The paper's ex parte application for a hearing (meaning they sought to short circuit the usual requirement of giving notice in advance) was denied by Superior Court Judge James Brown. Although the Judge told the News-Press they could try again by bringing a properly noticed motion, the News-Press did nothing until this latest filing, which was the premise for Sunday's story and for the first time tried to link Roberts with the kiddie porn that the police had determined he could not be linked to.
So McCaw orders her underlings to run a story where there is none. Her pretext for seeking a court order to get the hard drive back? So the News-Press can "conduct its own investigation." She blew her audition to publish our paper, we're not going to give her a crack at solving our crimes.
This is journalism at its worst. Journalism as an instrument of personal vindictiveness. I say enough of giving her the cold shoulder, its time we simply turned our backs on this woman. Everyone who subscribes to her paper or advertises in it seriously ought to stop and consider what it is they are supporting. Sure, I know its a tough economic decision to make. But Jerry Roberts and others made a tough economic decision as well when they left.
So, now that we've all been reminded about what Jerry's up against its a good time to remind you if you want to contribute to Jerry's defense, donations may be sent to the Lawyers Alliance for Free Speech Rights, P.O. Box 5159, Santa Barbara, CA 93150
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Gone For The Weekend. Friday, April 20, 2007. I'll be out of town for an extended weekend. I will see you back here on Tuesday morning. And for those of you who have written asking how do I know how much a hooker costs, you'll just have to keep wondering.
Trying Not To Stare At The Underwear. Thursday, April 19, 2007. I was watching TV the other night when I saw, for what must have been the umpteenth time, that Victoria's Secret commercial advertising "the world's most revolutionary bra" or something like that. (I was too busy looking as opposed to listening to what was being said.) And yes, I did look. There are some things that one simply doesn't TiVo past.
"Revolutionary?" As in, start a riot? Actually, this is what I call progress. After all, it wasn't that long ago that you couldn't show a live woman on TV modeling a bra. Bra ads on TV were limited to either headless mannequins or "the invisible woman." Ironic that the boob tube couldn't show what was supporting the boobs.
Which leads me to another question; when did underwear come out? I remember when allowing a bra strap or panties to be visible was considered gauche if not out and out scandalous. Now its pretty much de rigueur. And if I do say so myself, gauche and de riguer are two pretty good French words considering that my entire French vocabulary consists of the lyrics to Michelle and Lady Marmalade.
I guess we can thank Madonna for making visible bra straps fashionable and credit Monica Lewinsky for the first documented peek at a thong.
Ever since Madonna and Monica, the lid has been off. Or in the case of Brittany Spears, the undies are. College age women now regularly appear at morning coffee in their pajama bottoms and show up for class in camisole tops.
I swung by Miss Kitty's the other day to look for a gift for that "special someone." At these prices I can see why women don't want to cover this stuff up.
BTW, wasn't it once a fashion infraction to have a red or a black bra that would show through a white blouse? Nowadays I feel sorry for guys who are colorblind.
Ladies, some things were never meant to see the light of day. That's why they call it underwear.
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Did you see that democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards recently paid $400 for a haircut? Since when do haircuts cost more than hookers?
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Baffling Decisions and Stupid Circulation Tricks. Wednesday, April 18, 2007. Baffling Decisions. The only thing more questionable than the News-Press' choice to hire a gossip columnist whose beat includes reporting on the British royal family, is the prominence the paper gave to the story announcing the hire. Not only was it the featured story on the News-Press website yesterday, it also got the front page above-the-fold treatment on a day when virtually every other paper in the country gave a full banner headline to the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech.
It bordered on being downright insensitive. After all, we've had similar tragedies in our very own community recently, most notably the Goleta Post Office shootings of a little over a year ago and the David Attias case of a few years back.
To give you an idea of how out of step the News-Press was yesterday, take a look at this screenshot from newseum.com. Tuesday's front page from the News-Press is on the far left. Compare it to the other three front pages. Can you even pick out which story is about Virginia Tech on the News-Press front page? The News-Press was the only paper that I could find that didn't run a photo on the front page that was related to the Virginia Tech story.
Best explanation for why Wendy hired the British gossip columnist. She mistakenly thought she was hiring someone whose expertise was loyalty not royalty.
My favorite quote from the new gossip columnist; "Gossip doesn't have to be snarky or ill-meaning." Amen! Now could you tell Travis Armstrong the same thing applies to editorials?
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Stupid Circulation Tricks. How desperate is the News-Press to keep circulation numbers up? Consider these examples.
Local attorney Jan Greben reports that when his News-Press subscription expired in January he and his wife chose not to renew. When the newspaper sent a notice to extend, he did not respond. The paper continued to be delivered. When it was received, it was promptly deposited, still in its wrapper, in the recycle bin. Deliveries ceased only recently. But then an invoice arrived covering the period from February 1 on. Jan's wife contacted the News-Press and was put through to an extremely officious sort in the subscription department, who advised that since the paper had continued to be delivered, the Greben's owed them the sum of $24 no ifs, ands or buts. The News-Press representative hung up in the midst of the conversation, as Jan's wife was attempting to explain the circumstances.
If you've made a trip to the grocery store recently you've undoubtedly encountered the young college age men hawking News-Press subscriptions out front. Kathleen Scott submitted this picture that her husband Don snapped over the weekend in front of Trader Joe's on De La Vina. Notice what the sign says.
Tuesday evening around 6 pm I was walking into Albertson's on the Mesa where a News-Press subscription sales guy was stationed out front with a huge stack of papers on a card table. He was balancing one of the papers on the tip of his index finger and spinning it around like it was a Frisbee. I was tempted to yell, "betcha couldn't do that with an L.A. Times!"
Another reader e-mailed to say he recently received a mailer from the News-Press offering him a choice of free gifts if he would return to the ranks of subscribers. One of the gifts was a set of News-Press playing cards. I wonder who the joker is in that deck?
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At The News-Press, All Gossip Is Local. Tuesday, April 17, 2007. So, you're Wendy McCaw and the news gathering side of your operation has been reduced to a skeleton crew. You're down several editors and a whole boatload of reporters. You're on record as being committed to the "best coverage of local events that can be had," yet you're getting scooped by every news outlet in town save the Adams Elementary School Chronicle. So what do you do? Hire a gossip columnist!
The News-Press has hired Richard Mineards, whose resume includes covering the British Royal Family for 33 years, to be a regular columnist. What are they thinking?
Look, I'll confess, I may from time-to-time be interested in finding out who's zooming who around town. However, I have absolutely no interest in whether the Earl of Sandwich is getting down with the Duchess of Cornbeef.
Mineard's first article for the paper actually appeared on Sunday. It ran under the headline; "End of William's romance quashes hopes for royal wedding" And I'm sure you're all as disappointed about that as I am.
Not only does this guy cover the royals, he, at least for now is getting the royal treatment in the newsroom in that he's been given what was formerly the managing editor's office to work out of.
Seriously, this is but the latest example of how out of touch Wendy is with what her readers want.
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Not seen in the News-Press building for quite some time is private eye Nick Montano, who was (and perhaps still is) in charge of security for the paper. He no longer occupies an office at the paper. There has been some talk about him being "out of the country." Perhaps gathering morsels for the new gossip columnist?
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Update on the News-Press lawsuit against journalist Susan Paterno alleging libel and "product disparagement." In Orange County Superior Court yesterday, the News-Press' motion to conduct discovery to assist it in opposing the anti-SLAPP motion brought by Paterno was heard. Judge H. Warren Siegel granted the News-Press' request to postpone consideration of Paterno's motion so they could conduct limited discovery to assist them in meeting their burden of showing that Paterno's statements were made with knowledge of falsity or in reckless disregard of the truth.
Of course the News-Press' lawsuit contained 32 allegations of libel or otherwise actionable statements from the Paterno article. As of now, it appears that the judge has agreed with Paterno that all but three of those statements were either opinion or true or otherwise not actionable. The three allegations on which discovery is being permitted are that the News-Press "slashed" overtime and benefits when McCaw assumed ownership; that someone "on high" "killed" the follow-up story about the Travis Armstrong drunk driving prosecution and lastly that, in essence, the News-Press was improperly motivated in pursuing a workplace violence restraining order against former business editor Michael Todd.
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And finally, congratulations to my friend Peter Sklar who is being honored by the Board of Supervisors today as the founder of Edhat.
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From Shout Outs to Smackdowns. Monday, April 16, 2007. Did you see Sunday's News-Press? Hell has frozen over. A million years has passed. I made it to the day I never thought I'd live to see. And I'm still studying the obituaries trying to figure out whose dead body it happened over. Dr. Laura had something nice to say about me and the News-Press printed it.
In case you missed it (and at this point in time I'm guessing that many of you did) here's what she said; "Craig Smith, whose columns are seriously critical of the News-Press and Wendy McCaw, et al., showed real class, objectivity and journalistic integrity -- "
She was writing about my post of last Wednesday about the story behind the infamous "Let 'em eat beans" editorial where I wrote that, contrary to popular belief, the idea for the turkey-less Thanksgiving originated not with Wendy McCaw, but with her editorial page editor at the time, John Lankford.
Anyway, the good doctor was impressed that I, a mere blogger, would go to the trouble to contact one of the principals involved to find out what the story was. Well, I knew that Wendy wouldn't talk to me so Lankford was my only hope. Actually, checking things out is something I do all the time, this is just another example of that. And if you're surprised by the things you read here, you should see the stories that I don't print.
I make no bones about the fact that my sympathies lie with those who disapprove of what McCaw has done with the paper. But that doesn't mean I don't make every effort to be fair and cite facts to back up my opinions.
From reading her column lately I get the impression that Dr. Laura is making an effort to stay in touch with the conversation about the News-Press by reading the local blogs. In recent weeks she's mentioned Blogabarbara, Santa Barbara's Blog and now me. (Heck, she even mentioned Santa Barbara Newsroom, although its not a blog.)
These blogs along with others such as I'm Not One to Blog But . . and The Average Man, offer something that has been sorely missing from the News-Press since last July, a variety of voices. Wendy's paper used to have that variety with the local community columnists and Starshine Roshell. They all got the axe apparently for no reason other than their views didn't reflect those of ownership. Maybe Dr. Laura can pass the word to Wendy; when everybody thinks alike, nobody's thinking.
Meanwhile, back on the News-Press editorial pages Sunday it was business as usual. Travis Armstrong authored a rambling tirade focusing mostly on the Lawyers Alliance for Free Speech Rights. He lists seven of the members of this group by name, each name followed by a sentence or two describing what Armstrong thinks must be the individual's motive for trying to "shut down our opinion pages."
I understand the mission of the group, rather than trying to shut down the News-Press or any of its sections, to be to raise money so that journalists who may find themselves having to defend against legal actions brought by Wendy McCaw (Jerry Roberts for example) will find themselves on a level playing field. Wouldn't it have been far more interesting and meaningful to have asked the people named to submit 150 or so words each summarizing what they feel the shortcomings of the paper are? Armstrong could have responded to each. It would have made for an interesting forum for the reader. Apparently the only thing Travis learned in journalism class was that names make the news.
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Drew Mackie at the Independent has a very interesting post on the Indy's Media Blog on Friday. Among the subjects discussed are the differing notions of what a blog should be. For instance, must a blog permit reader comments in order to be a blog? As I've said here before, no. But I have no problem with blogs or bloggers that permit comments.
I'm not interested in engaging in shouting matches or smackdowns with fellow bloggers or readers. My vision of the local blogosphere is that the differing approaches to blogging means that the blogs complement rather than compete with each other. My own vision of my blog is that it's an on-line newspaper column, without the newspaper. And without the snarky editorial page editor.
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Meagher Moves From Sound to Indy. Friday, April 13, 2007. Chris Meagher, the Daily Sound's first news reporter, is leaving the paper to join the Independent.
Chris has worked at the Sound for over a year, the first seven months as the lone reporter. The paper began with publisher Jeramy Gordon, business manager, Charles Swegles and Meagher, with the first printed paper coming out March 23, 2006.
Chris accepted the offer to work a the Indy the day of the Daily Sound's one year anniversary party. According to Chris;
It certainly wasn't an easy decision, in fact it was an extremely difficult decision to make. Ultimately, I decided the opportunity to grow as a writer was presently greater with the Indy. Of course, I was pleased with the direction the Daily Sound was going (up), and loved being a part of it, but I decided this opportunity which presented itself to me was too good to pass up.
I am thankful for the support both the paper and I have received in our year here in Santa Barbara. It's amazing to look back and see how far the paper has come, and I am confident it will continue to grow in the future.
I'm also very excited to help the Indy as it pumps up its daily news coverage online.
The Daily Sound's loss is the Indy's gain.
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On Tuesday, Doc Searls, the grand daddy of Santa Barbara Bloggers, quoted author Kurt Vonnegut. The next day, Vonnegut died.
Doc, until further notice, please don't quote me in your blog.
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Time to Evict The Tenant From This Abode. Thursday, April 12, 2007.
Last week the News-Press appealed the ruling upholding the results of the union election by filing exceptions with the NLRB. Yesterday, the union filed its opposition to those exceptions.
At over 50 pages, the Union's brief, written by attorney Ira Gottlieb, is exhaustive. He comes out swinging in the introduction where he writes that News-Press ownership "seeks these exceptions to prolong its residency in the house of incredulity." Sounds like another example of high-priced Santa Barbara real estate to me. Personally, I would have put owner Wendy McCaw in the dungeon of disbelief.
* * *
From Tuesday's News-Press;
The News-Press, along with most reputable members of the media, has a policy of always attempting to speak to both sides of any story.
Obviously, someone has mistakenly printed in the paper an internal memo that was sent to Travis Armstrong.
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If you listen regularly to KRUZ 97.5 on the radio you might notice a difference. Yesterday they fired all of their on-air staff and have switched to a format that doesn't use disc jockeys. They will continue to play the same type of music which they call "hot adult contemporary." Isn't that an oxymoron? The owner of the station, Cumulus Broadcasting, is denying that KRUZ, or the other Cumulus owned station in town, KMGQ, 106.3, are for sale.
990 KTMS, the station where Don Imus can be heard locally in the mornings (assuming he doesn't get canceled) is reported to be going dark and turning in its license so its owner, Rincon Broadcasting, can sell its position on the dial to L.A.'s KFWB 980 who wants to turn up their signal to reach Santa Barbara. The 990 talk format, which includes local resident Dr. Laura in the afternoons, would move over to 1490 on the AM dial, the former home of Spanish language Radio Bronco which is now on 94.5 FM.
* * *
Santa Barbara based Direct Relief International's work in Afghanistan is the subject of a multi-media slideshow on Yahoo News.
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Looking for something to do this weekend? The 22nd annual Santa Barbara Kite Festival, will take place from 11 am to 4 pm, Sunday, April 15th. The festival will be held in the Great Meadow on the west campus of Santa Barbara City College. The blufftop lawn overlooks the harbor and breakwater and is a perfect location for kite flying. Parking is available on campus and admission to the festival is free. For more info go to www.sbkitefest.com.
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Turkey or Beans? Who Planned the Menu? Wednesday, April 11, 2007. It's the one example that gets dredged up and dusted off anytime someone wants to demonstrate the eccentricity and heartlessness of News-Press owner Wendy McCaw. The latest to do it was the well-respected publication "The Economist" where in an article posted on its website the author wrote of McCaw:
Among her crimes against humanity that prompted the resignation of six senior editors and a columnist the so-called "Santa Barbara Seven" -she had the newspaper adopt a pro-vegetarian stance, [and] editorialise against Thanksgiving turkey dinners . . ."
Of course that's a reference to the infamous "let 'em eat beans" editorial that appeared in the News-Press on November 18, 2000, just a week before Thanksgiving. And despite what was said in the Economist it had nothing to do with those July resignations that came six years later. Running under the headline "Food needed" it was a departure from the paper's annual custom of assisting the FoodBank in its effort to supply Thanksgiving turkeys. Barely over 200 words long it is best remembered for the following excerpts:
We understand roasted turkey with all the trimmings is a holiday tradition, but we cannot -- in good conscience -- recommend continuation of a tradition that involves the death of an unwilling participant. * * * Beans and rice are a good protein substitute for turkey.
The woman had barely owned the paper for a month at that point, and already she was planning everybody's Thanksgiving dinner for them. Or was she?
With the Thanksgiving editorial having achieved the status of urban legend, I was curious, was the "let 'em eat beans" editorial really McCaw's idea?
Last week I e-mailed John Lankford who was the editorial editor of the News-Press at the time and asked him where the idea for the editorial came from. He responded and said the Thanksgiving editorial was his idea.
I did, indeed, promote the idea of a no-turkey Thanksgiving editorial, pitching the notion to Ms. Wendy a few days before the holiday."
Her response, according to Lankford, was; "Go for it." Lankford went on to explain that "the save-a-turkey editorial seemed a natural, since Wendy is a vegetarian, and my wife and I have been vegetarians since the early 1990s."
Of course it was immediately pounced upon by Nick Welsh of the Independent who chided McCaw for her let -em eat beans approach. That didn't sit well with the thin-skinned McCaw who caused, over Lankford's objections, a letter of protest to be fired off to the Indy.
By all accounts, relations between the two papers remain chilly to this day.
Lankford and his wife Darlene currently live in Florida's Tampa Bay area but plan on moving back to the Central Coast, hopefully in plenty of time for next Thanksgiving.
* * *
I never realized how many members of the local clergy have their own blogs. Add to those I cited yesterday the blog of Rev. Dr. Hillary Chrisley, of the First United Methodist Church, where she has posted her own response to Travis Armstrong's swipe at the clergy. In it, she reveals that as a result of Armstrong's attacks, First United has withdrawn its advertising from the News-Press. First United Methodist Church was the venue for the recent community forum on the News-Press that was put on by the Greater Santa Barbara Clergy Association.
* * *
As reported in both the Indy's Media Blog and Santa Barbara Newsroom, the NLRB announced they are going to prosecute the News-Press on two more unfair labor practice charges, stemming from the crashing of a meeting by David Millstein and Norm Colavincenzo (who are the paper's attorney and accountant respectively) and engaging in illegal surveillance by sending a private investigator to videotape union rallies at De la Guerra Plaza.
* * *
Finally, a faithful reader wrote to ask, how does it feel to be about the only local blog that Dr. Laura hasn't mentioned in her column recently? Since you asked I'll tell you how it feels; "Nobody puts Baby in a corner!"
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Judge For Yourself. Tuesday, April 10, 2007. I don't spend a lot of time watching the Fox News Channel, but I do like their slogan; "We report, you decide." If only News-Press editorial page editor Travis Armstrong operated that way.
Yesterday, I told you how Armstrong used his Sunday column to dismiss an e-mail he received from the President of the Greater Santa Barbara Clergy Association as being "snarky" without ever revealing its contents. The letter's author, Rev. Teena Grant, has been kind enough to share the letter she sent to Armstrong with me so that I may share it with you. Feeling she needed to speak up for both herself and her colleagues, she wrote in response to Armstrong's slam of the local clergy in his editorial of March 29th. In its entirety, here is her letter:
Dear Mr. Armstrong,
This letter is in response to your editorial of March 29, 2007
It was quite ironic that the same morning that your editorial blasted the local clergy for not doing more for the gang problem, the Santa Barbara Daily Sound ran a front page photo and article about the service we did for the community on March 28th in response to the gang situation. The purpose of the service was to express our grief, to reflect as a community, and to make a personal commitment to serve our youth in a concrete, specific way.
Approximately 100 people made that commitment. Various media covered the event. The News-Press was not there. In fact, you have not covered faith community events since the News-Press fired Melissa Evans, your former religion writer. How can you say what we are, or are not, doing since you have never contacted me or anyone else in the Greater Santa Barbara Clergy Association, nor have you ever attended any of our meetings or events. If you would have attended the service the other night you could have learned about some of the helpful things that faith communities and other organizations are doing to help at-risk youth.
I invite you to contact me if you ever decide to mention The Greater Santa Barbara Clergy Association in your editorial again so you can know what is actually happening in the faith community. You are welcome to come to our meetings or you can read or hear about our activities in the other media sources in the community.
Reverend Teena Grant
President, Greater Santa Barbara Clergy Association
The only other thing she said in her e-mail to Armstrong was; "this is for submission to the editorial page."
"Snarky?" I reported it, now you decide.
Rev. Grant wasn't the only person of the cloth weighing in on Armstrong's swipe at the clergy. Over at Thin Places, Roy Donkin blogs that "Mr. Armstrong consistently uses his position to bully others without allowing them fair opportunity to respond. As far as I know, he has never spoken to any of the members of the clergy association."
Billy Calderwood, the lead pastor of a church in Goleta, didn't have any luck either when he wrote to Armstrong. Although the News-Press acknowledged receiving his letter, it was not printed causing Calderwood to wonder; "I certainly hope Armstrong and company at the Newspress are more interested in providing a space for public conversation that is constructive than they are in trading inflamatory barbs with those who disagree with them on many counts."
He hopes that Armstrong and company are more interested in constructive conversation than they are in trading inflammatory barbs? Now that's what I call faith.
Now, in case you're wondering where I'm coming from I should probably mention that I don't consider myself to be a particularly religious person. Although I would note that lecturing to a law school class is a lot like delivering a sermon to the congregation. Many may attend but few truly understand.
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Easter Leftovers. Monday, April 9, 2007. I thought that Easter weekend would figure to be fairly quiet on the News-Press front but alas, that was not the case.
On Friday, the Indy' Media Blog broke the news that Wendy McCaw had indeed appealed the ruling upholding the validity of last September's union election, by filing formal exceptions to it with the NLRB.
This really comes as no surprise. I have long suspected that McCaw's strategy for dealing with the Union is to drag the certification process out as long as possible by taking advantage of every dilatory tactic that the law allows her. She's trying to turn this into a contest of staying power betting that the Union won't be able to outlast her. I hope I'm wrong but with her bottomless pocket book and her willingness to dig into it, Al Gore's predictions about global warming may well come to pass before McCaw is forced to sit down and negotiate with the Union.
In the meantime, with each passing week the News-Press becomes a poorer and poorer excuse for a "local" newspaper. Take the Easter Sunday edition for example. Plastered on the front page was a huge photo and two smaller ones of the kids Easter Egg hunt at Chase Palm Park on Saturday. There was no accompanying story, just a caption to go along with the photos. I'm sorry but children hunting for Easter Eggs in April is hardly front page news in my book.
Neither of the paper's two news reporters, nor did associate editor Scott Steepleton, have a by-lined story in the Sunday paper.
Over on the editorial pages Travis Armstrong was his usual petty self. In his Sunday column he claims he was taken aback a bit by a "somewhat snarky e-mail" from the Rev. Teena Grant. Rev. Grant is the president of the Greater Santa Barbara Clergy Association an organization that has expressed its concern over the direction of the News-Press and which has unsuccessfully sought to initiate a dialogue with News-Press management.
Of course, Armstrong never tells us what the e-mail said so I guess we'll just have to take his word for it. After all, a guy who has written as many snarky columns as Armstrong has should be able to recognize a snarky comment when he sees one, right?
Armstrong also goes out of his way to point out that Rev. Grant's message emanated from her "work" e-mail address at Cottage Hospital. Armstrong then wonders if Cottage's "spiritual care services" (his quotes, not mine) will be available to him if needed at some future time. I'm sure they will be, but they're probably powerless to administer the attitude adjustment that Armstrong so desperately could use right now.
* * *
On Friday, repeating something I had read in the Daily Nexus, I mentioned that blogger Josh Wolf, recently released from prison after agreeing to hand over videotape of a demonstration, was a graduate of UCSB. My friend Matt Kettmann, who writes for the Independent and is in charge of the Indy's web site, e-mailed to tell me that although Josh attended UCSB, he actually graduated from San Francisco State. Interestingly, his only "professional" journalism experience was at The Independent, where he spent a few months as an intern writing news briefs. The Indy is trying to get Wolf, who was a guest on CNN's "Reliable Sources" Sunday morning, to write something about his experience for them.
* * *
I was watching the Master's Golf Tournament on TV and saw this year's winner Zach Johnson get choked up as he credited Jesus for helping him win the tournament on Easter Sunday. Glad to hear that Jesus was there for him to keep the Bogeyman away. I remember when black golfers like Charlie Sifford and Lee Elder, weren't allowed to compete in the Masters. Seems to me like Jesus couldn't even get onto the course at Augusta back then. Now, if he could only do something about allowing women to join Augusta National. Maybe we need to get him on the membership committee.
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But Did She Clear It With Wendy? Friday, April 6, 2007. I was surprised to see that Dr. Laura led off her News-Press column on Thursday by talking about Santa Barbara Newsroom, the website that launched at the beginning of the week and is staffed by eight former News-Press journalists who were fired by owner Wendy McCaw.
Perhaps even more surprising was that the good doctor had something positive to say about the site, describing it as "very pretty and very neat-looking." Not so surprising was the fact that she deplored the fact that it's supported by the Teamster's union, whom the journalists at the News-Press voted to affilliate with.
In case there was any doubt about where she stood, Dr. Laura reitereated her total opposition to unions and her belief that "private companies have the right, since they carry all the responsibilities, to run their business as they see fit."
Yep, its a free country and if someone wants to go ahead and run their business into the ground they have every right to do so. But equally as true is the fact that workers in this country long ago won the right to unionize and Wendy McCaw (and Dr. Laura too for that matter) should not only respect that right but come to grips with the reality that sooner or later she is going to have to sit down across the table from unionized workers and bargain with them. The longer that's postponed, the more damage she will have inflicted on her business.
So did Dr. Laura really e-mail Santa Barbara Newsroom complementing them on their site as she said she did? I asked Dawn Hobbs, who is one of the eight former News-Press journalists staffing the site. "Yes. Dr. Laura did e-mail congratulating us and telling us what a great site we have."
And what about Dr. Laura raising the question of whether a news site supported by a union can be unbiased?
"As professional journalists, we decide on our own what stories to cover and we then write fair, balanced and accurate articles. There is no interference at all from the Teamsters regarding coverage in the Santa Barbara Newsroom. (Too bad the same can't be said for the News-Press these days.)
"The Teamsters understand the importance of the wall that must remain solid in between ownership/sponsorship and the newsroom."
Santa Barbara Newsroom is not accepting submissions or contributions. That may explain why Dr. Laura never got a response while apparently sitting by her phone "waiting all morning for an invitation to syndicate my column with them." Sounds like circulation and web traffic must be down at the paper and at newspress.com if Laura is looking for additional outlets to hook up with.
And BTW, as the host of a radio call-in talk show, isn't she paid to sit by the phone?
* * *
As of 11 pm Thursday night, Santa Barbara Newsroom had registered nearly 22,000 unique visitors since it went on line Monday.
* * *
In a post on Wednesday, the Indy's Media blog did a nice job of putting out the welcome mat for Santa Barbara Newsroom. UCSB's Daily Nexus ran a Santa Barbara Newsroom article on Tuesday.
* * *
In the Daily Nexus Thursday, former News-Press executive editor Jerry Roberts, now publications director at UCSB, talked about the ethical wall separating business operations from editorial functions of the newsroom at the Daily Nexus.
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You may have read about Josh Wolf, the blogger who was recently freed after serving 226 days in prison for refusing to give authorities footage of a San Francisco protest. Anyway, there's a Santa Barbara connection. Wolf is a graduate of UCSB. Well, you know what they say, when blogging is outlawed, only outlaws will blog.
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Spring Break! Wednesday, April 4, 2007. Congress and George Bush aren't the only ones who are off on Spring Break. I'm taking an abbreviated recess myself. I plan to be back blogging on Friday morning.
If you haven't already done so, this would be a good time to check out Santa Barbara Newsroom. And, BTW, I thought it was very classy of the Santa Barbara Daily Sound, to report on Santa Barbara Newsroom's debut with an above the fold, front page story on Tuesday.
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Finally, The News You Love, From People You Trust. Tuesday, April 3, 2007. When Wendy McCaw fired eight of her paper's reporters she probably thought that the worst that could happen would be that they would go to work for the competition. Little did she know that they would become the competition.
Santa Barbara Newsroom made its debut yesterday, and it was an impressive one indeed. For starters it had five local news stories, which by my count is five more than Monday's News-Press had.
Besides beating the News-Press on hard news content santabarbaranewsroom.com also beats newspress.com on aesthetics. It's cleaner looking, more eye pleasing, and hence, a more readable site than that of the News-Press. Of course, not having ads helps to maintain the uncluttered appearance.
The site is much more technologically advanced than that of the News-Press in that it has an RSS feed, a feature that most newspaper sites now have but one the News-Press has never had.
So what was the community's response to santabarbaranewsroom.com? By 10 am Monday morning they had 1700 page views. As of 10:15 pm Monday night 4462 unique visitors had viewed the site according to Edgar Oliveira, the site's webmaster. They also had dozens of e-mails from people thanking them. People also e-mailed asking about how they could advertise on the site. (They're not accepting ads.) People also wrote in offering to subscribe. (The site is free, no registration or subscription required.)
Several people also wrote in saying they had held off canceling their subscriptions to the News-Press, but now, with this new alternative source of local news, were going ahead and stopping delivery of the paper.
When I reached Dawn Hobbs by phone Monday night to ask her a few questions about the site's first day, she told me that her kitchen looked like a newsroom with police scanners going and notes laying all over the place. Each of the eight reporters who staffs Santa Barbara Newsroom takes a turn being "editor for the day" and Tuesday is Dawn's turn.
The site will have at least one fresh news story each day, seven days a week. Today they will be running stories on gangs with a photo and video, a story on the charter high school and another story on the Goleta City Council. John Zant's sports column will run three times a week.
Blogabarbara covered the debut of Santa Barbara Newsroom and the comments (at least as of the time I am writing this post) were mostly all positive.) Perhaps because they feel that it poses competition for them as well, the Independent's Media Blog did not have anything posted about the debut.
So, is Santa Barbara Newsroom serious competition for the News-Press? If you read the paper for local news before the meltdown, and lament what it has become lately, Santa Barbara Newsroom is a viable alternative. After all, reading news that's printed on fish wrap is so 20th Century.
What about the site's prospects over the long run, or at least until McCaw is forced to rehire those who were fired? In his report on Reinventing the Newspaper, Scott Hadly wrote that; "The biggest obstacle here is the inability, so far at least, of small local news sites to generate enough revenue to sustain a news-gathering organization the size of the News-Press." As long as these former News-Press journalists are willing to work without pay, they've cleared that obstacle.
* * *
Last Wednesday, I ran Santa Maria Times executive editor Tom Bolton's response to Travis Armstrong's charge that the Times is "ethically challenged" because they have newsroom representatives on their editorial board. On Sunday, The Santa Maria Times published an editorial on the subject. Not surprisingly, Bolton, who wrote the editorial, and was a former Executive Editor of the News-Press early on under McCaw's ownership, holds little back in his criticism of Armstrong and McCaw.
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Another Reason Why I Don't Allow Comments. Monday, April 2, 2007. Over on SantaBarbarasBlog on Thursday, a post on the State of the City breakfast had a comment purportedly left by KEYT's John Palminteri. However John tells me that not only did he not post the comment that bears his name, "I have never posted a response there in my life." John went on to say that, "I generally like the way the blogs locally are often breaking good, accurate, reliable, information.
Many are daily 'must read' blogs with more I am sure coming down the line."
Policing comments on a blog is like trying to direct traffic in Mexico City. I have neither the time nor the inclination to take it on. As for those who do, I think if someone with high name identification like John purports to submit a comment, the blog host owes it to the commenter and the blog's readers, to take steps to verify that it's the real deal.
* * *
Was editorial writer Travis Armstrong making a conscious decision to ignore the two-part story written by Dawn Hobbs on the local gang problem that ran in the News-Press in early July of last year?
Last Thursday's editorial that pointed its finger at the clergy and certain local politicians as not doing enough to solve the youth gang problem also asserted that; "The local media, too, didn't report in-depth on the gang problem as crime and other reporters chose easier subjects to tackle."
Of course Dawn was one of six reporters fired by owner Wendy McCaw at the beginning of February for "disloyalty." Is her story from last summer an example of the "biased" reporting that Armstrong so often alludes to? I doubt it. Dawn along with photographer Mike Eliason won an award for that series from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Perhaps Armstrong felt that acknowledging Dawn's award winning reporting would also be confirmation that McCaw does indeed have an official policy of cutting off her own nose to spite her face.
* * *
With the News-Press being a privately owned company it's hard to get reliable information about how it is doing financially amid the turmoil of the last nine plus months. However, one revealing anecdote comes from former classified advertising manager Sarah Sinclair. While at the paper Sarah was paid a monthly commission that was based on overall News-Press advertising revenue as compared to the monthly advertising goals. If the paper achieved a certain percentage of a goal, she was paid a certain (small) percentage of revenue. When Sarah went to pick up her final commission check she noticed it was a little lighter than usual. When she asked the paper's accountant, Norm "The Meeting Crasher" Colavincenzo what the story was, Norm told her in essence; "We don't have revenue goals, but if we did, we wouldn't be achieving them."
* * *
Today marks the debut of Santa Barbara Newsroom, the online news site and cable-cast news program, which is being staffed by eight fired News-Press reporters. With seven reporters plus a sports writer they will instantly be one of the largest news gathering operations in town. The reporters used the occasion of the issuance of their new press credentials to have a small get together on Friday evening. Also contributing to the site will be Andrea Huebner, the paper's former 'Life' section editor. The project is a completely volunteer effort on the part of those involved and they are not being paid.
* * *
Former News-Press reporter Melinda Burns, who will be one of the contributers to Santa Barbara Newsroom, has an op-ed piece in today's L.A. Times on the Employee Free Choice Act and the situation of the News-Press journalists who voted overwhelmingly to unionize.
* * *
As I reported last Monday, former KTYD disc jockey David Hefferman starts doing the weather reports today on KEYT's Morning News taking Rosemary Orozco's place while she is on maternity leave.. In addition to Dave's debut, weekend sports guy Mike Klan will be anchoring the Morning News all week.
* * *
If you're one of the many south coast residents who are concerned about the high cost of housing in this area, you might want to check out "The Price of Paradise" a film by Ojai writer and filmmaker Lisa Snider. The film, which screened at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, will be shown on Cox Cable Channel 21 this week at the following times:
Mon., 4-2-07, 3:00 pm
Tue., 4-3-07, 5:30 pm
Wed., 4-4-07, 12:30 pm
Fri., 4-6-07, 2:30 pm
* * *
The current edition of Santa Barbara Magazine that just hit the newsstands has not just one but two stories by former News-Press features writer, Starshine Roshell. One of those articles is about the breast implant industry which is centered in Goleta. Now, if you're expecting me to crack some cheap joke about "enlarging" businesses or "uplifting" stories, you've come to the wrong place.
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Point, Counterpoint. Friday, March 30, 2007. In case you missed it, Travis Armstrong wrote a column Thursday purporting to "expose the agendas" of those in the community who are unhappy with the present state of the News-Press. In the tradition of the early years of "60 Minutes" I thought I'd do a little point, counterpoint.
Armstrong opened his column by writing: "Sara Miller McCune last November told me one of the first actions she'd take if she ever was able to get her hands on the News-Press would be to fire me."
Well, if I was paying you good money only to have you recycle the same three editorials and columns over and over again, I'd fire your butt too.
He goes on to condemn "politicians who seamlessly mix a faux-progressive agenda with one that supports high-density construction." Are you sure that shouldn't be a foie gras agenda? BTW, is the Nipper into foie gras? I doubt that Wendy would approve.
"Anyone trying to silence a newspaper isn't interested in the First Amendment." Anyone who runs a newspaper the way McCaw runs the News-Press isn't interested in the First Amendment either.
"A common denominator of some of these folks is that they appear to abhor a press they can't bully." On the contrary, they abhor a press who is a bully.
"You wouldn't be reading a column such as this in the daily newspaper they controlled." Actually, you'd be surprised at what you might read in a newspaper owned by someone who truly believed in allowing a variety of voices and different viewpoints to be heard.
Armstrong must have been running out of things to say because he then starts quoting Andy Caldwell of COLAB, who like Armstrong, has a beef with the the Fund for Santa Barbara and the McCune Foundation. His beef? They hire activists to "go to the North County to organize, agitate and politic." Excuse me but isn't that the exact kind of activity that's protected by the First Amendment?
Armstrong concludes by asking; "What's their real agenda? It's so clear that you don't need me to answer that question." Or to lecture anybody on the First Amendment.
* * *
On that same editorial page, Armstrong goes after the local clergy for not doing enough to solve the gang problem. He should really start reading the Daily Sound who reported on Wednesday night's interfaith service in response to the recent gang fight.
* * *
The film "Much Ado About W" by local filmmakers Michael and Tina Love, screens on Channel 21 at the following times:
Today (Friday). at 9:00 am.
Saturday, March 31, at 7:00 am.
The film, which debuted at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival explores the controversy that surrounded Colin Gray's sculpture "W" which was exhibited on State Street last fall.
* * *
Former News-Press sports writer John Zant is going to be a guest on the Oliver Hamilton show tonight (Friday) at 7 pm on Channel 17.
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State of Denial? Thursday, March 29, 2007. Wendy McCaw, through her foundation, is denying to anyone who will listen that she is reneging on her pledge of $5 million towards the restoration of the Granada Theater. Really? It is undenied that last December her foundation informed the Granada people that she would not be making her annual payment towards fulfillment of the pledge. Following so closely on the heels of Sara Miller McCune's "I want to own the News-Press" statement at November's Lifetime Achievement Awards Dinner, most people in the know assumed there was a connection. After all, there was no explanation that accompanied the news that the payment would not be forthcoming, just a bare statement from McCaw's foundation that the payment would not be made.
Was it always McCaw's intention to make good on the pledge, despite skipping this most recent annual payment, or is this simply an attempt at damage control after I first reported the fact that she was not making the yearly payment? Who knows? All I can say is that actions speak louder than words.
* * *
It was news to me: "Here in Santa Barbara, law professor Craig Smith's blog has periodically received more traffic than the Web sites of either the News-Press or the Santa Barbara Independent." I came across that startling fact while reading Scott Hadly's 30 page study of the future of news in Santa Barbara. Entitled, "Reinventing Newspapers" the purpose of the study is to look at how the controversy at the News-Press has altered the local media landscape and to look at what the controversy might mean for the future of news in Santa Barbara.
Among the conclusions that Hadly reaches;
"Newspapers are dying." As with other papers across the country the News-Press' circulation has been declining for more than a decade. The long-term outlook both for the News-Press and the industry as a whole is not good.
"As wave after wave of reporters resigned and
a handful were fired, the very public fight left readers suspicious of what was in the paper and the News-Press management failed to tackle the controversy head on." As a result, the News-Press managment has done the most counterproductive thing a local newspaper can do, alienate its readers.
So who will step forward to fill the void? The Daily Sound? The Independent? "Both papers face tough obstacles, with money being the biggest. The Daily Sound is new and small and has few resources, while the Independent would risk its currently secure position by going daily with more news coverage"
What if no one steps forward to fill the void created by the current News-Press crisis. What then? "If mainstream media doesn't evolve to allow a new relationship with readers, then they not only will lose readers, but those readers will bypass them entirely and find or create their own sources for news and information."
You can download and read the entire report at The Fund for Santa Barbara's website.
The study was made possible by a grant from Sara Miller McCune's SAGE Publications.
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Notes On A Candle. Wednesday, March 28, 2007. Yesterday, I made a comparison between the L.A. Times and The Santa Barbara News-Press and suggested that Wendy McCaw could learn a lot from the way The Times was handling an internal mini-crisis. It was another reminder of how scrupulous The Times is in running its operation.
To recap, the current controversy at The Times stems from the revelation last week that a Hollywood producer, Brian Grazer, designated as the first guest editor of The Times opinion pages had a business relationship that might have suggested he had received favored treatment in landing the assignment. Grazer was represented by a publicist who dated Times Editorial Page Editor Andres Martinez.
I'll bet there's more than a few of you out there asking yourselves, "so what's the problem?" After all, people get assignments and work based on connections and who they know every day. Some call it "networking." Yet The Times takes it all very seriously. The Times' publisher decided to scrap the section to avoid the appearance that Grazer benefited from his publicist's inside connection.
Yesterday, it was announced that The Times' publisher appointed the paper's reader's representative, to determine whether personal or professional connections improperly influenced previous content in the editorial pages. She will report to the publisher and ultimately, if appropriate, to the readers. Maybe when she's through she can come up here and look into the News-Press.
Another thing you'll never see in the News-Press; Martinez quit last week, saying his credibility had been undermined. In Tuesday's paper, The Times published a letter from him in its letters to the editor section.
Compare that to what the News-Press recently did. In his column last Friday, News-Press editorial page editor Travis Armstrong took a shot at the Santa Maria Times and its editor Tom Bolton, singling them out as being "ethically challenged" because of the structure of the Santa Maria paper's editorial board, which includes news department personnel. Bolton e-mailed Armstrong
asking for the opportunity to respond. Not surprisingly, Bolton did not even receive the courtesy of a reply, let alone an offer to make his case directly to News-Press readers.
This led Bolton to conclude: "While these pretenders are busy lecturing the world about journalistic ethics -- a topic they know almost nothing about -- they
are guilty of violating the most fundamental tenets of our craft. Chief among them is being fair."
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A Case of Preferential Treatment? Hardly! Tuesday, March 27, 2007. The higher ups at the News-Press seldom pass on an opportunity to portray themselves as the victims. A recent example is editorial page editor Travis Armstrong's column last Friday where he tried to suggest that the latest contretemps at the L.A. Times would get the kid-glove treatment from the same journalism community that has pummeled News-Press owner and co-publisher Wendy McCaw for meddling in that paper's news reporting operation.
"I can't wait to see if the newspaper industry treats Times Publisher David D. Hiller to a different standard than it has owner Wendy McCaw's efforts to rid the News-Press pages of conflicts of interest and bias by editors and reporters." Armstrong's statement ignores the fact that any disparity lies not in the differing treatment from their peers but rather in the differing ways each publisher has handled their "crisis."
To bring you up to speed on the situation at The Times, on Thursday the opinion page editor resigned after The Times publisher told him he couldn't go forward with an special section that was being guest-edited by a Hollywood producer. The Times publisher intervened when it was learned that the editor had been dating a Hollywood publicist whose firm represents the producer.
Following his resignation, the opinion page editor, Andres Martinez, claimed that newsroom reporters were trying to take control of the editorial pages, an allegation he made on one of the L.A. Times' very own blogs. The claim of meddling by newsroom personnel was pounced upon by Armstrong in his column yet he conveniently omitted the fact that the Times had permitted the dissident editor to make the claim on the paper's website. That's just one of many differences in the way that each publisher has chosen to handle their respective crisis.
Another difference in the handling of the two stories is that the L.A. Times is actually allowing its news reporters to write about the controversy. Times Editor James E. O'Shea, was quoted in Friday's edition of the Times as saying; "We will cover the story just as aggressively as if we were not involved." That's in sharp contrast to the News-Press where its controversy has barely been mentioned in the news pages over the course of the past nine months.
Bottom line; if you want to be treated like The Times act like The Times.
As usual, some of the most insightful commentary on the current Times controversy comes from its media columnist, Tim Rutten, who observed in Saturday's paper that; "Martinez's difficulties were entirely volitional and had nothing whatsoever to do with The Times' structural problems - real or imagined."
Reading Rutten's column reminded me that what ails the News-Press opinion pages under Wendy McCaw's ownership is what once ailed The Times opinion pages prior to 1960. At The Times the editorials had been used to reward the owners' political friends and to punish political enemies. All of that changed when Otis Chandler took over as publisher and instituted a series of changes, including, establishing an editorial board which included representatives from the paper's news operation.
In his Friday column, Armstrong describes editorial boards composed of both news and opinion people as being "ethically challenged." However, as Rutten points out, creating a board that has representatives from both sides of the wall wasn't "done to blend news and opinion. Instead, the broadening of the editorial board was intended to make the process of arriving at editorial decisions as public as possible - to create transparency, as we now say. If you were an editorial writer proposing a piece for the next day's paper, you had to sit across a conference table from the editor and the publisher and the paper's senior most news editors and defend not only the argument you intended to make but also its factual basis. It was a rigorous, often bracing experience." Nevertheless; "Whatever readers thought of the editorials' conclusions, it was regarded as essential that readers believed those conclusions were reached honestly and dispassionately."
When was the last time you read a News-Press editorial and came away with that feeling?
* * *
How big of a hole has McCaw dug her newspaper into with her mishandling of the paper's crisis? In researching today's post I came across this 1999 quote from Otis Chandler.
If a newspaper, even a great newspaper like the Los Angeles Times, loses credibility with its community, with its readers, with its advertisers, with its shareholders, that is probably the most serious circumstance that I can possibly think of. Respect and credibility of a newspaper is irreplaceable. Sometimes it can never be restored no matter what steps might be taken in terms of apology by the publisher, apology by the head of Times Mirror or whatever post event strategies might be developed in the hopes of putting the pieces back together.
When I think back through the history of this great newspaper I realize how fragile and irreplaceable a public trust a newspaper is. This public trust and faith in a newspaper by its employees, its readers, the community, is dearer to me than life itself.
So, I ask Wendy McCaw, what are you going to do to restore the public's trust and when are you going to start?
* * *
What's the status of the proposed class action suit filed last October against the News-Press alleging that it failed to pay overtime to its reporters? On Saturday, I ran into Bruce Anticouni the lawyer who represents former News-Press reporter Hildy Medina, the plaintiff in that suit. Bruce told me that the case is still pending class certification, meaning a judge still has to decide whether it will actually go forward as a class action and who the members of the class will be. In the meantime, the case is still in the discovery stage meaning that the parties are exchanging information. A case management conference is scheduled for April 18th before Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge James Brown.
* * *
Bruce was one of several lawyers, including myself, who attended a luncheon at the Montecito Country Club on Saturday where the guest speaker was Richard Dicker, Director of the International Justice Program of Human Rights Watch. Mr. Dicker represented Human Rights Watch as an observer at the trial of Saddam Hussein. Also in the audience of nearly 100 was current Santa Barbara County Bar Association President Michael Colton, and one of my old bosses from private practice, Stan Hatch. And not a single woman wearing diaphanous pants was anywhere to be seen.
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When It Comes to Dressing Up, This Kitty Is No 'Fraidy Cat. Monday, March 26, 2007. The Santa Barbara Daily Sound turned one year old last Friday and threw a party to celebrate the occasion. Judging by who showed up, I'd say there's little doubt that the upstart "freebie" paper is succeeding in winning friends and influencing people.
I'll bet I wasn't the only person there who was wondering if the News-Press were to throw a party these days to celebrate something (what, I don't know) could they draw this kind of crowd of movers and shakers? For some reason I doubt it. Attending Friday night's party at the Daily Sound offices were county supervisors Salud Carbajal and Brooks Firestone. Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum with husband, Joe. City Administrator Jim Armstrong and his wife as well as Santa Barbara City Councilman Das Williams. Among the friendly competitors to the Sound in attendance were Independent columnist Barney Brantingham and former News-Press executive editor Jerry Roberts who is now Storke Publications Manager at UCSB.
Others seen in the crowd were Marshall Rose, former director of the Downtown Organization, Jim Prosser of Direct Relief International, Pam Brandon of Santa Barbara Internet Television Network, KEYT Senior Reporter, John Palminteri, Dave Hefferman, who will soon be joining KEYT, and Bob Wilcher, a fitness specialist who is the personal trainer for the Sound's publisher, Jeramy Gordon. Jeramy's proud mom Cindy was there and Jeramy's two brothers helped out with the bartending duties.
Community activist David Pritchett, who was there with wife Cathy Murillo of KCSB, was wearing a name tag that said "Travis Armstrong." No one was fooled but a lot of people asked me, "what's that guy's real name?" Of course the entire Daily Sound staff was there, many of whom adjourned to the parking lot towards the end of the evening to light up the celebratory cigars.
Notwithstanding the presence of so many high powered types in the crowd there was no one at the party who caused more of a commotion by their mere attendance than Melanie Doctors. Better known as "Miss Kitty," Melanie writes a weekly "dating and relationships" column that appears Fridays in the Sound. She's also the owner of Purrmission, a store where the chief item of sale is sexy lingerie and other "relationship aides" (wink, wink). Judging from the way she came dressed for the party, I'd have to conclude that she's her own best customer. I wonder when the last time any newsroom was graced by someone wearing see-through black pants which revealed a black thong underneath? Well, maybe the Village Voice in the seventies. Now, before you go dashing off to find her picture in my photo gallery, I'll save you some trouble; I only shot her from the waist up. This is after all a "PG-13" rated blog.
I missed seeing who got to do the honors but as the party went on, I noticed that someone took the liberty of strategically placing a Daily Sound bumper sticker across the seat of Miss Kitty's pants. Don't know if it was a feeble attempt at modesty or if they just wanted to make sure that Miss Kitty was returned to the right place in case she got lost wandering around the building.
* * *
I couldn't make it there myself, but the "Reinstate the Eight" rally took place on Saturday afternoon attended by a crowd of about 100. A number of speakers appeared at the rally including, most notably, Congresswoman Lois Capps, who in her first public comments on the subject, expressed her support for the cause of the journalists, both past and present, at the News-Press. According to those who were there, two of the more impressive speakers were Daraka Larimore-Hall, Vice-President of the Central Labor Council and UAW local representative and Walt Hamilton, Executive Director of the SEIU Local 620 and of the Central Labor Council.
You can judge for yourself. Video of the rally shot by media producer Larry Nimmer is available for viewing at Google Video.
* * *
Over 100 people attended Sunday afternoon's Town Hall forum at First United Methodist Church that was sponsored by the Greater Santa Barbara Clergy Association to discuss the current issues regarding the News-Press. Appearing on the panel were former News-Press journalists, Melissa Evans, Dawn Hobbs and John Zant as well as Teena Grant, President of the Santa Barbara Clergy Association, and Rabbi Arthur Gross Schaefer.
Although the News-Press was invited to participate they declined to do so. In a letter sent to the clergy association, co-publisher Arthur von Wiesenberger cited the pendency of proceedings before the NLRB as the paper's reason for not sending a representative. That's about as weak as an excuse as I've ever heard. If the citizens of the community are good enough to sell papers and ads to we're good enough to have an honest dialogue with. By my count, Wendy McCaw has passed on every opportunity she's been offered to sit down and talk with both her employees and the community about the situation at the paper.
* * *
Perhaps trying to prove that he doesn't have a face made only for radio, Dave Hefferman will be joining KEYT starting April 2nd as the morning weatherdude. He will be taking the place of Rosemary Orozco who will be starting her maternity leave. For many years, Hefferman was a disc jockey on KTYD. If fact, those of us who have been around long enough remember when fellow DJ Mark Ward, bending over backwards to be gender neutral and politically correct, would refer to him as "Dave Hefferperson." Dave will work the Channel 3 Morning News from 5:30 to 7 am and do the local weather inserts during "Good Morning America."
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Sound Familiar? Friday, March 23, 2007. "Among the biggest possible conflicts of interest a newspaper can enter into is to have the same people involved in news coverage running opinion pages."
Those words come not from a former journalist of the Santa Barbara News-Press but rather the Opinion Editor of the L.A. Times who resigned Thursday.
The editor, Andres Martinez, quit because he felt his publisher's decision to cancel a special edition of the opinion section, based upon concerns over an appearance of impropriety, made his tenure "untenable" and "amounts to a vote of no confidence in my continued leadership."
Of more interest to me than the circumstances surrounding the resignation is the transparency regarding the process. Martinez was allowed to vent on the L.A. Times' Blog about why he was resigning and his frustration with his superiors and others at the paper. Wendy McCaw take note. This is how you run a newspaper.
* * *
The Organized Newsroom Staff is holding its "Reinstate the Santa Barbara Eight" rally this Saturday, March 24th in De la Guerra Plaza beginning at 1:30 p.m. The rally's purpose is to protest the firing (which the Union maintains is illegal) of eight reporters from the News-Press.
Scheduled to speak at the rally are:
Lois Capps, Member of Congress
Daraka Larimore-Hall -- Vice-President of the Central Labor Council and UAW representative.
Walt Hamilton -- Executive Director of the SEIU Local 620.
Marty Blum -- Mayor of Santa Barbara.
Teena Grant -- President of the Santa Barbara Clergy Association.
David Pritchett -- Community Activist
Dawn Hobbs, Melinda Burns and Tom Schultz -- former News-Press reporters.
On Sunday, March 25th from 3:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church (305 E. Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara) the Greater Santa Barbara Clergy Association is sponsoring a Town Hall forum to discuss the current issues regarding the News-Press. The purpose of the forum is to provide a moderated, respectful, fair, and balanced forum to hear all points of view. Both former journalists and News-Press management have been invited to speak and will be given equal time. Questions and answers will follow the presentations. The public is invited and there is no cost. E-mail sbclergy@yahoo.com for further information.
* * *
Add to the list of local celebrities who broadcast their radio shows from Santa Barbara actor/comedian Jay Thomas who hosts his daily Sirius talk show from his studio in town.
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Going Out Is What It's All About. Thursday, March 22, 2007. Although its been three months since I returned from Cuba, every once in a while my thoughts drift back to that evening in Havana when I fell victim to the "killer shrimp" I had for dinner and ended up collapsed and on the floor.
The thought occurred to me then and its occurred to me a number of times since; if you have to go, and eventually we all have to go, that's is not a bad way to go out. Sudden, painless, no opportunity to get anxious or frightened. One moment you're taking a step towards the door, then next moment you're on the floor. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I came to, but if I hadn't, at least I didn't spend so much as a moment getting panicked or worried about it, or even feeling sorry for myself. I would guess that sometimes the worst part about dying is thinking about dying. Its like a lot of things, once you take the thought out of it, it becomes very easy.
Of course, if I had died in Cuba it would have been a logistical nightmare. For starters, I wasn't supposed to be there to begin with. (How we gonna 'splain this one to the State Department Lucy?) And when they did finally figure out how to send me back home it would have been without a coffin or a casket. The U.S. embargo on trade with Castro means you can't ship anything made in Cuba back to this country. Oh well, at least I was wearing a nice shirt and pair of shorts when I passed out. I probably would have looked no different than Ernest Hemingway did anytime he travelled between Cuba and the States.
Of course, if you do have to go, what better place to be carried out of than the Nacional, Havana's finest hotel. I may not know how to make an entrance but I can sure make one helluva an exit. I wonder if management would have taken pity and comped me the room?
There's only one thing I'd change. If the coroner had asked, "what was the deceased doing just before he died?" instead of saying "he was sipping tea," could you say? "He had a glass of Havana Club rum in one had, and a Cuban cigar in the other."
* * *
Was it intentional or just a typo when a story in the News-Press on Friday identified Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum as "Marty Bum?" We'll probably never know. According to the Mayor, she called associate editor, Scott Steepleton to give him the correct spelling. He then asked some questions about Wednesday's stabbing but the Mayor's answers have not appeared in the paper. Maybe Scott's playing it safe. After all Anna Davison was given the axe when she quoted the mayor too many times in an article.
Apparently not subject to a quota on the Mayor's quotes is News-Press editorial writer Travis Armstrong. The Mayor noted that she was misquoted in 2002 about the young girl who drowned at the Los Banos del Mar swimming pool. "Travis keeps repeating and repeating the misquote.... for almost five years..."
* * *
Is Santa Barbara on its way to becoming the capital of talk radio? Dr. Laura has been doing her nationally syndicated show from here for several years. On Monday, Dennis Miller starts a new radio show which will be carried by some 80 stations. According to the L.A. Times, after a first week launch in New York, Miller will originate the show from here in Santa Barbara, where he also lives.
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Hit and Run Wednesday. Wednesday, March 21, 2007. A quick trip around the web in which I get in, get out, and get on with my life.
Sara lays down the law. Over at Blogabarbara, moderator "Sara de la Guerra" announces guidelines to promote more civil discussion among those posting comments. I think Wyatt Earp had an easier time bringing law and order to the Tombstone Territory.
Over at the Indy's web site, Barney Brantingham laments the lack of teeth in the National Labor Relations Act. If you want teeth, get a shark!. Oh that's right! Wendy McCaw cornered the market on sharks in this town when she hired Barry Cappello.
Tuesday, Santa Barbara firefighters held a demonstration drill at their training facility using a burning car and a helicopter with a hoist. But will the News-Press report this as a drill or a real emergency incident? Then again, they may not have enough reporters to cover the story at all.
A migrating gray whale has been in the Santa Barbara harbor for days, and officials don't know why it hasn't moved on. Even more astounding is the fact that the News-Press hasn't run a five-part series on the wayward whale.
Governor Arnold tells NBC's Tim Russert "In a way this is an on-the-job training. I mean I did not go to school to become a governor." No kidding? And couldn't he have "trained" on New Jersey's dime?
* * *
Tonight, the Food Network will air a show taped during the Santa Barbara Film Fest. "Dinner: Impossible" shot at the Arlington Theatre, documents the catering of the film fests' Centerpiece Screening after party. You can catch it at 10:30 pm on Cox Cable channel 64.
* * *
And for your listening pleasure, the Baltimore Sun's Nick Madigan, gives his take on Wendy McCaw and the News-Press on a KCRW podcast.
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The Truth About Advertising. Tuesday, March 20, 2007. Over on SantaBarbarasBlog.com a post proclaimed:
Advertisers flock back to the News-Press.
In another shift of momentum between the News-Press and the community-at-large, advertisers returned to the beleaguered paper on Sunday. With over 15 inserts, and 25 main-section advertisers, including the lucrative Macy's account, the newspapers recent public relations offensive appears to be working.
Is that really so? I never really noticed that advertisers had left. And whether they've returned or never left to begin with, the real question is, how much are they paying for those ads? For instance, if advertisers are being offered an incentive, say two ads for the price of one, that would look good on paper, but ad revenue would be down and the real victims would be the advertising sales staff who are losing commissions on ads that are comped.
National advertisers like Macy's are probably influenced the least by the events of the eight months. However, they pay rates based strictly on circulation figures and aren't going to be snookered by padded numbers.
Probably the most significant circulation audit since the meltdown at the News-Press is about to be released, the March ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations) report. It is a year-over-year number and will be the best indicator yet of how the News-Press is doing. If the figures show little or no decline, advertisers will look closely at a category titled "other circulation" and compare that figure to the previous year.
"Other circulation" is typically discounted as much as 75% and is paid for by a third party. The most familiar example is a hotel providing you with a free copy of USA Today. However, it is always unrequested and is never paid for by the reader.
If the News-Press' total circulation numbers show anything other than a deep decline then most likely the "other circulation" number will have increased dramatically.
This is significant as advertisers place little value in this type of circulation as it represents a paper being delivered to a party that has not requested or purchased it.
So, Macy's and the other national advertisers are probably not going anywhere, but at the same time, they are not going to pay any more for ads than what the circulation numbers dictate.
* * *
If you tuned in Monday night to watch either KEYT's 6 pm or 11 pm newscast, you probably noticed that anchor CJ Ward's right arm was in a sling. CJ was a guest on the KTYD Morning Show Monday and told Matt McAllister and his crew that it wasn't an accident but rather the cumulative effects of an athletic lifestyle that includes, among other things, football, basketball and surfing, that caused him to have his arthritic right shoulder completely replaced. He won't be able to drive for two months and is looking at an eight month recovery.
BTW, CJ revealed what "CJ" stands for. Clelland John. Its Scottish.
* * *
Finally, if you would indulge me while I deliver a message to my friend Daily Sound columnist, Leslie A. Westbrook. Leslie, I have no political ambitions. There, that rumor was easy enough to put to rest.
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No Wonder Mrs. Fields Left Town. Monday, March 19, 2007. I spent part of my Saturday chaperoning my 11 year old daughter and some of her fifth grade cronies as they hustled Girl Scout cookies in front of Lazy Acres Market. Although I live within walking distance of what is arguably Santa Barbara's favorite upscale grocery store, I seldom set foot in there. It's not that often that I get a taste for sodium free chicken noodle soup and even if I did get a sudden craving for it, I have a hard time justifying the higher prices one has to pay there. After all, I am on a blogger's salary you know.
Having spent a few hours observing the trafficking in Thin Mints, Thanks-A-Lots and Shortbreads, I've come to the conclusion that Lazy Acres is the happening place to be on a Saturday. It's also kind of a scary place. The narrow lanes and small spaces in the parking lot make for a lot of close calls, especially when the Range Rovers and Hummers pull in. "Hey Honey, guess who I ran into at the store today?" The fact that about every fourth driver has a cell phone glued to their ear doesn't help either.
A pretty good cross-section of the community can be seen there from students to seniors and everybody in between. My favorite sale of the day was the one the girls made to a couple of college students who emerged from the store with only a 12-pack of Guinness in hand (it was St. Patrick's day after all) and then bought several boxes of cookies to go with it. I guess they wanted to be prepared in case they got the munchies later on.
At most locations where the girls set up the folding table, the most frequently asked question is; "Do you have Samoa's?" (The answer is yes, but they're no longer called "Samoa's" but rather, "Caramel Delites.") Saturday at Lazy Acres, the most frequently asked question seemed to be; "Do Girl Scout cookies have trans fats?" The answer is no, although one of the other chaperone's found herself debating this fact with a potential customer who wasn't satisfied with the answer. Hey, if it really matters that much to you just walk past the cookie table and head straight for the alfalfa sprouts and mashed yeast. After all, we've got poly-unsaturated fats to push here.
Another one of the chaperones wondered if perhaps the clientele of Lazy Acres was a bit too "crunchy" for Girl Scout cookies. Nevertheless, sales were brisk. Believe me, the cookie formerly known as a Samoa, is far tastier than anything you'll find in the health food aisle.
* * *
Today's New York Times has an article reporting on last week's rulings and announcements from the NLRB regarding the News-Press. The story concludes with a quote from the paper's lawyer, Barry Cappello, where he says; "The meteor has hit. We're watching the end of the industry. Journalists think they can write what they want when they want. I don't know if that can survive in this age." Gee Barry, I always thought the notion of journalists writing what they want, when they want, was called a "free press."
* * *
Mark your calendars for a couple of News-Press events coming up this weekend. The Organized Newsroom Staff is planning a "Reinstate the Santa Barbara Eight" rally this Saturday, March 24th in De la Guerra Plaza beginning at 1:30 p.m. The rally's purpose is to protest the firing (which the Union maintains is illegal) of eight reporters from the News-Press. A number of speakers are expected to be at the rally, including local and state politicians and labor movement leaders.
On Sunday, March 25th from 3:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church (305 E. Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara) the Greater Santa Barbara Clergy Association is sponsoring a Town Hall forum to discuss the current issues regarding the News-Press. The purpose of the forum is to provide a moderated, respectful, fair, and balanced forum to hear all points of view. Both former journalists and News-Press management have been invited to speak and will be given equal time. Questions and answers will follow the presentations. The public is invited and there is no cost. E-mail sbclergy@yahoo.com for further information.
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The News-Press Plays "Spin and Stall." Friday, March 16, 2007. Now that an impartial finder of fact has ruled that there is no basis for overturning the 33 to 6 vote of newsroom employees in favor of unionization, there can be no doubt that the News-Press lost the election fair and square. I know it, you know it, and Barry Cappello knows it. Yet when he spoke to the Independent the other day about Judge Schmidt's decision, Cappello said "of course (its) just a recommendation, and not a final ruling." Just a recommendation?
I contacted union attorney Ira Gottlieb to ask him for his reaction to Cappello's assertion that its "just a recommendation."
Only a labor law ignoramus could say that. Just look at the decision;
it wasn't a restaurant review helping the Board decide what to eat, it
was a judge's decision with findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Yes, the format is formally that of a "recommendation", but the NLRB
will essentially sit as an appellate body, and is not going to be
hearing any more evidence, or revisiting the factual findings unless
they are completely unsupported by the record (which they're not). The
burden will continue to be on the employer, and the employer miserably
failed to support its objections, which were not sufficient to overturn
the election even if credible evidence had been adduced to support them.
If you read Judge Schmmidt's decision it is clear that there were two things wrong with the News-Press' case: (1) they had next to no evidence with which to support their objections and, (2) what little evidence they did have wasn't believable. As Gottlieb went on to tell me in his e-mail: "When one side or the
other wins an election this handily, and the objections are this weak
and the opinion from (the judge) is this strong, well-documented and supported it is at best
a fool's errand to try to overturn it, and in this case, it is only for
the purposes of bad faith delay to try."
The bottom line; these "recommendations" are
usually followed, and in this case, it's not even close. Nevertheless, the NLRB has granted the News-Press' request for a two-week delay in submitting its exceptions to Judge Schmidt's ruling until April 5th.
* * *
Dr. Laura took another swipe at the local blogosphere in her column on Thursday. As usual there's some spirited reaction to it, as well as some excerpts from the column, on Blogabarbara.
* * *
Speaking of Dr. Laura, isn't she always advising people to "go do the right thing?" Why doesn't she get off of her high horse and take Wendy to tea or something and tell her, look, you lost the election, get over it. Sit down and start bargaining with the union. After all, like it or not, its your obligation to do so.
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Fired News-Press Reporters to Start Their Own News Outlet. Thursday, March 15, 2007. In an effort to provide the quality journalism that is all too often missing from the Santa Barbara News-Press, eight of the fired News-Press journalists are starting their own online news site and cable-cast news program.
Called "Santa Barbara Newsroom," it will consist of both a website, SantaBarbaraNewsroom.com and a half-hour news program airing regularly on Channel 17, Santa Barbara's public access station. The original broadcast time slot and re-run times will soon be announced. A link to a rebroadcast of this program will also be on the web site.
The eight fired reporters, who will staff Santa Barbara Newsroom, are: Melinda Burns, John Zant, Dawn Hobbs, Tom Schultz, Anna Davison, Barney McManigal, Rob Kuznia and Melissa Evans.
Both the Web site and the broadcast program are sponsored by the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The web site is scheduled to launch April 2nd.
So with seven news-reporters plus a sports guy, Santa Barbara Newsroom will have more news reporters than the News-Press.
* * *
We could have used Santa Barbara Newsroom yesterday to give us information about the senseless and tragic stabbing and gang fight that took place in the afternoon on State Street. The News-Press didn't get any info about it posted to newspress.com until 7:05 pm. It was beaten to the story by the Independent, KEYT and KCOY, who all had stories posted on their respective websites well before then.
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Is The Momentum Shifting? Wednesday, March 14, 2007. I know, "it ain't over till its over." "The race is a marathon and not a sprint." "The curtain doesn't fall until the fat lady sings." So, while I certainly wouldn't be too sanguine about the events of the last couple of days concerning the News-Press labor dispute, you gotta admit, the union is suddenly having its way with Wendy McCaw.
First, there was Monday's decision, swatting away all of the News-Press' objections to the events leading up to and culminating in the union vote in favor of Teamster representation. Then there was the announcement that came towards the end of the workday Tuesday that the NLRB will prosecute the News-Press for a number of unfair labor practices including, unlawfully firing eight reporters.
Do things happen in threes? I guess we will soon find out. The NLRB is looking into the possibility of seeking a federal court injunction that would prohibit the News-Press from engaging in any further unfair labor practices and might even result in the paper being ordered to rehire the fired reporters.
Last night I asked Melinda Burns, who believes she was fired for being pro-union, what she and her colleagues thought of the NLRB's latest announcement. "We are delighted that the board's attorneys will represent us all in our case against the News-Press. Wendy McCaw has been getting away with far too much for far too long."
So did the News-Press carry a story or even a mention of the fact that its objections to the union election were overruled? Nope not a word. What could be the excuse for not doing so? That they are too short-handed to assign a reporter to the story? Then why didn't they at least run the Associated Press' wire story? (And the one thing we know that the News-Press can do these days is run wire stories.) Once again, the News-Press has demonstrated its unwillingness to report stories that reflect poorly on itself or its owner's friends.
* * *
Last night, friends and colleagues of former News-Press editor Jerry Roberts held a roast in San Francisco to help raise money so that Jerry can defend himself against a ridiculous $25 million arbitration claim brought by Wendy McCaw. Among those speaking last night was noted journalist and Summerland resident Lou Cannon who told the audience:
We are here tonight because McCaw has tried to silence Jerry Roberts by filing a preposterous $25 million claim against him. Jerry is a stand-in for the rest of us. It would be enough for me and I'm sure for most of us if we were doing this merely to help Jerry prevail. More is at stake, however. The eyes of the nation are on the Santa Barbara News-Press, and if McCaw prevails her anti-union, anti-free speech tactics will not go unnoticed. The only answer to McCaw's campaign of intimidation is to raise the money to fight her in court.
A few days after Jerry quit, I spoke to a community gathering and pledged my support to the former employees saying that their fight is our fight. That's still true. When we help Jerry pay his legal bills, we are also striking a blow for freedom of the press-and for honest journalism. Please give generously.
If you'd like to follow Lou's suggestion and give, find out how you can do so at jerryrobertsandfriends.org.
* * *
Wake-Up Wendy Wednesdays: Urging journalistic integrity and fair treatment of employees at the Santa Barbara News-Press, community members are gathering to picket in front of the News-Press building today, March 14, 12 noon to 1 p.m. Future pickets: March 21st and 28th.
For more info, write to OperationColdShoulder@gmail.com.
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NLRB to Prosecute News-Press for Unlawful Firings. Tuesday, March 13, 2007. Late today, Tuesday, the General Counsel of the NLRB announced that it would prosecute the Santa Barbara News-Press for unlawfully firing eight reporters in retaliation for their support of the Teamsters union.
The federal agency has therefore declared that it has sufficient evidence to believe that Melinda Burns, Anna Davison, John Zant, Barney McManigal, Dawn Hobbs, Tom Schultz, Rob Kuznia, and Melissa Evans all were discharged by management in retaliation for activity protected by federal labor law. The NLRB's decision to prosecute the News-Press for these multiple labor law violations is comparable to a district attorney's decision to prosecute a defendant. An administrative law judge or hearing officer will listen to the evidence and then render a decision.
More on this tomorrow morning.
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Looks Like the Judge Wouldn't Buy This Snow Job. Tuesday, March 13, 2007. The judge has finally ruled and the decision is in. And if I were Wendy McCaw I'd be having a couple of extra Martinis every evening and retiring earlier to the poop deck of my yacht to contemplate what the future holds. The News-Press newsroom is a union shop.
The only surprise is how long it took (over two months) for Administrative Law Judge William Schmidt to issue his ruling.
In baseball, the shutouts don't last nearly as long as the slugfests, and according to Schmidt, the union pitched a shutout. All four of the News-Press' objections were firmly overruled by the judge. Was the Union responsible for criminal threats directed at News-Press property? No. Did the Union initiate a campaign of false and misleading propaganda? No. Did the Union coerce employees? No. Did supervisory personnel engage in pro-Union conduct? No.
I took the time to read the judge's 22 page opinion and I came away with the feeling that if this had been a prize fight, he would have stopped it long ago. The News-Press had little evidence to back up their objections and what evidence they did have, well, the judge basically found to be not worthy of belief.
As an example, the judge wrote that Travis Armstrong's testimony "had no ring of truthfulness at all" when he claimed that he had observed union organizer Marty Keegan staked out in front of his apartment. For that reason the judge concluded that he would "not credit his self-serving characterizations without convincing corroboration." Of course the News-Press lawyers never offered any corroboration convincing or otherwise so Armstrong's testimony apparently never got any credence from the judge.
With respect to an occasion when employees tried to deliver a letter to Armstrong, the judge rejected the News-Press' attempt to portray the incident as an intimidation tactic stating; "This whole episode amounted to nothing more than a simple effort by employees to begin a conversation about their grievances and their desire for representation. No amount of prevarication can turn it into anything else." And BTW, isn't saying that someone is "prevaricating" about as polite a way as there is of calling someone a liar?
The News-Press' attorneys Sandra McCandless and David Millstein didn't fare much better than Armstrong with regard to their credibility. The judge noting at one point in his decision that no support existed in the record for their "wildly inflated argument." All of this was in sharp contrast to the testimony of former News-Press writer Tom Schultz, one of the employees who wished to affiliate with the union, whom the judge found; "highly credible" with "no apparent attempt to embellish."
So, what do the organized newsroom employees think of the ruling? Last night I spoke with Dawn Hobbs, one of the pro-union employees who was fired at the beginning of February for "disloyalty," who told me; "We have been confident for quite some time that the judge was going to do no less than rule in our favor. However, the announcement of his ruling was still very exciting for us. We anticipate that this will be the first in a series of decisions that will be in our favor including the one that will reinstate us to our jobs."
Late Monday afternoon I contacted Agnes Huff who handles publicity for the paper to get the News-Press' reaction to the ruling. Around 9:20 Monday night she e-mailed me back thanking me for my patience but saying that "as of now, the News-Press doesn't have a statement."
So, how will Wendy spin this? Will she try to write it off by claiming that Judge Schmidt was in the Union bag? Will she say that he is simply yet another name to be added to the cabal that is trying to silence the paper? That line is getting pretty tiresome. Facing the facts and sitting down and negotiating in good faith with her unionized employees would be a refreshing change, and a welcome surprise.
My guess is that the News-Press will give this story short shrift if it covers it at all. In anticipation of that there are several places on the web where you can read a full news account of the ruling:
The Daily Sound's story.
The Associated Press' report.
KSBY's video
The Indy's Media Blog account.
Lompoc Record story.
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Judge Upholds Union Victory! Monday, March 12, 2007. In a decision dated March 8, Judge William L. Schmidt of the National Labor Relations Board upheld the overwhelming September 27, 2006 election victory won by the Graphics Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. This decision confirms to the union the legal right to represent the newsroom employees at the Santa Barbara News-Press. Judge Schmidt presided over a two-day hearing in Santa Barbara January 9 and 10, and heard evidence from the newspaper's management and from the union. After briefing by the parties, he has now determined the News-Press' four objections to the election do not warrant overturning the Union's resounding victory.
In light of this affirmation of the Union's lawful conduct during the election period, the Union will demand that News-Press management commence collective bargainng negotiations immediately.
More details on this story later.
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She's Back and Hitting the Blogs. Monday, March 12, 2007. After a two and a half month "sabbatical,"
Dr. Laura's column returned to the News-Press on Sunday. I must say, the woman does know how to make an entrance. For starters, she gave a heads up to
santabarbarasblog.com that she was returning. When her column actually resurfaced Sunday, she led off with a few paragraphs about
Blogabarbara. Yep, she was simultaneously complaining about Blogabarbara's policy of permitting anonymous posts and failing to post one of her signed missives in the "comments" section of the blog. ("Sara de la Guerra," Blogabarbara's moderator responded on Sunday.)
The headline on Laura's column was "The cowardice of anonymity" (and in all fairness to the good "doctor" she probably doesn't write the headlines that accompany her column) but nevertheless the quote she concluded the topic with was; "I disdain media outlets which permit anonymity. If their words aren't worth standing behind, they aren't worth being heard or read." I guess she hasn't been reading those full page ads the News-Press has been running of late, several of which conclude with quotes attributed to "anonymous."
BTW, is this the same Dr. Laura who not so long ago wrote; "Bloggers are folks with their own personal Web sites, which they can use for whatever end they please with impunity?" I'll save you the trouble of looking it up. The answer is, yes. I guess resorting to the blogs is a good way for a columnist to get a jump start after sitting on the sidelines for nearly two months.
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The streak of very little local news in the Sunday News-Press continues: yesterday's paper had an article about picking up trash on the beach and a story about a UCSB website. That was it.
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So, who is behind that full page ad in Friday's Daily Sound that so cleverly questioned Indian gaming using the words of News-Press editorial page editor and Native American, Travis Armstrong? According to Charles Swegles, co-publisher of the Daily Sound, the ad was purchased by "No More Slots." This organization with a Santa Ynez postal address promotes itself as a "grass roots" movement whose mission is to stop the expansion of the Chumash Casino which could potentially result in the addition of 5,000 slot machines to the Santa Ynez Valley.
The words from Armstrong's old San Jose Mercury News op-ed piece are quite dramatic when compared those he wrote in a News-Press editorial that appeared last Wednesday. The San Jose Mercury piece is from May 14, 2000. One can only wonder what happened since then to turn Armstrong into such a staunch advocate of Indian gaming.
There was a good opinion piece in Sunday's L.A. Times which questions the proposal to allow tribes such as the Chumash to expand beyond the current maximum of 2,000 slot machines per casino in return for the state being cut in for a percentage of earnings that could produce hundreds of millions of dollars to offset California's lingering budget deficit.
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An Eyebrow Raising E-Mail. Friday, March 9, 2007. My post yesterday regarding KEYT reporter/anchor Joe Gehl's eyebrows being the talk of the town drew this response from News-Press reporter Leana Orsua, who was mentioned in the story.
Craig,
I would like to respond to your blog on Joe Gehl and his eyebrows. First off, Joe is a heck of a sweet guy. I think anyone who watches him would have to agree that he has an amazingly smooth and comfortable style on the air. He is credible, authoritative, proficient, confident, and above all else, professional. Coming from a not-so ethnically diverse place like Milwaukee to Santa Barbara which was founded by Spaniards, you've got to applaud this man for his ability to be [able] to pronounce such words as Ventura, Lompoc, Paso Robles, Santa Ynez, Arrellaga Street, Carrillo Street, Anapamu Street, okay you get the picture.
Coming from a television background myself, I can tell you from my own experience while reporting in the South, reporting in a brand new community and trying to learn the towns and street names can be quite difficult. I had to pronounce such words as: Blytheville, Bayou la Batre, Chickasaw and Toadsuck (yes, that's really a town, try saying that on the air without laughing) During Joe's time at KEYT, I have yet to see him stumble once on the air.
In every market you go to, it always takes the new guy or gal a while to gain an audience. Let's face it, Joe was walking in to some big shoes. Debby had been at KEYT for 17 years and was more or less the longest running face at the station next to John Palminterri and Paula Lopez. I think Joe has some great potential in to making it in a major market. Sure he has some quirks, but don't we all? Would you rather see someone who continually fumbles there words on the air? Or someone who mispronounces the name of your kid's school or your company, or the name of some of our local cities? Give the guy some credit. I think he brings some air of experience to the station. His stories are solid and his anchoring is equally as good. I applaud the guy.
And, although I wish I could give you some good gossip Craig, there is nothing romantic to report between Joe and. If there was, I think the newspaper has more important business to attend to these days than what's going on in my love life, or should I say lack thereof. -Leana
Thanks for writing Leana. I only disagree on one point. If the choice is between those full page propaganda ads the News-Press has been running lately or your love life, I'd rather hear about your love life. Or even the lack of one.
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Another Santa Barbara reporter is leaving town but Wendy McCaw isn't to blame this time. After nine years as the Santa Barbara Bureau Chief for KSBY-TV, Matt Cota is "retiring" in two weeks. Matt, along with his wife and two children, is moving to Montpelier, Vermont. He's leaving the news business to become the Executive Director and Vice-President of the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association. This new career path will get Matt and his wife closer to their families and allow them to buy a home.
Matt has covered a wide range of stories in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, including the crash of the Alaskan Airlines Flight 261, the David Attias murder trial, and the Michael Jackson child molestation investigation. Matt began his career at the NBC station in Burlington, Vermont, after graduating from George Washington University in Washington D.C.
So, how does he feel about leaving? "I will miss many things about Santa Barbara and my time covering news in this beautiful city. Thankfully I can stay informed all the way in frigid Montpelier by reading your blog."
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This Reporter Is A Real Eyebrow Raiser. Thursday, March 8, 2007. Among the local TV news junkies, its the biggest topic of conversation since KEYT let the weatherbabe, er, I mean its "female meteorologist," go. Its even gotten a couple of mentions on the Santa Barbara craigslist. People all over town are wondering what's up with reporter Joe Gehl and his eyebrows?
In case you haven't seen him (because if you have seen him you will have noticed) Gehl has this quirky habit that manifests itself every time he does a location shot. He looks straight at the camera then for a few seconds he'll turn his head to the right and look down and then look back into the camera, talking all the while. One poster on craigslist claimed he did it 25 times in a 30 second report.
Gehl's quirkiness isn't confined to his field reporting. He anchors KEYT's 5 o'clock broadcast where another craigslist poster has noted how he is always raising and scrunching his thick eyebrows. People around town are wondering; "Debby Davison had to leave to make room for this?"
So perhaps we now know the reason that KEYT doesn't have a high definition signal. The sight of those thick eyebrows in HD might cause viewers to try to adjust their sets.
According to people who know him, Gehl's on air demeanor is quite different from his off the air persona. On camera he does his best to come across as Walter Cronkite. When you meet him off camera you wonder if he's Santa Barbara's version of Ted Baxter.
Gehl, a bachelor, has reportedly brought out the matchmaker in weekend anchor Tracy Lehr. Lehr introduced him to former KEYT reporter Leana Orsua, who now works for the News-Press. They were seen together back in February at one of the film festival parties. Now that might cause a few eyebrows to be raised at the south end of De la Guerra Plaza.
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Is Justice Delayed Or Is Justice Hogtied? Wednesday, March 7, 2007. When it comes to the News-Press it seems like the wheels of justice are slower than molasses, in January, going up a hill, backwards. Take the NLRB for instance. The hearing on the News-Press' objections to the outcome of the union election concluded on January 10th of this year. The administrative law judge who heard the case took it under submission, meaning he would think it over and write a decision. Well, its nearly two months later and still no decision.
What about the firing of Melinda Burns? The NLRB issued a complaint against the News-Press alleging that the firing was unlawful and originally set a hearing date of February 26th on the matter. That hearing was postponed to March 12th. After the News-Press fired six reporters at the beginning of the month, which in turn caused the union to file additional unfair labor practice charges, the NLRB responded by sending investigators up here to Santa Barbara and further postponed the March 12th hearing. As of now, no new hearing date has been set.
And what about the News-Press' suit against Susan Paterno for defamation arising out of the American Journalism Review article she wrote? Paterno responded to the suit by filing an anti-SLAPP motion that was originally supposed to be heard on Monday March 5th. According to one of Paterno's attorneys, Shelley Hurwitz, that hearing has been continued to April 16th while the News-Press attempts to get the court's permission to gather evidence to allow it to oppose the SLAPP motion. Shouldn't they have gathered their evidence before they sued Paterno?
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The News-Press missed reporting on one of the biggest local government stories to hit Goleta so far this year. The hearing and vote on whether to change the city's General Plan. It was the front page story in Tuesday's Santa Barbara Daily Sound. The News-Press had absolutely nothing on it Tuesday.
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On Monday, I wrote about the similarity between the situation at the News-Press and the current plot line of the comic strip, Brenda Starr. Local bloggers, Billy Calderwood and Drew Mackie picked up on the story. Calderwood noted the striking similarity between the Santa Barbara Mission and the building depicted in the first frame of the comic strip. Mackie e-mailed Mary Schmich, who writes Brenda Starr and asked her if the News-Press debacle was the inspiration for the current plot. Schmich wrote back saying that it wasn't.
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The L.A. Times website reports that Santa Barbara Film Fest executive director Roger Durling will be off to the Cannes Film Festival in May where he will be Program Director for the American Pavillion. Roger will be coordinating and programming all the panels and conversations in the AP during the world's most reknown film fest. Hey Roger! Do you think you could get me a press pass?
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Zant Goes Independent! Tuesday, March 6, 2007. The dedicated and mostly forlorn readers of the News-Press sports section finally will have something to cheer about. John Zant can soon be read again in print. Only he won't be writing for the News-Press, he'll be writing for the Santa Barbara Independent.
In the next two issues of the Independent Zant will be covering UCSB's basketball teams, both men's and women's, in this weekend's Big West basketball tournament. The announcement was made last night at a gathering in Zant's honor at the Endless Summer bar which was heavily attended by Santa Barbara's athletic community.
According to Zant, the assignment will give him an opportunity to have some closure with the basketball season which he covered two-thirds of before being fired for "disloyalty" by News-Press owner Wendy McCaw. Beyond the basketball tournament, there are no plans for Zant to continue to write for the Indy. However, one thing he is contemplating is writing a history of Santa Barbara sports. UCSB's Gary Cunningham, who was in attendance last night, even floated the idea of Zant succeeding him in a few years as athletic director for the Gauchos.
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McCaw refuses to let the News-Press cover the story of its own inner turmoil. However, the UCSB Daily Nexus is running an article on the News-Press in today's edition.
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Latest to leave the News-Press is Nicholle Chaparro, an administrative assistant in classified advertising. Nicholle handled all of the wedding, engagement and anniversary announcements among many, many other duties. Nicholle had been there almost three years. She left to take a much better paying job at Village Properties in Montecito.
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In case you were wondering like I was, why actor Jack Black turned down a leading role in the colossal movie flop, "Sahara," we now have the answer. According to yesterday's L.A. Times: Black said it was really cool and he really liked it, but if he had to choose between schlepping around the desert for three months or sitting on his sofa eating popcorn and watching TV, he was going to be sitting on his sofa. Hey, wasn't Penelope Cruz in that movie? I'd "schlepp around" the desert with her any day.
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Overheard on one of the cable news networks; "Who would have thought that of the three leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, (Giuliani, McCain and Romney) the only one without multiple wives would be the Mormon."
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McCaw Knows How To Withdraw. Monday, March 5, 2007. Whoever said; "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" never met News-Press owner Wendy McCaw. For McCaw, every perceived slight, real or not, carries with it a price to pay, retribution to be exacted, if not on the spot, at some time in the future. Her enemies list is now longer than the lifeboat line on the Titanic. The latest victim of McCaw's wrath is, believe it or not, the Granada Theatre.
Back in December of 2003, the News-Press reported that McCaw, through her foundation, had pledged $5 million to the campaign to restore the Granada. On Friday, I learned that McCaw is reneging on that pledge.
A person close to the situation has confirmed to me, on condition of anonymity, that McCaw has informed the board of the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts, who is seeking to raise the funds to rehabilitate and upgrade the theatre, that her foundation will not be making its annual installment payment on the pledge this year.
So, why the sudden change of heart? While no one can say for sure, word on the street is that it all stems from the remarks made by Sara Miller McCune at last November's News-Press Lifetime Achievement Awards dinner when McCune, during the course of her acceptance speech, expressed her desire to buy the News-Press. McCaw has said repeatedly that the paper is not for sale.
McCune, a member of the SBPCA's executive committee and head of the fundraising campaign, has herself given $5 million to the restoration project.
In my opinion this is just the latest example of how petty McCaw can be. The newspaper owner, who lately has been running full page ads whining about intimidation and the suppression of her paper's free speech rights, has no compunction about chilling the free speech rights of others or using the power of her purse to punish anyone she thinks is not on her side.
* * *
If you're still reading the News-Press you've probably forgotten how a fair and balanced editorial and op-ed page section ought to look. A good example is the L.A. Times of the last week. On Thursday March 1st, the Times ran an editorial opposing The Employee Free Choice Act, a bill pending in the House of Representatives that would make it easer for employees to unionize. On Sunday, the Times op-ed page ran a column by Jonathan Chait, supporting passage of the bill.
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Paula Christensen, who reads this blog from Massachusetts, wonders if if the comic strip "Brenda Starr" is taking on the News-Press mess. The comic strip's heroine has just been hired as the editor of a newspaper recently purchased by a billionaire female tycoon in Hollywood who doesn't appear to have any journalistic scruples. I wonder if McCaw will have Barry Cappello fire off a cease and desist letter to the strip's syndicator claiming that the author of Starr has wrongly misappropriated McCaw's likeness and traits for the billionaire tycoon character?
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At The News-Press, The Ads Are On The House. Thursday, March 1, 2007. Is it because she is so desperate to get her "message" out or is it simply because there are so few takers for full page ads? I honestly don't know the answer but in Wednesday's paper, the News-Press ran another one of those full-page display ads.
This one started out with a dictionary definition of the word "bias" (as if the word is so arcane that the common newspaper reader needs assistance in understanding its meaning). It then claims that there was biased reporting in the paper in the past but that most or all of the writers and editors who were guilty of it have either resigned or been fired. The ad warns us that the Teamsters want to force the News-Press to re-hire the biased infidels, and how would we, the readers, like that? Actually it sounds pretty good to me, because the writing and reporting of Melinda Burns, Dawn Hobbs and John Zant is light years ahead of "Staff Report" which is the most frequent by-line you see in the paper these days.
As an example of the "bias" that they have now eliminated, the ad cites the fact that a portion of an article that appeared in the paper was used in the literature of a political campaign. Although the campaign isn't mentioned in the ad it was the pro Measure D campaign.
Claiming that someone lifting a passage from a newspaper article and using it in their campaign mailer is proof positive that the original article was biased seems like a huge leap in logic to me. If a newspaper reporter writes that "Santa Claus always wears red" and someone cites that fact in support of their argument that "Santa Claus must be a communist," that's hardly proof that the article which contained the quoted fact was "biased."
The ad concludes with the following quote; "Media has its own agenda. Facts are sabotaged in favor of a slant, a bias. Today's journalism is mostly just junk." And who said that? Amazingly, the quote is attributed to "Anonymous." ("Staff Report" is starting to look pretty good now.) What is the reader supposed to think? Is this quote so ancient and hallowed that its wisdom has outlived the long faded memory of its author? I doubt it. Or is it such an indisputable fact that it needs no attribution to authority to back it up? Obviously not. It would be nice to know who made this assertion. If it was the the wino down on State and Haley, that's one thing. If it was Wendy McCaw, that's another. Or then again, maybe it isn't.
So who is the quote attributable to? I Googled it and I couldn't come up with a match. That's pretty strange when you consider that if you Google "Ask not what you can do for your country" you come up with John F. Kennedy, or you get Abraham Lincoln when you input "A house divided against itself cannot stand." My experience is that even obscure quotes can be tracked down on Google.
So why would the author of the quote not be identified? Surely whoever wrote the copy for the ad read the quote, heard it, or maybe even wrote it themselves. My guess is that someone made the judgment that disclosing the identity of whomever spoke or wrote those words would only undermine the argument being put forth in the ad. An argument that was DOA to begin with.
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No one knows whether it was a coincidence or he intentionally came down to see what was going on, but actor and Montecito resident Rob Lowe was spotted by a number of former News-Press employees at Wednesday's noon-time demonstration at De la Guerra Plaza.
A scowling Lowe was seen standing in the street not far from where the journalists were picketing in front of the News-Press building. He appeared to be trying to read their signs. After a few minutes he turned and started walking towards City Hall. Former News-Press reporter Tom Schultz, who was manning the bull-horn used it to say; "Rob Lowe, why don't you come and join us?" Lowe kept walking, never acknowledging that he heard the invitation, if in fact he did.
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McCaw Skirts The Law. Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007. You might recall that exactly one week ago, News-Press editorial director Travis Armstrong, wrote an op-ed piece attacking Santa Barbara City Councilman, Brian Barnwell. In that column, Armstrong also went after Barnwell's wife, former News-Press reporter Camilla Cohee. Armstrong suggested that Cohee resigned from the paper because she was suspected of fudging her time card.
A number of people e-mailed me questioning how Armstrong could get away with providing details of Cohee's personnel records -- accurate or not -- in his
column. I'm not an employment law attorney so I asked an acquaintance who is a human resources director for a large private employer here in town. Here is the surprising answer.
While most of us assume that employment and personnel records are private that is not the case. The California Information Practices Act prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of personal information. However, the act only applies to agencies of the state government. In other words if you're employed by the state, or the University of California, the act applies. But it doesn't apply to private sector employers, and the News-Press is a private employer.
Although not legally obligated to keep personnel records and information private, most non-governmental employers do so anyway for fear of a law suit. For instance, if the information disclosed should prove to be inaccurate or misleading and cause an employee not to be hired for a subsequent job, or even to lose an existing job or job opportunity, the employer who releases the information could be held liable in damages. As a result, most employers will only confirm social security number, rate of pay, dates of employment and job
title when it comes time for an employment reference check.
Cohee has publicly responded to Armstrong's insinuations on the Indy's Media Blog and made it clear that she quit and was not fired. As long as she doesn't lose her present job (she works at the Chumash Casino) and doesn't get denied future employment based on these allegations, the News-Press has probably dodged a bullet. But I guarantee that if the News-Press continues to play fast and loose with the rules, its only a matter of time before it catches up with them.
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News-Press owner and co-publisher Wendy McCaw has adamantly and repeatedly denied that she has sought to influence her paper's coverage of the news. However, in a posting on the Indy's Media Blog, fired Assistant City Editor Bob Guiliano places the smoking gun of meddling squarely in her hand.
In an e-mail to Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum, Guiliano recounts how McCaw called him into a meeting and instructed him to reprimand Davison for quoting the mayor too many times in her January 15th article on the removal of trees on lower State Street. When asked how quoting the mayor too often amounted to bias, McCaw replied that the article "went against our editorial page."
Guiliano later advised McCaw that having Davison write a news story saying there's a controversy, when none existed. would make the newspaper look bad. McCaw's response was to fire Davison on January 25th and to fire Guiliano the following day.
Guiliano actually related much of this story to me about 10 days ago following one of the "noisemaking" rallys at De la Guerra Plaza. At that time he asked me not to publish his account as he felt it might jeopardize the handling of an unfair labor practice complaint he had filed with the NLRB. I honored his request.
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In a completely chance encounter yesterday, a current News-Press employee who works in customer service, told me that s/he reads my blog regularly while at work as "there's not a whole lot of work to do." There were a number of witnesses to this exchange who responded to the comment with a sustained outburst of laughter. I'd say that's anecdotal evidence that there may not be a whole lot of News-Press customers to serve these days.
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A Designing Woman Leaves. Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007. Latest to resign from the News-Press is Mary Koenig, a graphic designer who had been with the paper for 10 years. Working in design and advertising she hardly knew the editors and reporters at the paper, yet in the weeks and months that followed the meltdown, she came to the conclusion that it was the journalists, and not ownership, that best exemplified the ideal of "what the purpose and heart of a paper is."
According to Mary, there are people still working at the paper who feel that the criticism from the community is a personal attack on them. Some of her co-workers complained to her asking, how she could accept a paycheck and then go protest in De la Guerra Plaza? Having resigned, she no longer has to answer that question. While still there, she continued to work hard, even though she disliked and distrusted management. Mary wants to see the News-Press become a good paper again but feels that it won't happen without significant change in how the paper's ownership views integrity.
A going away party was held for Mary last Friday at Dargan's. Both past and present News-Press employees were in attendance.
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A new hour long program on the News Press situation, produced by Larry Nimmer, will start airing on The Santa Barbara Channels, Channel 17, today. The program includes an extensive interview with John Zant as well as footage from the February 21st "Wake Up Wendy Wednesday" rally.
The program is scheduled to air this week as follows:
Tuesday, 2/27 at 9 am
Wednesday, 2/28 at 7 pm
Thursday, 3/1 at 10 pm
Friday, 3/2 at 2 pm
Saturday, 3/3 at 11 am
Sunday 3/4 at 9 pm
Can't get enough video? There are clips of the "Wake Up Wendy Wednesday" rally on YouTube.
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So which Oscar viewing party did SBIFF Exec Director Roger Durling, arguably Santa Barbara's biggest movie fan, attend Sunday night? None. He didn't watch the Oscars. He's in Rome, Italy where the show wasn't even broadcast. He did get the results off the Internet the next morning.
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"I'd Like To Start by Thanking The Members of The Academy." Monday, Feb. 26, 2007. The Academy Awards were last night and finally, Martin Scorsese now has as many Oscars as Three 6 Mafia. The rap group was the winner in the best song category last year for "Its Hard Out Here For A Pimp." I know what they mean. For a long time there it was hard out here for a blogger, until Wendy McCaw came along.
Last night I watched the Academy Awards from Madison's, the site of SB CAN's 5th annual Oscar Party. Madison's was actually the site of dueling Oscar parties last night. In the front of the restaurant was the K-LITE party and in the back, the SB CAN party.
Over 60 people attended the fundraiser for the group that is concerned about housing, open space and transportation. Staffing the ticket table and greeting guests was long-time local activist Selma Rubin. Among the guests were a number of politicos and elected officials including, Pedro Nava and wife Susan Jordan, Mayor Marty Blum and husband Joe, city councilman Grant House and wife Peggy Jo Love-House and Susan Epstein of the Goleta School Board.
Also enjoying the fun and the food which included everything from bacon wrapped shrimp to movie popcorn were John and Karen Hartman, Jon Williams, Mary Rose, David Pritchett and Cathy Murillo, Vicky Blum, attorney, Michael Hall Gray with wife Rose, and George Relles. "Hollywood" was even represented by screenwriter Walter Davis.
Media covering the event included Colby Frazier of the Daily Sound, Steve Libowitz, who covers arts and entertainment for the Sound and the Montecito Journal and Girl Man Media's Crissy Strassburg who was shooting video throughout the party.
Former News-Press advertising director Sarah Sinclair, a big movie fan, was there with boyfriend Fred Shriver. Sarah starts a new job today as General Manager of the
Lompoc Record.
Watching the awards being handed out on TV last night was almost like watching a re-run of the recently concluded Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Three of the four winners of the acting awards, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Hudson and Forest Whitaker attended the festival as did Davis Guggenheim and Al Gore, director and "star" respectively of the winner of the Best Documentary category "An Inconvenient Truth." Scoring so many winners for our local festival was quite a coup by film fest Executive Director Roger Durling.
As you might imagine, I was especially tickled when my favorite bow tie straightener Jennifer Hudson won for "best supporting actress." I was listening carefully to her acceptance speech when I heard her thank her boyfriend. Boyfriend? She never told me SHE HAD A BOYFRIEND!
So are award viewing parties for the hardcore movie fans or the hardcore party goers? I asked a dozen people in attendance last night if they could name last year's winner of the best picture award. Only four of the 12 could come up with the correct answer, "Crash."
I took a lot of photos at last night's party, which you can view in my new photo gallery.
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Yesterday's News-Press featured the Amgen Tour of California Pro Bike race which rolled through the county Friday and Saturday. There were cycling photos on the front page as well as page A18. In the photo on A18 cyclist Floyd Landis is shown leading the pack. The only problem is that Landis is not competing in this year's Tour of California but instead is spending his energy fighting doping allegations that came in the wake of his victory at last year's Tour de France. Well, at least they didn't try to slip in a photo of Lance Armstrong on us.
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Lorraine Gets the Cold Shoulder Allowing Me to Elbow In. Friday, Feb. 23, 2007. This coming Sunday evening at 5 pm, Santa Barbara County Action Network (SB CAN) will be hosting its fifth annual Oscar Viewing Gala at Madison's Grill on State Street. A red carpet, spotlights and white tablecloths will transform the sports bar into Hollywood for one night. Guests can watch the Oscar broadcast on big screen TVs and partake not only of a selection of delectable edibles as well as the obligatory popcorn.
For the past four years the fundraiser has been covered by News-Press society writer Lorraine D. Wilson who attends the bash and does a write-up for the paper complete with a photo or two. This year, in what may be one of the initial salvos in "Operation Cold Shoulder," the Event Committee decided not to invite Wilson to the party. One of the ways suggested by "Cold Shoulder" to demonstrate the community's disapproval of "the continuingly abhorrent behavior practiced by the News-Press" is for non-profits not to invite the News-Press' society-page writers to their charity events. Congrats to SB CAN for taking the lead and showing the way by example.
Frankly, if it had been up to me, the News-Press' representative would have been crossed off the free pass list last summer following Travis Armstrong's repeated references to the organization as "SBCANT" in his column of August 4th where he included them as part of the "cabal that aimed to silence the News-Press." SB CAN was one of the sponsors of last summer's Victoria Hall community forum on the News-Press crisis. Honest disagreement with SBCAN's policies or positions is fair game for criticism but making fun of their name is downright juvenile. Unfortunately, infantile behavior now seems to be the rule and not the exception in Armstrong's columns.
So now that Lorraine is out as the high society columnist invited to cover the Oscar event who is in? None other than yours truly! Fresh from red carpet duty at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, it will be my distinct privilege and high honor to enjoy the hospitality of an organization that truly believes in a free press. (And I do mean "free" in every sense of the word.) My thanks to the organizers for inviting me. Look for my report, complete with pictures, on Monday morning.
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Also on Sunday, an hour before the Oscar party begins, UCSB's Center for Black Studies Research will be presenting Harvard Law School Professor Lani Guinier at 4:00 pm at Victoria Hall in downtown Santa Barbara (33 W. Victoria Street) Her topic will be "Race, Gender, and Activism In our Communities," Professor Guinier's appearance marks the 5th Annual Shirley Kennedy Memorial Lecture.
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Yesterday, I reported on the firing of two of the pressmen from the News-Press production facility in Goleta. Drew Mackie of the Indy's Media Blog has posted an interview with Carl Batchelder who was one of those fired.
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Correction to yesterday's post. It was not the lack of a health permit that prevented Surf Dog Man Bill Connell from serving free hot dogs to those attending Wednesday's "Wake Up Wendy" rally, but rather the lack of permission from the City to park his wagon in a 15 minute zone to serve the pups for longer than 15 minutes. Connell gave up several hours of mid-day sales to appear at the rally and speak to the crowd regarding his disgust with the paper over the firing of John Zant. Shortly after making his remarks he drove off to return to his usual post in Carpinteria while the rally continued on.
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The "Angel of Death" Shows Up in Goleta. Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007. Yolanda Apodaca, Human Resources Director of the News-Press has come to be known as the "Angel of Death." Employees know that if she should show up casting her gloomy shadow and darkening your door, the axe is about to fall. Sure enough, the axe fell again yesterday, this time in Goleta.
Following their shift Wednesday at the Goleta plant where the paper is actually printed, pressmen Ramon J. Lopez, who had been with the paper 15 years and Carl Batchelder, who had been there for 26 years, were given their termination letters. This was in spite of the fact that both recently received glowing performance reviews. Both reportedly feel that their firings were in retaliation for their union organizing efforts among the employees at the Goleta production facility. The two fired employees had also refused to sign the letter that was printed as a full-page ad on Valentine's Day in the paper "thanking" Wendy McCaw.
Union officials who represent the newsroom employees who have voted to organize are looking into whether they can be of assistance to the fired pressmen who were only talking about the possibility of becoming unionized. In the meantime, McCaw's reign of terror continues.
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I was not among the crowd of around 200 who attended Wednesday's "Wake Up Wendy Rally" at De la Guerra Plaza. I had a work commitment (yes, I do have a day job) that was set up weeks ago and I simply could not get out of it. Anyway, I did finally get down there after everyone had left and caught organizers David Pritchett and Cathy Murillo as they were packing up and got filled in on how things went. Also, dropped by Ruby's where the former journalists of the News-Press were having a union huddle.
Matt Kettmann has an excellent article on the Indy's Media Blog recapping what happened at the rally. Blogabarbara also has a forum topic devoted to Wednesday's rally, so there's really no need for me to provide a second hand account of it. I will point out that the reason that Bill Connell, owner of SurfDog, did not serve free hot dogs as many expected he would, was because he was unable to obtain the necessary health permit in time for the rally. Unlike the News-Press and their unpermitted fence, Connell must have thought it was better to ask for permission rather than for forgiveness. Besides, if he had gone ahead and served hot dogs without the permit I'm sure we would have never heard the end of it from Travis Armstrong.
As part of an effort to encourage advertisers to put pressure on McCaw, a petition was circulated at the rally asking Macy's, to stop advertising in the paper. Advertisers such as Macy's usually have long-term contracts with the paper. If their contract is up or is approaching renewal, the petition could have an impact.
* * *
Wednesday's News-Press carried an astounding personal attack upon Santa Barbara City Councilman Brian Barnwell, authored by Armstrong. Armstrong makes the unsupported claim that Barnwell is "uncomfortable with free speech." I suspect that the real reason that Barnwell is on the paper's enemies list is that he is married to former News-Press reporter Camilla Cohee. In the column Armstrong writes that Cohee resigned from the paper in July when management questioned how she had filled out her time card. So much for the News-Press not discussing personnel matters.
* * *
Former News-Press reporter Starshine Roshell is one of the featured authors at the upcoming Women's Literary Festival. However, somehow her name got omitted from the list of participants in Wednesday's News-Press article on the festival. Kind of reminds you of the former Soviet Union where people who had fallen out of favor were regularly written out of the history books.
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Last Tuesday, the Indy's Media Blog published a leaked memo that was distributed to employees entitled "Facts About the News-Press." Yesterday, that memo appeared on page A4 of the paper as a full page ad on News-Press letterhead. That's life at McCaw's house of horrors these days, yesterday's leaked document is today's display ad.
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The Heartbreak of Writer's Block. Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007. You know, every once in awhile, I get completely stumped about what to write about. On such occasions I'm usually bailed out by Wendy McCaw making an incredibly stupid move like firing an employee of 38 years standing, or declaring "war" on whomever or whatever happens to be the enemy du jour. As I write this, its past 11:30 pm on Tuesday and its obvious that Wendy won't be coming to my rescue tonight with a new plot twist or story line for me to develop. Just goes to show, if she'd wise up and run her business like a decent human being, she could quickly turn this chronicle of a newspaper's meltdown into an Irish Coffee blog.
The NLRB hasn't been any help either. I thought by now there would have been a ruling on McCaw's objections to the outcome of the union election (the hearing concluded nearly six weeks ago) or there would be an announcement of the results of their investigation into the latest round of firings. (That was just over two weeks ago.) With neither Wendy or the NLRB coming to my rescue maybe I'll just remind you about Wednesday's noontime rally at De la Guerra Plaza, and suggest that if you haven't already done so, you should check out the interview with fired News-Press sportswriter John Zant that is posted on YouTube. I found it quite moving.
Hopefully my creativity will return tomorrow. In the meantime I'm going to close the lid on the laptop and open up the the latest edition of Sports Illustrated that arrived in the mail today. It just happens to be the annual swimsuit edition. Wendy may have let me down, but I know that Beyoncé won't.
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No Comments Please. Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007. "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog." If that's true, then somebody in this town unleashed their pit bull on Jerry Roberts.
The most prolific blogger in Santa Barbara isn't Sara De la Guerra, or George or even me. It's "anonymous." Yesterday morning, "anonymous" struck again, making a totally scurrilous and unfounded accusation against the former News-Press editor in the comments section of Blogabarbara. (If you're not already aware of the nature of the accusation, you're not going to find out here. I want no part of repeating this rubbish.) I am often asked why I don't allow comments on this blog. There are a number of reasons but the main one is that I have no desire to be an aider and abettor of drive-by-shootings, nor do I want to be an accessory after the fact to the tossing of a Molotov cocktail.
Not that I have a problem with anonymity on the Internet. In fact, most of the information I get wouldn't be given to me if people weren't assured that I would keep their identities secret. I generally protect the identities of people who are whistle blowers or may be at risk of being retaliated against for giving me information. But I don't harbor cowards, and there's a lot of sniper attacks going on in the blog forums these days.
This raises the question of, what is a blog? The origin of the word is reputed to be a contraction of "web log." An individual's diary or log, that is posted on the World Wide Web. Many blogs adhere to that model but many others, including to some extent my own, have gotten away from it. The word "blog" has really evolved to mean any website where the content is changed frequently and allows feedback from readers. So to the extent that I don't permit feedback, what you're reading is probably not a blog.
Blogabarbara is set up as a forum. The moderator, who uses the the nom de plume, "Sara De la Guerra" (or maybe I should say nom de guerre in light of Wendy's declaration of "war") usually suggests topics of interest and invites readers to submit their comments and thoughts and thereby write the blog. As I've observed here before, what I have chosen to do with my blog is essentially to write a newspaper column without the paper and ink. I'm interested in your thoughts and reactions to what I write but I'm not hosting a forum, a debating society, or a fight club.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Blogabarbara and we do need a forum in this town, now more than ever, and I admire "Sara" for taking on the task. I just don't have the interest, the desire, or the time, to police such a forum, and what happened this morning confirms that these forums need policing, constantly.
* * *
By now you know that Wendy McCaw's company, Ampersand Publishing, has sued Jerry Roberts for $25 million. In my opinion, the only purpose that can be served by such a large damage claim is its terrorizing effect on Roberts and its chilling effect on everyone else. Anyway, its a real lawsuit that is being arbitrated, and Jerry needs real money with which to fight it. Over the weekend, a website was announced to help Jerry raise money. If you believe like me, that we need to stand up to the bullies in this town go to jerryrobertsandfriends.org and learn how you can help out.
* * *
Latest to chime in on the News-Press mess are local blogging legend Doc Searls, and the editor of the Ventura County Star.
* * *
Larry Nimmer, an Emmy nominated documentary TV producer who also contributes programs to local community access TV, has posted a 20 minute interview with fired News-Press sports columnist John Zant on YouTube. John talks about his own firing as well as the firings of his colleagues, the world of local sports reporting and how reporting and newspaper publishing has changed over the last 38 years he's spent at the Santa Barbara News Press. The interview is in two parts cleverly titled, part one and part two.
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Tomorrow, Wednesday, is the big noon-time rally at De la Guerra Plaza to support the journalists of the News-Press. Stand up to the bullies and show some love for the good guys.
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The Week In Review. Saturday, Feb. 17, 2007. And what a week it was! Some headlines from the past week followed by my take on them.
Thursday's News-Press featured a front page story on a couple from L.A. who drove up here to get married on Valentine's Day. Next week, the saga of a couple from San Jose who stop here for a bathroom break on their way to San Diego.
News-Press lawyer and CPA crash union meeting at public library. Another reason why union meetings should only be held in bars that employ burly bouncers.
Sentencing of California pastor who stole church delayed again. BTW, did they ever catch the Grinch who stole Christmas?
Russian police considering alcohol ban on commercial flights. In other words, sorry Bub, no pub.
Number of full-time news reporters employed by the News-Press now stands at three. Meaning that only the monthly newsletter for the Little Town Club has a smaller staff of reporters.
In an editorial, the L.A. Times writes that MySpace isn't Mommy. They take no editorial position on whether or not MySpace may be the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby.
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The February 12 issue of Chapman University's school newspaper, The Panther, has an article on Ampersand Publishing's libel suit against Susan Paterno, who teaches journalism at the Orange County school and is the advisor to the school newspaper. On Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported that about 2,000 copies - virtually the entire press run - of that newspaper, were stolen from racks around the campus. If I believed in conspiracy theories I'd draw a connection. But I don't, so I won't.
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In case you missed it, UCSB's Daily Nexus ran a story Thursday on the stepped-up tactics of the ownership of the News-Press in its dispute with the union. As far as I know, no copies of that day's edition have disappeared.
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Big Brother at The News-Press. Friday, Feb. 16, 2007. So what's the story on the Valentine's Day ad signed by around 60 or so News-Press employees? This is what I've been able to learn. Managers in each department passed the ad copy around and asked if employees wanted to sign. Word is that it was made clear that it was voluntary and that no one was required to put their name to the ad. On Valentine's Day, the News-Press gave each employee a Valentine's day card with a $50 restaurant gift certificate enclosed. It is believed that all employees received a certificate, regardless of whether or not they signed the ad.
A source familiar with the organization of the News-Press says that judging by the actual signatures on the ad, it looks like some entire departments signed the ad and some entire departments did not. In all likelihood the ad was only presented to some departments. Most of the signatures are from the advertising department.
Wendy McCaw herself met with the employees in individual departments to go over the memo that had been circulated to all employees. In at least two departments, co-publisher Arthur von Wiesenberger read the memo verbatim while McCaw sat there and did not say one word. For many employees, this was their first true encounter with the owner.
At the end, employees were asked if there were any questions. In one of the department meetings McCaw was asked; "Will you sell the paper?" "Absolutely not" was her immediate answer.
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Within the last 24 hours, sources, which insisted on anonymity, confirmed what has long been suspected. The computer activity of News-Press employees is being monitored. Computers on the company network within the News-Press building are being watched for signs that employees are posting to blogs. E-mail activity is being monitored as well. Some computers have cameras embedded at the top of the monitor screens and these cameras are being used to observe employees while they are at work. However, the cameras can be defeated by placing objects over them.
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There was a get together Thursday night at Harry's Plaza restaurant
to say goodbye to former employees Raul Gil and Sarah Sinclair. Word was put out that any News-Press employees who attended the gathering would be terminated. Around 60 people attended the gathering including Jerry Roberts, Randy Alcorn, Toni McDonald and many of the employees who formerly worked in the newsroom.
One of the questions that was asked of former reporter Dawn Hobbs, who was also at the gathering, was why would she even want her job back? Dawn explained that there are two roads this story can go down. Both are precedent setting. One scenario is that the owner runs roughshod over a prize newspaper, pushes everyone out, and the paper becomes her mouth piece. The other road is that journalists stand up for journalistic ethics and negotiate for contract language that recognizes that the division between editorial and news reporting must be observed. The inclusion of such a clause in a newspaper labor contract would be a first. Either way, Dawn says she doesn't want to be the one who walked away. "I'm on the right side of the fight and I'm going to see it through."
One question that has been going through my mind and the minds of others since the latest round of firings is where is the NLRB? The Labor Relations Board needs to show up, and they need to show up big.
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Local videographer Larry Zimmer has been taping the recent noisemaking demonstrations outside of the News-Press building and interviewing various individuals. The shows are being shown on Channel 17 as follows:
Monday, February 19 at noon
Wednesday, February 21 at 10 am and 7 pm
Thursday, February 22 at 3 pm
Saturday, February 24 at 11 am
Sunday, February 25 at 9 pm
On Wednesday, February 21st from 12 noon to 1 pm in De La Guerra Plaza, there will be a "Wake-Up Wendy Wednesday" rally. Speakers will include:
Brian Barnwell, Santa Barbara City Council-member
Elizabeth Robinson, KCSB radio and community TV journalist
Bill Connell, the Hot Dog Man
Kathleen Rodriguez, sports fan
John Zant, 38-year veteran sports reporter
Recently terminated newsroom employees with personal stories, updates, and announcements
I plan to post a "Week In Review" column tomorrow, Saturday.
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Well, It Was Valentine's Day. Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007. I have to admit, I missed it. The big "valentine" to Wendy, signed by approximately 60 of her "loyal" employees.
I was having my morning coffee at one of my usual spots and had managed to scare up a copy of the News-Press that had been left behind by someone else. I noted the number of local articles that were in the "A" section and even read one or two of them. But I completely missed the full page "ad" on page A5. There was simply nothing about it that stood out or caught my eye. It wasn't until I went to yesterday's afternoon rally at the News-Press building that I heard other people talking about it. By yesterday evening there was a post on Blogabarbara about it.
After dinner, with a little help from a friend, I got a copy of the ad. The gist of the message is that the signers who are identified as "non newsroom" employees, are "fed up with the "protests, public displays of disparagement and advertising campaigns" and would like to "thank Wendy McCaw who supports our efforts each day." Well, isn't that special!
One can only wonder how free and voluntary the signing process was. There are supposed to be more than 200+ people who work at the News-Press meaning that there were more employees who didn't sign the ad than did sign it. Among the names of the signers that can clearly be made out are those of Graham Brown, the director of community relations and Bob Yznaga, the director of production.
Missing from the ad is any information about who paid for it. And, wouldn't you love to know who wrote the copy for the ad?
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Last Saturday I attended an all-day workshop at UCSB called Newspaper 2.0. Put together and led by Santa Barbara's own Doc Searls, we discussed the future of newspapers and to what extent they would migrate to the Internet or be displaced entirely perhaps by Internet based media. Among the 30 or so people in attendance were Jerry Roberts, Randy Alcorn and Scott Hadly (all formerly of the News-Press) Peter Sklar of EdHat and Bill Macfadyen who is about to launch a new Internet local news venture. The News-Press certainly wasn't the focus of the conference but it was discussed. During one of the breaks, JD Lasica asked me to give a recap of the News-Press meltdown for his video blog.
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A "Friendly" Valentine's Day Edition. Wed. Feb. 14, 2007. Let's start today's post off by playing a round of "tell-me-something-I-don't know." I'll go first. I'll bet you didn't know that there is actually an Internet domain name called friendsofthenewspress.org. You won't find anything there other than one of those "under construction" placeholder type things. Maybe they can't get enough people to sign up as "friends" to make it look respectable.
There is evidence that "Friends of the News-Press" is real though. Former advertising director Sarah Sinclair told me that at one point there was talk that the paper was going to run a full page ad paid for by "Friends of The News-Press." Co-Publisher Arthur von Wiesenberger suggested that they were going to give the group a discounted advertising rate and then ultimately write off the debt, meaning the ad would cost the "friends" nothing. The ad never ran though. Sounds like they couldn't give it away.
I think if the News-Press wants to attract any "friends" they're going to have to put up a MySpace page.
Travis Armstrong didn't do anything to win any friends for the paper yesterday. He wrote another op-ed piece ridiculing the fired journalists who have been demonstrating in front of the News-Press building recently and launching another ad hominem attack on mayor Marty Blum, Councilman Brian Barnwell and former county supervisor Susan Rose. Shouldn't there be a statute of limitations on attacking Rose? After all, she is a former county supervisor and no longer holds any public office. I guess Wendy must have given Travis the word that Hope Ranch isn't big enough for both her and the former supervisor.
News-Press attorney David Millstein didn't win any friends either yesterday when he and Norman Colavincenzo, a local CPA who does work for the News-Press, crashed a meeting between union employees and local business owners that advertise in the News-Press. The union was asking advertisers to sign a letter urging McCaw to meet with the union to try to resolve the two sides' differences. 15 minutes into the meeting Millstein and Colavincenzo showed up. They said that union was lying to advertisers about the paper's circulation numbers and they were there to give "correct information."
An argument ensued over the two interlopers' right to attend the meeting. Millstein insisting that since it was being held in a "public" library he and his buddy were entitled to be there. The union members pointed out they had paid to rent the first floor meeting room for a private meeting. The two ended up staying at least 20 minutes. The meeting continued after they left. Some of the business owners in attendance were visibly shaken by the scene. Former News-Press reporter Dawn Hobbs, who was in attendance, felt the duo did the News-Press more harm than good by their antics. Perhaps Millstein and his buddy ought to read the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Wendy McCaw is doing in-house damage control at the paper. The Independent obtained a copy of an internal News-Press memo being circulated to the troops explaining McCaw's version of the meltdown. I guess printing an objective news account about the controversy was out of the question.
Word is that late Tuesday evening, associate editor, Scott Steepleton was seen moving into Jerry Roberts' old office. Does that mean that Scott is finally being promoted and is no longer merely the associate editor of the paper?
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Wendy Says; "This Is War!" Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007. Unlike most employees of the Santa Barbara News-Press, Sarah Sinclair had the opportunity to interface with the paper's owner, Wendy McCaw. As the paper's director of classified advertising she was a manager and participated in the department head meetings that were presided over by McCaw and her co-publisher and boyfriend, Arthur von Wiesenberger. She was also called in to meet with McCaw on other occasions as well. However when she was summoned to those meetings with McCaw, it was always without warning and Sinclair was never told what the meeting would be about.
On Friday Jan. 26th of this year, she reported to such a meeting where she met with McCaw and von Wiesenberger who told her that her loyalty had been called into question because she had attended a going away party for the fired CFO of the paper, Randy Alcorn. McCaw told her; "This is war, you're either with us or against us." McCaw suggested that if Sinclair had questions about whether her loyalty was owed to the company or to ex-employees who are friends, perhaps she shouldn't be working at the News-Press. When Sinclair replied that she didn't see anything disloyal about being at a going away party, McCaw told her; "You need to show better common sense."
Sinclair was already scheduled to be out of the office the following week to attend a Newspaper Association of America marketing conference in Las Vegas. She went ahead and attended the conference as planned as did another News-Press manager. While at the conference, the other manager ran into Nick Montano, who is the private eye hired by McCaw to oversee "security" at the News-Press. When asked what he was doing there, Montano said; "Two of our top executives are here, I had to come check it out."
Following the conference, Sinclair's first day back in the office at the News-Press was Monday, February 5th. By then she had decided to resign. She had worked at the paper for over 20 years but the News-Press was no longer the same place. Rather than give notice, she decided to leave quietly without telling any of her co-workers or friends. She submitted her resignation that day, effective immediately. For Sinclair, the hardest thing about resigning was leaving without saying anything.
Back in mid-December, Sinclair had been alarmed by the termination of Alcorn. Sinclair considered him to be "the brains of the paper," and to fire him on charges that she felt were "trumped up" was, in her opinion, completely wrong.
Although it didn't involve a cut in pay for her, Sinclair herself had been more or less "demoted" in December. Since November of 2005 she had been director of classified, retail and national advertising. Shortly before Christmas, responsibility for retail and national advertising was taken away from her and given to someone else. She was also moved to a smaller windowless office. She was never given any reasons for the change.
With McCaw now running the News-Press on a day-to-day basis its a far cry from what Sinclair considered to be the best days at the paper when Jerry Roberts was the publisher. "What we did (then) was so good, so positive and collaborative."
Over coffee Monday at Muddy Waters on Haley Street, I asked her what the atmosphere is like inside the building on the south end of De la Guerra Plaza? According to Sinclair, not good. Morale is low and security is high. A guard now sits with the receptionist. Three or four weeks ago cameras were installed inside the building. As of this week every News-Press employee, including Wendy McCaw, has to wear an ID badge at all times while inside the building. Montano, the private eye, now occupies the office that used to belong to the director of circulation. Why the sudden increase in security? Sinclair said that like any high profile business police had occasionally been called in the past because of people causing disturbances but to her knowledge, there had been no disturbances or trouble related to the turmoil of the last seven months at the paper. One can only guess that paranoia is the motive for the beefed up security.
So yet again, in the name of "disloyalty" the News-Press has run off another one of its most loyal employees. Sinclair was one of the News-Press' most high-profile managers in the community. She previously served on the board of directors of the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors and received that group's community service award in 2005. She was also honored by a leading industry trade group in 2005 as being the "best classified advertising manager" in the western United States.
The sole provider for her two teenage sons, Sinclair would like to stay in Santa Barbara at least until her youngest son graduates from high school. She would also like to remain in the newspaper business and is in search of opportunities that will allow her to do those things. She's starting to feel a sense of relief. And she's glad to not have anyone at the News-Press looking over her shoulder.
* * *
On Monday, the Monterey Herald editorialized about "The threat of Citizen McCaw."
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Sally Cappon, who once wrote for the News-Press and now writes for the Santa Maria Times, tells me that she attended Monday's Athletic Roundtable luncheon where Westmont basketball coach, John Moore, made the nicest tribute to fired News-Press sports columnist, John Zant. After the powers that be had delicately sidestepped the issue throughout most of the meeting Moore, the final speaker who always has a way with words, compared Zant to Walt Whitman. He said, "I don't know if there is a better writer in this town." Calling John "homespun," he said "If you were interviewed by him, he always got the best out of you." Later, reading his stories, Moore wondered, "Is this me?" He concluded by asking; "What's missing in this town? John Zant." For that, he got lasting applause. Cappon's take on all of this; "The basketball coaches may be leading the way."
* * *
On Wednesday, Valentine's Day at 1:30 p.m. former News-Press journalists will be protesting outside the News-Press building on De la Guerra Plaza. The protest that day will have, what else, a Valentine's theme.
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SBNP Pronounced DOA. Monday, Feb. 12, 2007. If you still subscribe to the News-Press then you walked out your front door yesterday morning and found the paper lying in your driveway, dead on arrival. Here's the necropsy: A front page story, with a Scott Steepleton by-line on the third "free" weekend of the Santa Barbara Film Festival. Film fest director Roger Durling is shown welcoming one of the movie goers in a huge photo that dominates the front page. The article is 410 words in length. No other local stories on page one. Inside, another Steepleton by-lined story on a bill introduced in the State Senate to assist farm workers affected by last month's crop freeze. The article is all of 172 words long. A third article carrying Steepleton's by-line is about San Marcos High School's win at the academic decathlon. (Congratulations to the San Marcos team!) This article is 132 words long. A 112 word "staff report" tells us that the City of Goleta will review its general and coastal plans. (BTW, the Daily Sound covered that story last Wednesday.) Another "staff report" this one 55 words long, tells us about a grass fire in Cat Canyon near Los Alamos.
To fill out the space in the paper there is a game called "Picture This!" where we are asked if we can guess where News-Press photographer Mike Eliason shot the accompanying photographs. The News-Press better hope that "Highlights for Children" doesn't send them a cease and desist letter for stealing one of its oldest features.
So, if you're scoring at home, or even if you're just reading this by yourself, that's 855 words of "local news" in yesterday's paper. To give you an idea of how scant 855 words are for news coverage, my post from last Friday regarding the closing night of the Film Festival was 1289 words in length. This very post that you're reading is approximately 605 words in length. Hey Wendy! I know you read this blog, so do you think you could do me a favor and send one of your copy editors over here? I know they must not have much to do these days and I could keep a couple of them busy right now.
Most people can read between 200-250 words per minute. That means if you read all of the local news articles in yesterday's paper you were done in about four minutes. Hope you liked looking at the pictures.
A number of people have written me questioning my head count of only two news reporters left at the News-Press. When I say news reporters I literally mean "news" reporters. Yes, Maria Zate is still there as is Steve Bonser. But they both write for the business section of the paper. (And no, there were no local business stories in Sunday's paper.) Bethany Hopkins is a feature writer as is Karna Hughes. Some of these people may be pressed into service to cover news in the coming days and weeks, but the bottom line is, the paper is down to two "hard news" reporters.
Sunday's News-Press editorial asked "If a big disaster strikes L.A., is the South Coast ready?" I don't know about that but I do know that if a big disaster strikes, the News-Press is not ready to cover it.
About the only life that can be found in the paper is in the "Life" section. Pretty much the only "local" columns left in the News-Press can be found there written by book reviewers Susan Gulbransen, Fred Klein and Lin Rolens.
Finally, can you cut down a tree in this town without the News-Press covering it on the front page?
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L.A. Times, Covers the News-Press. Saturday, Feb. 10, 2007. I'm taking the weekend off from blogging, but the L.A. Times has a story this morning on the News-Press.
If you missed yesterday's noon time rally by former News-Press employees you can view John Palminteri's KEYT coverage. Former News-Press assistant city editor Bob Guiliano was at yesterday's rally as well videotaping it. His video's can by found at YouTube by clicking here, here and here.
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A Vanishing Act. Friday, Feb. 9, 2007. It finally happened. The News-Press now has the same number of news reporters as the Daily Sound. In early July the News-Press had 15 news reporters. They are now down to two. Perhaps Wendy McCaw will decree that no more than two news events can happen per day. Perhaps not. Of course the News-Press has refused to cover the turmoil within its own walls so if you don't cover the biggest story in town, I guess that's one way to justify a two reporter staff.
How big of a deal is it for the News-Press to have fired sports
columnist John Zant? One person I ran into on the street today put it
this way; "Its as if the L.A. Times fired Jim Murray." How seriously is the local sports community taking Zant's firing? UCSB women's basketball coach Mark French is refusing to speak with any writers from the News-Press. I don't know if French came up with that idea on his own or if he got it from I'm Not One to Blog But . . . , where George
floated the idea yesterday.
One experienced journalist in this town who is not in the newspaper business, pointed out to me the other day that he no longer considers the News-Press the community's "paper of record." As an example, suppose 10 years from now, you wanted to go to the library and look at a copy of the News-Press from this past Tuesday. You certainly wouldn't have a clue that the paper fired six of its own journalists within a 24 hour period. A paper of record should contain all of the significant stories that went down the day before. Today's news is tomorrow's history. Too much news, and history, is being left out of the paper.
And where is Dr. Laura? For weeks now, we've been told she's "on sabbatical." Turns out she's actually on her book tour. I always thought one got a sabbatical after seven years. Dr. Laura hasn't even been there seven months. Must be nice work, if you can get it.
* * *
At noon today the former News-Press journalists are holding a rally at De la Guerra Plaza to protest the latest round of firings. They are asking that the public come out and support them.
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Blogging With The Stars. Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007. As I was just about to say, before I was so rudely interrupted by Wendy McCaw firing six journalists; its official! 60 is the new 40. Merlot is the new Cabernet. The Santa Barbara Film Festival is the new Fiesta. Yes, I would say that our local film fest has now surpassed the venerable Old Spanish Days as the biggest and best party in town. Put that in your sombrero and smoke it. And in case you're wondering who died and appointed me arbiter of all that is hip, the answer is no one. I claimed the position following a bloodless coup.
Why has the film fest overtaken Fiesta in my book? It runs twice as long as Fiesta, no one is cracking you on the head with a cascarone and nobody has to clean up State Street after the horses have paraded through. And when all is said and done, you might even see a good movie or two.
Of course what would you expect from the guy who attended more parties than screenings and on a free pass to boot? Getting to meet a former Vice-President and having my bow tie straightened by an Oscar nominee, didn't hurt either. Of course if it was ever a close race as to which was the better shindig, the film fest sealed the deal on Sunday night when I finally gained access to the VIP room.
There's nearly a party a night at the festival but the stars who attend the festival for the honors, tributes and screenings can seldom be found there mixing with us commoners. If they stick around at all after picking up their awards they unwind in a special lounge and until Sunday night, not just anyone could gain admission.
Sunday's Closing Night film was "Gray Matters." When I learned that its star, Heather Graham, would be attending the screening, I knew it was time to break out the bow tie and line up along the red carpet.
However shortly before 8 pm Sunday, it was looking like I had put on the bow tie for nothing. Graham had arrived and was posing for the paparazzi on the red carpet. I was waiting to get an opportunity to ask a question along with the other writers in the line. A few feet away from me, an impatient Roger Durling, the film fest's, executive director, was checking the time. This was the one night he wanted the program to start on time because he had staff and volunteers that he wanted to recognize on stage. I heard him firmly give the order shutting down the red carpet and ordering everyone into the theatre before any of the writers, including myself, would get a chance to ask questions of Graham.
We all must have looked disappointed because the publicity staff assured us that Graham and the other stars of the movie would be at the party and available to answer questions. That would be a first.
Following the movie it was off to the El Paseo for the party. Of course when I arrived there none of the publicity people, and certainly no movie stars, were anywhere to be seen. After lining up at the bar and chatting with a few people I saw that Carol Marshall, whose public relations firm has handled publicity for the film fest for the last 15 years, was waving me over to where she was. "Did you still want to get an interview?" I replied, sure. She told me to head towards the rear of the patio and she would catch up with me. A minute or so later she emerges from the restaurant and says "follow me." We walk towards the De la Guerra street side of the building and then onto the grounds of the restored adobe that faces De la Guerra plaza and walk into the building.
The small room is fairly packed, but unlike the El Paseo Restaurant, where the main party is going on, there is no loud music, just the sound of people talking. She introduces me to Rachel Shelly, who co-stars in the movie. She's a British actress who is best known in this country for "The L Word," the Showtime series where she plays the character "Helena Peabody." After some conversation about the similarities between her "L Word" character and her character in "Gray Matters" I pop the question; "Is my tie on straight?" She tilts her head to the right and says, "it is if you look at it from this angle, but not from this angle," as she un-tilts her head.
After I finish talking to Rachel, I spot Heather Graham standing with her back to me. I look for one of the publicity staff to make an introduction. I spot Alanna Kordell, who along with her colleague Emily Lu, both look like they should be actors or models themselves as opposed to press agents. Alanna asks Graham if she is willing to give an interview and she graciously agrees.
I ask her of all the characters or roles she has played does she have a favorite. She thinks for a moment and says; "Myself. In my own life, my favorite is myself, that's the favorite role that I play." I then asked, how close is her character (whose name is "Gray") in "Gray Matters," to herself? She said "I think in someways she is, I'm kind of neurotic and impulsive, and I can relate to that." We talk about her future projects including her first venture at being the producer of a movie. Our conversation ends and I have completely forgotten to ask her whether my tie is straight. That means, no play from "Gray." I did have the presence of mind to get my picture taken with her though.
Also in the VIP room is Tom Cavanagh, probably best known from TV for the series "Ed" and, a personal favorite of mine, the short-lived "Love Monkey."
It wasn't all Hollywood types in the VIP room, among the locals there were film fest board chair Jeff Barbakow and wife Margo, as well as fellow on-line (and in print) columnist Michael Seabaugh. I hang out and chat for awhile then head back to the main party. As I walked back into the door of El Paseo Restaurant, which of course is the quintessential venue for a Fiesta party, I survey the crowd of Hollywood types and locals who are gyrating to the loud dance music being played by the DJ. I think to myself that the most well lubricated Fiestero who happened to stumble in here would never mistake this party for El Fandango.
* * *
There's one last chance to enjoy this year's festival. This coming weekend locals can catch the "best of the Festival" at the 3rd Weekend.
* * *
Meanwhile, back at the News-Press, NLRB staff were in town yesterday to conduct interviews with the six journalists who were fired Monday and Tuesday. One of the actions being contemplated by the NLRB is the possibility of seeking a court order that would compel McCaw to reinstate those who were fired for participating in the freeway banner demonstration.
Also in town is L.A. Times reporter Scott Martelle, who is here to do a story on the latest firings and the community's reaction to it.
Former News-Press employees demonstrated loudly the past two afternoons between 3 and 5 pm in front of the News-Press building. They plan to continue the demonstrations today and tomorrow as well. Today's demonstration will also be between 3 and 5 pm but Friday's rally has been moved up to 12 noon. Members of the public are invited to come out and show their support.
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Surveying the Damage. Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007. Are you wondering as I am, what is Wendy McCaw's business plan? Now that the newsroom has been virtually cleared out I'm beginning to think that all that's left for her to do is to torch the place and file an insurance claim.
Six reporters fired in less than 24 hours. KEYT's John Palminteri did the math, that's 63 years of collective experience that was shown the door. Wendy McCaw is forcing her deck hands to walk the plank, but the question is, who will be left to man the ship?
By my count, there were only two news reporters at the News-Press after the dust settled yesterday. Nora Wallace and Leanna Orsua. Of course, Wallace is based in Lompoc and covers North County, meaning that Orsua is the sole reporter staffing the Santa Barbara newsroom. In other words, don't expect to see much local news in the paper from this point on. Not that there's been a lot lately.
And who is going to cover the crucial courts and police beats now that Dawn Hobbs is gone? Before the meltdown, these were actually separate assignments. Hobbs had been covering two bases for most of the fall and into the winter.
Hobbs is one of the most vocal members of the union and perhaps, its most visible leader. Since joining the News-Press nearly nine years ago she has received state, regional and national awards, and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her three-part series on unsolved homicides. She was recently selected to judge a nationwide police reporting contest, an acknowledgment of her national expertise on the criminal justice system She was hired by NBC News to serve as a news analyst during the Michael Jackson trial and appeared regularly on the Today Show as well as MSNBC news programs.
For those of you, who like myself, read the sports section first everyday, the firing of John Zant may be the last straw. One of my readers wrote in to say that John is one of the most talented and "loyal" journalists the News-Press has ever had. I short-changed his tenure in this column yesterday. Writing on the fly I guestimated his years of service being in the plus 20 range. Boy, was I ever wrong, it was 38. Known for promoting young athletes and the local athletic programs, he can remember the names of local athletes going all the way back to the 1960's. He helped put women's basketball on the map in this town by covering the rise of the Lady Gauchos as they became a nationally ranked team. Its often said that the sports section is the newspaper's "toy department." But I wouldn't be surprised if the discharge of Zant provokes more outrage from the community than any other single firing.
And let's not overlook the impact of Sarah Sinclair's departure. As the director of classified advertising, Sarah played an instrumental role in bringing revenue to the paper. Her departure will have a direct impact on the News-Press' bottom line.
So, were the News-Press employees entitled to hold banners saying "Cancel Your Newspaper" without fear of being fired ? We've all been around long enough to have at one time or another seen picketers outside of retail establishments holding signs saying; "Unfair, Don't Shop Here!" That type of conduct is protected by labor relations laws, why wouldn't the News-Press employees' actions be protected as well?
Make no mistake, the decision to fire these six journalists isn't a business decision, its an angry decision. Its yet another enraged attempt by McCaw to lash out at those who dared to stand up for their rights. McCaw is just about out of employees to lash out at. She's also just about out of employees who can produce content for her newspaper.
How much interest is there in the events of the last 24 hours? One of the questions I'm frequently asked is how many people visit my blog each day. The answer is, on a good day, around a thousand. Yesterday, I had a thousand visitors by 11 am! By the end of the day I had over 2,200 unique visitors to the blog. The old record was about 1,300 unique visitors. So yes, I'd say there's a lot of interest in this story.
Late yesterday afternoon, former News-Press employees staged a rally outside of the News-Press building. They plan on holding similar rallies for the remainder of this week. All are invited to attend. The rallies will start at 3 p.m. and go to 5 p.m. every day in De la Guerra Plaza.
With six more journalists fired yesterday, this seems like a good time to remind you about the Journalist Loan Fund which has been established to help those former News-Press employees who may be in financial need. If you would like to support them, you may make your checks payable to the Journalist Loan Fund, attention Sue Broidy, 3412 Calle Noguera, Santa Barbara CA 93105.
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Yet more firings at the News-Press. Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2007. Melissa Evans, John Zant, and Tom Schultz, have become the latest reporters to be fired from the Santa Barbara News-Press. The firings came this morning. I will have an update on this story shortly.
All three were fired for taking part in last Friday's demonstration on a Highway 101 overpass. "Disloyalty" was cited as the reason for termination.
Yesterday evening, Evans was returning to the newsroom from covering a story at UCSB when she got word that Hobbs, Kuznia and McManigal had been fired. She told me that when she walked thorough the newsroom she felt like a "dead woman walking" between the people there who looked at her and didn't want to look at her. She filed her story all the while wondering whether she would be fired. When she was done, she walked out, still with a job. She joined a group of us who had gathered at Ruby's to find out what had happened. She told me that if she were to be fired it would be a relief. One of the members of the group placed a cell phone call to Schultz who was in the newsroom finishing a story. Tom was asked if he still had a job and he indicated that no one had said anything to him.
Sometime late Monday night or early Tuesday morning, the computers that were at the desks of Evans, Schultz and Zant were removed, a sure sign that they were goners. Around 10 a.m. this morning I got confirmation that indeed Evans and Schultz had been fired. Zant's firing was confirmed around 11:30 a.m.
Evans covered religion and culture for the paper. A native of Gilroy, she got started in journalism by covering sports in her hometown. She studied at San Diego State, then went up to Northern California and worked as a reporter for the Tri-Valley Herald. She later moved to Massachusetts, where she worked for the Lowell Sun, in Lowell, MA. She was working there on 9/11 and covered the aftermath of that day's tragic events. There were 23 victims of 9/11 who resided within the paper's circulation area. After that, she returned to California and joined the News-Press.
Zant of course is a Santa Barbara institution. The popular sports columnist has been working at the paper for well over 20 years. He once served as sports editor. For my money, his most memorable series of articles a number of years back where he gave his account of walking the length of the Santa Barbara County coastline from Guadalupe to the Rincon.
Schultz covered the Goleta beat. He testified in the recently concluded NLRB hearings on the paper's objections to the outcome of the union election that was held in late September.
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Monday, Bloody Monday. Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2007. I thought it was going to be a quiet Monday evening. I had all but finished writing my wrap-up of the film festival which I had planned to post today. I was about to pop dinner into the oven when I got an e-mail tipping me off to the fact that Dawn Hobbs and Rob Kuznia had been fired. I made a phone call to confirm. Within a few minutes I learned that not only had Hobbs and Kuznia been fired, but Barney McManigal as well.
I turned off the oven and wrote a quick update to my blog. I got it posted on the Internet by 6:45 p.m. I then scooped up my laptop and headed down to Ruby's off of De la Guerra Plaza, where the fired trio had retreated to.
When I walked in from the City Hall side of the Plaza I saw the three of them standing in the middle of the grass along with Melinda Burns and KSBY's Matt Cota. A few minutes later KEYT's John Palminteri walked up and joined us. We listened as they gave us the details of what had happened earlier that evening. We then walked over to Ruby's back patio where we were joined by Indy reporter Martha Sadler and photographer, Paul Wellman. After getting some more details, I slipped off to a WiFi hot spot to update my earlier post and then returned to Ruby's.
Before I left McManigal showed me the termination letter he had been given. It read:
February 5, 2007
Dear Barney,
Effective immediately you are discharged from your employment at Santa Barbara News-Press for engaging in disloyal conduct. Specifically you participated in the hanging of a large banner from a bridge over Hwy 101 in full view of oncoming motorists stating "Cancel Your Newspaper Today." It is a serious disloyal conduct for
you to do while at the same time collecting a paycheck from this company.
Sincerely,
Scott Steepleton
I'm not a labor lawyer, but I am told that for union members to urge others not to do business with an employer in the context of a labor dispute is permissible and protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act. I contacted union attorney Ira Gottlieb Monday night who told me; "Employees may appeal for public support where the appeal is related to a legitimate, ongoing labor dispute between the employer and the employees, and where the employees do not engage in vilification of the employer's product or its reputation, that is, act out of a malicious motive." So, if employees hold up signs that say "Cancel Your Newspaper Today" (the signs didn't say "cancel your News-Press subscription") Is that "vilification of the employer's product or its reputation?" Doesn't really sound like it to me. If Gottlieb's interpretation of the law is correct, Wendy McCaw has put her Manolo Blahnik in her mouth by admitting that protected activity is the reason for firing the three and putting it in writing to boot. My guess is that McCaw was so incensed by Friday morning's freeway demonstration, she ordered the three fired and didn't care that she was violating the law by doing so.
More about those who were fired Monday. Dawn Hobbs, who previously was a reporter for the L.A. Times, has been with the News-Press for more than eight years. She has done double duty the last few months by covering two beats, crime and courts. I first met her during the Michael Jackson trial where we were both contributors to MSNBC's coverage of the case. She has been one of the most strident supporters as well as a leader, of the unionization of newsroom employees at the paper.
Rob Kuznia, who covered education beat, has been with the News-Press for the last three years. Barney McManigal, has been with the paper for two and a half years. He covered politics and county government.
How did the fired employees react to the evening's events? Dawn Hobbs said; "We are going to fight this. We are going to get our jobs back and back pay. This is the most egregious illegal act they have done to date."
As a result of the firings, the union plans to file an unfair labor practice charge against the News-Press today.
In a separate development Monday, Sarah Sinclair, Director of Classified Advertising at the News-Press, turned in her resignation yesterday around 5:20 p.m. Sarah was recently the Director of Advertising (including retail advertising) until being "demoted" sometime around the Christmas holiday.
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Dawn Hobbs, Barney McManigal and Rob Kuznia, Fired From the News-Press. Monday, Feb. 5, 2007. I have just confirmed (6:30 p.m.) that Dawn Hobbs, Barney McManigal and Rob Kuznia, have been fired from the News-Press. They were told they were specifically being terminated because of their participation in last Friday's freeway banner hanging demonstration. I will have more details later.
Update: Around 5:15 p.m. Monday, Dawn Hobbs was the first one to be called into the downstairs conference room at the News-Press. In the office was associate editor Scott Steepleton and a lawyer from the firm of Barry Cappello, Dugan Kelley. Hobbs was asked questions about her participation in last Friday morning's Highway 101 banner demonstration. Hobbs asked for an opportunity to speak with her attorney. She was told she didn't have an attorney. After about five minutes of back and forth, Hobbs was handed a letter by Steepleton telling her she was fired. The letter specifically said she was fired for being disloyal. Hobbs was escorted to her desk by human resources director Yolanda Apodaca, who then, after she was allowed to take her personal items, was then escorted by Apodaca to her car in the parking lot and then asked to surrender her News-Press parking pass.
Next called in was Rob Kuznia, who was asked if he participated in the Friday morning activity on the overpass. Rob said that he had. He was then handed the letter telling him he was terminated. The "perp" walk was repeated with Apodaca.
While Kuznia was in the conference room being fired Barney McManigal slipped into the bathroom to call Kuznia to tell him to meet over at Ruby's prior to going home. McManigal emerged from the bathroom to be greeted by Steepleton who asked him if he wanted to "come down to HR?" McManigal said; "Not really." They both kind of chuckled. Once in the room, McManigal was asked if he was present on the overpass. He said yes. He was then handed the letter and went through the same ritual with Apodaca of being escorted out of the building.
All three have by-lines that will appear in tomorrow's paper.
Do the reporters like Hobbs plan to leave the area to find other jobs? Melinda Burns, who was previously fired herself, said Monday night; "Why should (Wendy) drive us out of our community? I've been here 21 years. I plan to stay and get my job back."
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Two Close Encounters of A Different Kind. Monday, Feb. 5, 2007. How much was I looking forward to getting a chance to ask a question of Al Gore when he was here Friday to attend the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, along with Davis Guggenheim, to pick up his David Attenborough award for excellence in nature film making? The freeloading cheapskate (that would me me and not the former Vice-President) actually went out and spent 50 bucks on a digital voice recorder to capture the moment.
I arrived for the press check-in a little earlier than I normally do on Friday night. The press area was nearly full and I found my assigned spot to be pretty much dead last in the press line. I'm thinking to myself that when Gore finally reaches me he will have been asked all of the usual questions, such as, how does he feel about being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and what did he think of the latest U.N. report on global warming, multiple times. So my challenge is to come up with a fresh question.
Since "An Inconvenient Truth" is basically a movie camera shooting a PowerPoint presentation I asked him; how did he become such a wizard at using PowerPoint?
Al: Now PowerPoint, is that the Microsoft version of Keynote? (Apple Computer's equivalent product.)
Me: Yes, you're on the board of Apple right?
Al: That's a geeky joke, I'm sorry.
Me: Not from the guy who invented the Internet.
Al: Touché. You know I love the program, and I started using it. Actually, I'll tell you, I'll tell you. I used to give my slideshow with Kodak slides, you know the old Carousel?
Me: Yes, I remember.
Al: And I had so many of them. I had three Carousels and three projectors, and they'd alternate and everything and it was my wife Tipper who finally said "Hey, uh, Mr. Information Super-Highway we have computers in the 21st Century." I think that's when I switched over and I think it was about the time that I joined the Apple board and I learned Keynote and I actually loved it.
I turned out to be the last member of the press to ask Gore a question (photo courtesy of Scene & Heard Santa Barbara) that night as the press agents and security people then whisked him away and into the Arlington.
Okay, so I know you're wondering, did I wear my bow tie, so I could ask Gore to straighten it? The answer is no. I didn't want the Secret Service to get the wrong idea about my intentions towards the former Vice President.
Not everyone in the press corps was as thrilled about me getting the opportunity to talk to Gore as I was. One of my colleagues told me about a very cheesed off reporter who leaned over to her and said; "Man, that blogger's getting all the time! He's just a blogger! People Magazine didn't even get that many questions!" Just a blogger? That's Mr. Blogger to you!
The Gore Santa Barbara connection. At the party that followed the awards presentation, Steve Amerikaner, a partner at the law firm of Hatch & Parent (where I once also did time) told me that he knew Gore at Harvard. Amerikaner, Gore and actor Tommy Lee Jones all lived in the same dorm on Harvard Yard. Gore and Jones were roommates there.
* * *
Hours before I was having my encounter with the former Vice President, former News-Press reporter Starshine Roshell, was having a different type of encounter with one her former superiors at the News-Press. Roshell was returning from lunch with a former colleague and was saying good bye to him just outside of the entrance to the News-Press building when she ran into editorial page editor Travis Armstrong. Armstrong told her she needed to "get off the premises." When Roshell inquired about where the premises ended and where public might stand, Armstrong went inside the building and returned with a security guard who said to Roshell; "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to step off the property."
I guess Armstrong, who is a law school graduate, either forgot or never learned the concepts of easements and licenses that are taught in the course on real property. Maybe that's why he never bothered to take the California Bar Examination.
* * *
Further confirmation that the publishers and editors of the News-Press are barricaded inside their Storke Plaza tower and taking pot shots at their "enemies," came in a recent opinion piece by Armstrong. Writing about Channels 17 and 21, the community access channels on the Cox Cable system, Armstrong wrote "I've heard complaints about possible favoritism and broadcast policies that allegedly might reflect the whims or grudges of a few managers and politically biased board members." He concluded by asking readers to e-mail him "if you have anything you want to share."
Is this what journalism at the News-Press has been reduced to? Instead of assigning a news-reporter to look into what is going on there and write a story about what he or she finds, the editorial page editor sends out an appeal to anyone who might have an axe to grind with the organization to contact him. What ever happened to "enterprise reporting" or "investigative journalism?" Oh I forgot, they've fired or run off just about everyone who had the ability to do this type of reporting and the few who are left behind are spread too thin. Or are they afraid that if they put a real reporter on the story they just might find that there is no story.
Of course I'm sure Armstrong's desire to dig up some dirt on the Santa Barbara Channels have nothing to do with the fact that the Channels have carried programs that have sought to delve into what is going on at the News-Press.
* * *
Local News Vigil. Sunday's News-Press really had only three local stories. One on the film festival and two about charter schools. I guess that's what passes for "the best local news to be had" these days.
* * *
Taking it to the streets. Or in this case, it was the freeway, where on Friday both present and former members of the organized newsroom staff at the News-Press unfurled a banner urging morning commute drivers to cancel their subscription to the paper. Some people posting comments on the other blogs raised the question of whether such a demonstration might pose a safety hazard to drivers. Others responded that it was no more of a distraction than the usual signage that is found on the freeway. In case you missed it, KSBY had a video report.
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Now This Is What I Call A "Free" Press! Friday, Feb. 2, 2007. Let me start by expressing my eternal gratitude to the organizers of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival for giving me a press pass. Not only are they supporting a free press they are also supporting, at least in my case, a free loading press.
Here are some examples of how I'm getting the most bang for my buck out of my press pass, and of course, the pass was free. (In case you haven't noticed, "free" is the word of the day.)
One of the perks of having a press pass is that you can see the movies without having to actually attend the showings. Members of the press can check out DVD "screeners" of the movies and take them home and watch them. Sounds like it could be a pretty cheap date to me. Check out three movies, grab a bottle of "two buck Chuck" from Trader Joe's, pick up a pizza, then make a phone call and say, "hey, come on over and we'll make it a Blockbuster night." You might even get to see a couple of films.
With the price of gas so high, its always nice if you can run your errands on someone else's dime. Chrysler is one of the festival's major sponsors this year and they are offering opportunities to test drive their cars. Think I'll head down to the Chrysler "Inspired Drive Tour" on Cota between State and Anacapa and see if I can take one of those Sebring convertibles for a spin. I'll take my dirty clothes to drop off at the dry cleaner's and maybe stop by Trader Joe's to pick up that bottle of wine.
24 years after Prince first sang I'm going to party like its "1999" I'm finally finding out what he's talking about. There's pretty much a party a night during the festival and your press pass gets you in free. I've never drank as much vodka in my life as I've had this past week. It's film fest director Roger Durling's favorite liquor which explains why Imperia Vodka is one of the sponsors. If you're ordering vodka its an open bar.
Felicia Tomasko who's covering the film fest for Edhat beat me to one place I haven't been able to get into, the "Hospitality Suite" at the Hotel Santa Barbara. Its the one place your press pass won't get you access to. (I guess the word is out about how much I can eat and drink.) Its strictly limited to Platinum Pass holders and filmmakers. Not quite sure how Felicia got past the velvet rope, but she is, obviously, more charming than I am. Any Platinum Pass holders out there who want to loan me their pass for an hour or so?
* * *
Wednesday night's Centerpiece screening after-party was put on by the Food Network who used the occasion to shoot an episode of "Dinner: Impossible," a new show that airs Wednesdays at 10:30 on, where else, Food Network. It features a chef facing a new challenge during each episode of the series. For the film fest party the challenge was to cook a gourmet (and free) meal consisting of fresh ingredients indigenous to the Santa Barbara area. The chef had eight hours to put together a meal for 300 starting with having to assemble a kitchen in the rear patio of the Arlington theatre.
Food Network is not the only national TV outlet with a film crew in town to cover some aspect of the film festival. A crew form ABC's "Nightline" is here for the next few days following the cast of "Darius Goes West." Nightline anchor Matin Bashir (making his first return to Santa Barbara County since covering the Michael Jackson trial) is here to capture the moving story of 15-year-old Darius West, who suffers from Muscular Dystrophy. The film chronicles West and his friends finding brotherhood and facing adversity as they try to convince MTV's "Pimp My Ride" to jazz up his wheelchair. The film screened Thursday night.
* * *
The other day, Daily Sound Arts Editor, Steve Libowitz, reported in his column that film fest Executive Director Roger Durling's favorite film in this year's festival is "DarkBlueAlmostBlack." Is that Roger's favorite movie or his favorite color scheme? In any event, the film screens today (Friday) at 4:30 pm at the Metro Four.
* * *
Today is your last chance to catch me on the screen in the film festival. "Much Ado About 'W', Art Wars of Santa Barbara," in which I have a small part, screens today at 4 pm at the Marjorie Luke Theatre.
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Former KEYT news director, Paul Vercammen is now working as a senior producer in CNN's L.A. Bureau. Paul was fired by KEYT at the end of last May. Glad to hear that he's back at CNN where he previously worked as a business and entertainment reporter.
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Stopping the News-Press From Getting SLAPP Happy. Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007. If you read this blog regularly then I'm sure you are already aware of an article called "Santa Barbara Smackdown," which appeared in the December 2006-January 2007 issue of American Journalism Review and also on its website. It was authored by Susan Paterno and it chronicled the meltdown at the News-Press that by now we are all too familiar with. As you are also undoubtedly aware, Ampersand Publishing, the company that is wholly owned by Wendy McCaw which in turn, owns the News-Press sued Paterno for libel as a result of that article. Yesterday, Paterno struck back by filing a motion to dismiss the libel suit under the authority of California's "anti-SLAPP" statute.
SLAPP, is an amusing acronym that stands for strategic lawsuits against public participation. For example, do you have somebody who stood up at a planning commission meeting and spoke against your application for a building permit, saying nasty things about you in the process? Sue 'em! The strategy behind such a suit is to chill public participation in debate and will surely make your opposition think twice about participating in public discourse. But in the early 1990's many people felt lawsuits that were motivated solely by a desire to silence someone who was speaking out on a matter of public interest, in other words, exercising their First Amendment right to free speech, were becoming far too common. The California Legislature responded by coming up with a cure for the SLAPP, the anti-SLAPP.
The Legislature gave a defendant the right to try to convince a court to dismiss a so-called SLAPP suit if the defendant feels that the purpose of a lawsuit is merely to chill the exercise of their First Amendment rights. This motion to strike the allegations of the complaint can be brought if the defendant's underlying conduct was in furtherance of his or her right to free speech in connection with a public issue.
A defendant who is successful and wins a motion to strike made under the anti-SLAPP law is entitled to recover his or her attorney's fees and costs. That's an exception to the usual rule that each party bears his or her own attorney's fees and costs and that losing a lawsuit, ordinarily, doesn't require one to pay the winner's fees. Of course paying the other side's legal fees, especially when they retain lawyers from the high-rent district, can get very expensive.
If the defendant convinces the court that the acts of which the plaintiff complains were done in furtherance of the defendant's right of free speech in connection with a public issue, the court then determines whether the plaintiff has demonstrated a probability of prevailing on the claim.
The continuing turmoil that embroils the News-Press is obviously a matter of public interest. Magazines as well as websites that are accessible to the public are "public forums" for purposes of the anti-SLAPP statute. McCaw's lawyers will quickly find themselves trying to establish that they have a reasonable probability of prevailing on their claims of libel. I predict that the paper's lawyers will have a difficult time establishing that what was written in the article was demonstrably false or that what was written resulted in actual damage to the News-Press that is quantifiable in monetary terms.
So, is McCaw SLAPP happy? Judging by this lawsuit, and those threatening lettters she has her lawyers like David Millstein and Barry Cappello send out to business owners and other lawyers I would say so. Somebody has to slow her down. I'm glad that Paterno and her attorneys have answered the call.
If you're so inclined, you can read the motion to dismiss and supporting papers, which total 30 pages, by clicking here.
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Of all of the employees who have ever worked at the News-Press his story might be the most inspiring. But yesterday, Raul Gil chose to leave the building for the last time, taking his story with him.
He came to this country from Mexico while he was still a teenager. His career at the News-Press began in 1973 as a paper boy. He delivered three paper routes after school while learning English, running cross country and track. He attended Santa Barbara High, City College and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. In 1977 Raul was named the Newspaper boy of the Year for which he received a trip to Yugoslavia and Austria. The trip was sponsored by Parade Magazine and the News-Press. Then publisher Stuart Taylor presented him with the award. When he was "too old" to deliver papers, he moved to circulation as a customer service rep and "office delivery boy" delivering documents to the desks of the chief executives of the paper.
After graduating from college he was a staff accountant at the News-Press (while Toni McDonald was on maternity leave). From there he was promoted to at least 10 managerial positions including accounting manager, assistant controller of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat (owned by the New York Times, Co), publisher (of El Nuevo Tiempo) a Spanish-language newspaper, also under the ownership of the New York Times, project manager, web director and director of systems. Counting his time as a paper boy that's 34 years at the News-Press.
Many of you probably know Raul. He also runs his family's El Sitio restaurants. Raul has told me that the time to talk about his departure is still yet to come, so for now, we'll just have to leave it at that.
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One of the cleverest and most entertaining films I've seen so far at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival was a short, called "The Pre-Nup." It is about an idealistic teacher and her wealthy fiance who, in the midst of planning their wedding, are negotiating their prenuptial agreement. The film was written by Marcy Kaplan who plays the part of the school teacher. Earlier in this post I told you about the anti-SLAPP. This movie is the anti-Pre-Nup. Unfortunately though, it was shown in the first shorts program last Saturday and won't be shown again during the festival.
As for a recommendation for a film you still can catch how about "Barrio Cuba," a film by a Cuban filmmaker with an ensemble cast. It plays tonight (Thursday) at 10:15 p.m. and again Friday at 11:15 a.m. Both showings are at the Metro Four.
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Straightened Out By A Dreamgirl. Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007. Monday night found me back working the red carpet at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. This time I was at the Lobero Theatre where "Dreamgirls" director Bill Condon was being honored with the festival's Montecito Award.
The scene is not nearly as frenzied as it was on Saturday night for the arrival of Will Smith. This time I can actually get a spot on the rail and try to do interviews. Only one problem, what to ask? After all, entertainment is not my usual beat. I specialize in Greek tragedies. I decide to see what I can learn by observing the young journalists from the Santa Barbara Middle School Teen Press who once again are represented in the media contingent. The other day I told you how on opening night, one of the Middle School journalists had his bow tie straightened by actress Sienna Miller. Well, no turtleneck for me tonight. I'm wearing my best bow tie. (Photo courtesy of santabarbaraseen.com.)
First to show up and walk the carpet is Anika Noni Rose one of the stars of Dreamgirls. My first question to her would have been; "aren't you cold in that flimsy little dress?" Instead I stand back and watch the two middle schoolers work. These young ladies know what they're doing. They start by congratulating her on the success of the movie, then dive in with the questions. Well, if they can do it, so can I.
Next to arrive is the evening's honoree, Condon. I take up my position at the end of the line. When he gets to me I shake his hand and introduce myself. I ask him what his reaction is to the comments of Motown legend Smokey Robinson criticizing the movie. Condon told me that he was disappointed and there was "no question, it stung." He said that Dreamgirls is a fictionalized version of events and that perhaps Robinson was making the mistake of taking it too literally. After a few minutes he moves on to the next interviewer. Hey, that wasn't so tough! Now I'm ready for my next victim, I mean interviewee, Jennifer Hudson.
Hudson is the singer who made an early and unceremonious departure from "American Idol" a season or two ago. Although she had been dissed by Idol judge, Simon Cowell, she went on to be cast in Dreamgirls, which is her first movie and for which, she has been nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress.
When she reaches my spot on the carpet I shake her hand and congratulate her on the Oscar nomination. I ask her whether she's ever spoken to the other Jennifer, Jennifer Holliday, the actress who on Broadway, played the role that Hudson was cast in for the movie, and whom many people felt was snubbed. "No, but she's on my list of people to call." What about Simon, has he ever called to apologize to her for treating he so shabbily on "Idol?" Nope, other than the Oprah show where she was in the studio and he apologized via a satellite hook-up, he's never called to personally apologize, although she allowed how she didn't feel it was necessary.
Then I move in for the kill. "I have one last question to ask you." She looks at me and says; "What's that?" I then ask, "is my bow-tie crooked?" She looks hard at my neck and says, "yes it is, let me straighten it for you." She reaches over and adjusts the tie, then pats the lapels of my jacket. All the while I'm thinking to myself, why are there no flashbulbs going off getting a picture of this? Little did I know that long-time Santa Barbara photographer Rod Rolle was capturing the moment. "There you go, I'm glad to straighten it any time." I smile and say; "Thanks, I'll see you later."
After the award program its off to the post-awards party at "Qs" on State Street. This time the theme is Hell, Heaven and Purgatory. (Kind of sounds like the News-Press building.) The crowd is a bit younger than it was at Saturday's Biltmore bash. Once again there's a hosted bar and go-go dancers. And no George, they weren't half-naked, but rather, half-dressed. But then again, I usually tend to be a "glass is half-empty" kind of a guy.
Shortly after midnight, I run into Rochelle Rose, who writes for the Goleta Valley Voice who asks; "What are you still doing here?" I'm thinking to myself, where does she expect me to be, out at CompUSA lining up to buy one of the first copies of Windows Vista? Sure its past my bedtime, but the party didn't start until after 10:30 and its not polite to eat and run, especially when the food, and liquor, are free.
A short while later, Film Fest Executive Director, Roger Durling hits the dance floor and it looks like an episode of Deney Terrio's Dance Fever has broken out. The party was still going strong when I left.
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My interest in Cuba is driving my film festival recommendations for today. At the Center Stage Theater this afternoon at 4 p.m. "Popular," a movie directed by Jennifer Paz, focuses on a group of Cuban musicians who have led the rise of the new music style known as Timba. I've seen the movie and I guarantee, you won't be able to sit still in your seat. That's a good thing, because it screens with "Those I Left Behind," a movie that is much more sobering. If you are undecided on the injustice of the Bush administration's policy towards Cuba, this movie will change your mind. Both movies screen again at the Victoria on Thursday at 10 p.m.
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Meanwhile, yesterday back at the News-Press, Raul Gil, director of systems for the paper, has left. Reached late Tuesday night, Raul would only say; "After 23 years of working at the News-Press, it was my time to leave." Tomorrow, my News-Press coverage resumes with "everything you ever wanted to know about anti-SLAPP motions but were afraid to ask."
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Fired, For Doing the Right Thing. Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007. Despite being Anna Davison's direct supervisor, News-Press assistant city editor, Bob Guiliano was never given the opportunity to defend one of his best reporters against termination. In fact, last Thursday, the day she was fired, was his day off and no one had clued him in as to what was about to happen.
He only heard about the firing while he was strolling downtown that evening. Told that he could find Anna at the Paradise Cafe, he hustled over there. She was not there yet, so he waited. Anna's current and past co-workers started showing up. He stayed so he could talk to Anna and find out what happened. He wanted to console her because he felt she had been given a raw deal and felt bad that he had failed to protect her.
He also needed to figure out, after this blow to everyone's morale, how he could continue trying to motivate the rest of the reporting team to cover all the news that the paper has been missing due to lack of staff and direction from above.
Of course, Guiliano never got that opportunity. The following day he was fired himself. Perhaps it was because by showing up at the Paradise he was showing support for those who worked under him, or perhaps, even more tellingly, he was fired simply because he wanted to do the right thing.
In an e-mail Guiliano told me; "I had been attempting to build a lean, mean reporting machine out of my staff. That means we were going to have to work smarter at covering more areas with fewer reporters. But we were not given a chance to win. We were being set up for failure as pawns in the battle between the Teamsters Union and the ownership."
Guiliano observed that, "it is remarkable that the reporters are not fighting for wages, benefits or working conditions, but they merely want clarification on their beats and assurance that they will not be reprimanded or fired for 'biased reporting' when they do not slant their news coverage to reflect the newspaper's editorial opinions."
Guiliano concluded by telling me;
I'm all for balanced reporting and giving both sides an equal say in any story. But when reporters have to worry about the fact-based nature of their article clashing with the contrived nature of perceived controversy by an editorial writer overeager to please his (paper's) owner, and bend their reality to conform to that fantasy, then that is not journalism. That is the way you start a war in which there can be no winners.
Although he had only been with the News-Press about three months, Guiliano is a journalist with over 30 years of experience. His views about balanced reporting and figuring out how his staff can work smarter sound perfectly reasonable and level-headed to me. Apparently those views aren't shared by the News-Press' owner Wendy McCaw, which says volumes about the direction she wants to take the paper in.
I should clear up a couple of things from my reporting the other day. Davison's awards for her reporting on the Channel Islands were state level, not national awards. Although she feels this is not the forum to discuss it, the reasons she was given for her firing were in her mind, spurious.
Also, describing the gathering at the Paradise following Davison's termination as a "party" was a poor choice of words on my part. These get togethers are more like a wake or a vigil and provide an opportunity for fellow workers and friends to say goodbye. Unfortunately, they have become all too frequent.
There is one News-Press staff writer whose career appears to be headed north instead of south. Its Charlotte Boechler, who was recently appointed to the position of assistant Life editor and is being trained as a manager. Boechler also happens to be married to associate editor Scott Steepleton. She joined the paper shortly after Steepleton did and they were subsequently married. My guess is that as long as Scott has a job so does Charlotte.
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There's a new Sheriff in town, or rather a new Sheriff's blog. Happened to come across Santa Barbara Sheriff Blog yesterday. Its authored by someone going by the handle of "Honor." My guess is its someone within the department who is taking advantage of the openness that new Sheriff Bill Brown brings to the office.
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They Gave Me This Cool Press Pass, Now What Do I Do With It? Monday, Jan. 29, 2007. I was surprised when a few months back Roger Durling, Director of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival encouraged me to apply for a press credential to cover the event. I was even more surprised when I got one. But if they're under the impression that I'm some hot shot journalist, who am I to disabuse them of that notion?
The festival opened this past Thursday and my first stop was the press office, located at the Hotel Santa Barbara, to pick up my credential. When I showed up the woman behind the table asked what organization I was with. Organization? I don't even have any MySpace friends. I replied; "I work alone." Sure enough my name was on the list. A photographer came over and snapped my picture for the credential. While it was being laminated I saw George Yatchisin, who is working as a press officer for the festival. He asked me if there was anyone I wanted to interview. I thought for a moment and said, "Will Smith, Forrest Whitaker, Heather Graham?" He gave me one of those looks that said, "who do you think you are, Leonard Maltin?" I quickly realized that as a little known blogger I might have to settle for interviews with names that were even less well known than mine.
I changed the subject. "Where are those 'swag suites' I've heard so much about?" (That's where sponsors hand out goody bags with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise to the rich and famous.) George gently explained to me that this is not "one of those kinds of festivals." Although he did suggest that I could pick up a complementary copy of The New Yorker Magazine (one of the festival's sponsors) at the hospitality table in the lobby. Well at least that will give me something to read if any of the movies prove to be boring.
One last question for George; "Is there anything like a 'guest pass' that would allow me to drag someone along?" "Sort of," he says, "it's called buying a ticket." I see, no "plus ones" for this festival. Now I know why most press pass holders are part of an "organization."
Saturday night was the big tribute to Will Smith who was receiving the "Modern Master Award." At the last minute I ask George if I can get a spot along the red carpet. After checking with his colleagues he says "come on down at six thirty, I don't know if I can get you into the party though." Later on I show up at the Arlington, George is at the press table, he gives me a wrist band and tells me I'm into the party as well. He then asks; "You do know how to get to the Biltmore don't you?" "Oh yes," I reply. All the while remembering my last visit there and hoping that this time there won't be a security guard watching my every move.
There are actually two red carpets, the one to the right is for the "Platinum Pass" holders which includes a lot of locals like Peter Sklar and wife Sue of Edhat. The one on the left is for the "stars" and I must say, they really know how to pose. The last ones to make their appearance are Will Smith and his beautiful wife Jada Pinkett Smith. They pose separately for the paparazzi and stop and give interviews to the film crews. Both stop and talk for an extended period of time to a class of students from Santa Barbara Middle School who have been given passes for the red carpet and will be publishing the stories they write. On opening night, one of the Middle School journalists had his bow tie straightened by Sienna Miller, the star of "Factory Girl."
Here's a picture of me standing just behind the press line. For my next red carpet assignment I'm ditching the turtle neck and will be wearing a bow tie. Preferably one that's crooked.
After the Will Smith tribute its off to the Biltmore. I went straight there from the Arlington and when I arrive it already looks like the party is in full swing. One of the rooms features loud music and scantily clad go-go dancers in curtain "cages." Word is that before I arrived they were wearing even less but someone complained and the hotel manager ordered them to "cover up." I don't know who complained but I can assure you it wasn't me. And darn, I knew the tribute at the Arlington ran a bit too long.
The party, rumored to cost upwards of $200,000, also featured one of Santa Barbara's most endangered species, the hosted bar.
Among those I mingled with at the party was Jeramy Gordon, Publisher of the Santa Barbara Daily Sound. Jeramy told me that he had spotted Wendy McCaw and her boyfriend Arthur von Wiesenberger at the party. Having had previously sat across a negotiating table from Arthur to address the News-Press' concerns about the Daily Sound violating their "trade dress" Gordon started walking over to Arthur to say hello and introduce himself to Wendy. Arthur spotted him, whispered something in Wendy's ear and the two of them started heading in the opposite direction. A party where nearly 1000 people are in attendance isn't big enough for Wendy and any of her competitors.
Also at the party were Rob and Judy Egenolf. Rob is one of the members of the Lawyers Alliance for Free Speech, formed to support the News-Press journalists. I wonder if Arthur and Wendy dodged them as well? Earlier at the Arlington, another member of the Lawyer's Alliance, Steve Amerikaner, with wife Phyllis, were making their walk down the red carpet.
Surprisingly, Wendy McCaw was not the hardest person to find at the party. Where was the night's honoree and his wife, or Tom Cruise who was at the Arlington to present the award to him? They were believed to be in the VIP room, isolated from the rest of the attendees. One of the members of the festival's board complained to me that Board President, Jeff Barbakow, wasn't even letting board members into the VIP room. One of the celebrities who was out mixing with the crowd was Chris Gardner, (at right with Alan Harrison and Jonatha King) the one-time homeless man who went on to become a multi-millionaire stockbroker whom Will Smith portrays in "The Pursuit of Happyness."
It was nearly 2 a.m. when I left and the party was still going on. I haven't been up that late in a long time and don't plan to stay up that late again for a few years until its time to wait up for my daughter to return home from her first date. Check that, I better not be waiting up that late for my daughter to return from her first date!
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Most of you remember the controversy that surrounded Colin Gray's sculpture "W" which was exhibited on State Street last fall. I even put in my own two-cents worth in on it at the time. Anyway, "Much Ado About 'W': Art Wars of Santa Barbara" a film by local filmmakers Michael James Love and Tina Love, will be shown Friday, February 2nd at 4 p.m. at the Marjorie Luke Theatre. I'm one of the talking heads who's interviewed in the film explaining the News-Press role in the controversy.
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24 Hours, Two Firings. Friday, Jan 26, 2007. First it was Anna Davison. The science and environmental reporter who hails from New Zealand had recently been asked to cover Carpinteria and the Santa Barbara city beat. But around 6 p.m. Thursday, she was notified that she had been fired. She was not given any reasons. She had been a supporter of the union, although by no means one of its spokespersons. The union is convinced that that the firing is a retaliatory pretextual discharge. Davison responded to an e-mail inquiry from me but understandably declined to say anything about her termination.
Davison worked at the Santa Barbara News-Press for nearly five
years, and has won national recognition for her coverage of science and
health affairs. These honors include her three-part series on the
restoration effort at the Channel Islands; her story on 'Sam, the
World's Ugliest Dog,' which brought by far the most traffic on the
News-Press website ever, crashing the server; and her two fellowships
in science and health at esteemed universities.
News-Press staff writer Dawn Hobbs, a union supporter, had this to say: "Anna Davison was a great colleague who was very well respected in the community. We remain in solidarity behind Anna and Melinda Burns and look forward to union representation to deal with the issues at hand in the newsroom."
Today, Friday, Bob Guiliano, the assistant city editor was also terminated. Guiliano, who was fired just shy of three months after he began working for the News-Press, was greeted at the door by associate editor Scott Steepleton as he arrived for work and told he was being let go. Steepleton would give no reason when Guiliano asked why, other than to say that it was "performance related," although by all accounts Guiliano had done exceptionally well at the job.
As an editor, Guiliano is considered management and not eligible for union membership. But yet like another editor, Edmond Jocoby, who was fired back in November, Guiliano was terminated after attending a going-away party for a terminated reporter. Although neither advertised his attendance, Guiliano was at a wake-like gathering for Anna Davison the night before he was fired, just as Jacoby had stopped by a commiseration ceremony for Melinda Burns a few days before his ejection. Speculation now is that the paper has private investigators visiting such assemblies and taking names. Guiliano's and Jacoby's presence might have been seen as intolerable simply because they were supervisors and therefore expected not to fraternize with the so-called disloyal staff, even on their own time.
The possibility of private investigators reporting on these going away parties raises the question of whether the News-Press is becoming a police state. The News-Press has recently installed security cameras in the two main entrances, lobby and loading dock. Castro's secrect police have nothing on Wendy McCaw's security people.
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News-Press Reporter Anna Davison Fired! Friday, Jan. 26, 2007. Anna Davison, the reporter assigned to the environment and science beat at the Santa Barbara News-Press was fired yesterday. That fact was confirmed by union attorney Ira Gottlieb. In an e-mail Gottlieb told me, "Travis Armstrong says the employees march like storm troopers.
News-Press management truly stomps on people's livelihoods like storm
troopers. We will be filing a charge today."
Davison, whom I recall hails from either Australia or New Zealand, is a spunky knowledgeable journalist. She also holds the rare distinction of being one of the few journalist to have interviewed the paper's owner Wendy McCaw for a story. That being the one on McCaw's $2 million donation to "Free Willy" the whale a few years back.
The union is expected to issue a press release later today and I will have more details later.
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Jerry Roberts Lands On His Feet! Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007. As first reported in the Daily Sound and the Daily Nexus, former News-Press executive editor Jerry Roberts has been hired by UCSB to oversee the operation of that school's newspaper, the Daily Nexus, as well as the school's La Cumbre Yearbook.
If you're a regular reader of this blog you don't need me to go over yet one more time how the cow at the cabbage resulting in Jerry and many others who worked at the News-Press being out of their jobs. (You can always scroll down to the bottom of this page and start reading your way back up.) Let's just cut to the chase. UCSB is getting an outstanding journalist and newspaperman and Jerry gets to go back to work in the profession that he loves. I spoke with Jerry yesterday before he got word that he was selected. We followed up our conversation via e-mail exchange today. Needless to say he's excited about the opportunity.
I asked him what he hopes to accomplish in his new role and he replied; "I bring three decades of professional journalism
experience, having done every job in the business, from street reporter to publisher. I hope to
accomplish three basic things: Create a healthy and
stable financial environment so the student
journalists can do their best work; act as a coach on
journalistic skills and craft to staff members who
want to use me as a resource; work collaboratively
with the professional staff and the newsroom to create
a culture of sustained excellence for the Nexus."
Although, he's a relative newcomer to Santa Barbara, having arrived here less than five years ago, he and his family love the area and wanted very much to stay. This job gives him that opportunity. Jerry was looking to "work in journalism in an academic setting, and this combined the best of both worlds," he told me.
Now, who's going to tell Wendy McCaw that Jerry's new job doesn't pay $25 million?
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The Buena Vista Local Club. Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007. Let's face it. Its been kind of a slow week on the News-Press front with not much "news" to talk about. That's probably a good thing. So today, I'm going to talk about something else, Cuba.
It was exactly one month ago that I returned from Cuba. Its a difficult place to get to from the U.S. since there are no direct flights and you can't take any connecting flights. But that was part of the attraction. It wouldn't be a mere vacation but instead would be an adventure. I called the only person I knew who had been there, my friend and former boss Stan Roden to give me the 411 on traveling there. Of course after I talked to Stan I found out I was about the only person in town who hadn't been to Cuba.
He gave me a whole list of names of locals who had been there starting with Barney Brantingham, Mayor Marty Blum, realtor Chris Casebeer as well as others. When I spoke with Barney he told me that even the Baron himself, (and royal consort to Wendy McCaw) Arthur von Wiesenberger had been there. And Santa Barbara happens to be the home to one of the country's foremost experts on Cuba, journalist Ann Bardach, author of the book Cuba Confidential . In fact a number of Santa Barbarans had been involved in an effort to find a sister city in Cuba.
Of course, most of the people on that list had travelled to Cuba before the Bush administration imposed its draconian restrictions on travel by U.S. citizens to the island in 2004. Besides dampening travel the restrictions also killed the sister city effort. So I didn't expect to run into many Americans over there. Boy, was I wrong.
It was our first morning in Havana and we had just gotten on the elevator in the lobby at the Hotel Nacional where we were staying when I heard someone running to catch the elevator door before it closed. I held the door and a woman entered first followed by her husband. She said "thank you" in a distinctly American accent. We asked where they were from and they said the U.S. We said that we were from the U.S. and they asked where. We said Santa Barbara, California. The man then says, "I'm congressman Jim McGovern from Massachusetts." I'm thinking, great, we're basically breaking the law by being here and I've just made a full confession to a member of the U.S. Congress. He senses my trepidation and assures me that he won't turn us in. Actually, its not against the law for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba, its just against the law for them to spend any money there. So, for a notorious cheapskate like myself, its really not a problem.
Anyway the Congressman was part of a 10 member Congressional delegation that was there to meet with Cuban leaders. So its official, in one day in Cuba I met more members of Congress than I've ever met living my whole life in the United States.
For a country where some basic necessities, aspirin, band aids, toilet paper (yes, toilet paper) are sometimes hard to come by, there is no shortage of booze in Cuba. Every bar we visit is well stocked with the finest liquors, Scotch whiskey, Russian vodka, and of course, rum. Just about every bar in the old part of Havana claims that Hemingway drank there. In fact I think it would be more of an oddity to find a bar that Hemingway didn't drink in. At the Floridita, reputed to be one of his favorite hangouts, they even have a bronze statue of him at the far corner of the bar, posed with his forearm on the counter and one foot perched on the floor-rail, glaring into the main part of the room. Now that's what I want when I die, a bronze statue of me propped up against the downstairs bar at Rocks. Don't laugh. People are far more likely to visit you there then at the cemetery.
Cubans must think that all Americans drink like Hemingway. As soon as you step out of one bar they're trying to steer you into the next one. Or maybe they just got spoiled by that Congressional delegation?
You see very few overweight Cubans and certainly none who are actually obese. They're all on the Castro diet. Meat, milk, bread, and cheese are all rationed. No limit on the amount of beer or rum they can buy. If they have the money. And very few have the money. Most Cubans make between $12 and $15 a month. The best paying Cuban jobs involve contact with tourists. A cab driver will make around $400 a month, which is twice the amount a physician makes. And there are lots of tourists in Cuba, just not many American tourists.
I found Cubans to be very cordial. When they find out you're from the U.S. they seem very appreciative of the fact that you made the effort and risked the possibility of a fine to visit their country.
The Cuban economy is highly dependent on tourism. While large portions of Havana are neglected and in disrepair the tourist magnet of Old Havana is being meticulously restored. One Havanan told me that the most powerful person in the city is the official historian who decides what gets restored and rebuilt.
I'm sure you've all heard the reports about Castro being on his death bed. Perhaps when he finally passes that will give the Bush administration an opening to change its policy regarding Cuba and ease the economic and travel restrictions. When that happens I say you should go. Just don't eat the shrimp.
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One of the films that is being shown at this year's Santa Barbara International Film Festival is "Those I Left Behind," a documentary that exposes the hardship that the Bush policy towards Cuba has inflicted on Cuban exiles who have relatives still living in that country. The movie will be shown on Wednesday, January 31st at 4 pm at the Center Stage Theatre and again on Thursday February 10th at 10 pm at the Victoria Theatre.
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Libel 101, Part 2. Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2007. Its time for another edition of "Libel 101" the on-line class that teaches you about your First Amendment rights. We start today with a question from one of our students. "What's the difference between libel and slander? Why hasn't Wendy McCaw sued anyone for slander?" Good question, after all she's sued nearly everybody in town for everything under the sun, why not any lawsuits for slander?
Defamation can take one of two forms, libel or slander. Slander is any oral form of defamation. When a defamatory statement is written or otherwise reduced to some fixed representation to the eye, such as posted on the Internet or published in a newspaper, it constitutes libel. If you're at a cocktail party and you call someone a drunken thief in front of their friends, (assuming that they aren't a stealing inebriate) that's slander. Post those same comments on a "My Space" page and its libel. So if anyone's literally talked trash about McCaw it apparently hasn't gotten back to her which may explain why she hasn't sued anyone for slander. I'm sure its only a matter of time.
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I've noted here before how frequently the News-Press gets scooped these days. The latest example is the report that L.A. developer Rick Caruso has made an offer to purchase the Miramar Hotel from Ty Warner. J'Amy Brown broke the story on Monday in her Montecito Montage column at the Indy's website. The Daily Sound followed suit with a story of its own. As of Tuesday, not a word about it in the News-Press which by my count had only three local stories in yesterday's "A" section. Caruso is the developer and owner of my daughter's favorite L.A. shopping mall, The Grove.
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My conversation yesterday with Vlad Kogan has spawned its own blog topic over at Blogabarbara. People posting comments were very impressed with the remorse shown by Kogan and for him owning up to his mistakes. As many of them point out, if only McCaw would do the same, maybe we could get the News-Press back on track.
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Due to Circumstances Beyond My Control. Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2007. My ISP succeeded in doing what Wendy McCaw couldn't do, keep yesterday's column off the Internet. Not that she's actually tried, as far as I'm aware. My ISP's FTP server was down. If you're a computer techie you probably know exactly what that means. For the rest of us it simply means I couldn't update my blog. As most of you have probably noticed, my daily posts go up on the Internet around midnight every evening so you early risers can see them first thing in the morning. Yesterday, when my post didn't go up until nearly 4:30 in the afternoon I got a number of e-mails and even some phone calls asking if I was okay and what the story was.
I was quite surprised at all of the concern my lack of a posting elicited. One of my friends actually called me in the afternoon and said he was worried that I might have fallen down at home and was lying on the floor with a broken hip. Well, I guess I am in that age range now. Think I better go out and pick up the Life Alert medical alarm that you wear around your neck. Maybe I'll get one of those The Clapper things while I'm at it too. Anyway, thanks to Sara at Blogabarbara for helping to get the word out as to what happened yesterday.
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The News-Press' lawsuit against the Independent is proceeding in federal court. Last night I spoke on the phone with former News-Press reporter Vlad Kogan who is finding himself in the middle of it. One of the News-Press' claims is that the Indy's Nick Welsh got his hands on an unpublished News-Press story written by Kogan about the paper's arbitration claim against former executive editor Jerry Roberts. Before Kogan left the News-Press, they had him sign a declaration stating that Welsh had told him in a phone conversation that he had a copy of the article in his possession. It turns out that was only half the story. Kogan has signed another declaration being submitted in the case on behalf of the Independent where he points out that although Welsh made that claim, neither he nor associate editor, Scott Steepleton, with whom he discussed it, believed it to be true. Rather they both concluded that Welsh was bluffing and was making the claim as a ruse to get Kogan to talk to him about the article.
Kogan is working in San Diego now where he is a content producer for voiceofsandiego.org and much happier even though he is making about 35 percent less than he made at the News-Press. Now that some time has gone by how does he feel about his experience in Santa Barbara?
I think many of the bloggers who criticized me when I was at the News-Press had a very good point about me
capitalizing on the events there (i.e.: getting a job), and I certainly regret spending the four months there that I did. I especially regret being a part of the paper's attack on and attempts to discredit Jerry Roberts, and I think I owe him and his family a huge apology.
I asked Kogan if he was worried about the News-Press coming after him when it finds out he was talking to me about his involvement in the Independent litigation. He replied that in light of the fact that he doesn't have any assets "other than a crappy old laptop for them to go after," no, he's not worried. Hopefully they won't be suing Vlad for $25 million.
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The new tabloid size Santa Barbara Daily Sound made its debut yesterday. Publisher Jeramy Gordon says its easier to hold and to read. Was the change motivated by the News-Press rattling its saber about "trade dress" violations? Had nothing to do with the change Jeramy told me.
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Libel 101. Monday, Jan. 22, 2007. Today I thought we'd have a little session of "Libel 101," the on-line education course that teaches Santa Barbaran's how to exercise their First Amendment free speech rights. Just as importantly, I tell the lawyers for the Santa Barbara News-Press how they're full of hot air when they send out cease and desist letters to local business owners. This is your classroom and I am your professor.
Today's lesson is why signs that say "McCaw Obey the Law" are not libelous. Back in mid-December a number of local businesses began displaying those signs to show their support for the organized newsroom staff of the News-Press. Many of those business owners received letters from one of Wendy McCaw's enforcers, local attorney Barry Cappello. The letter claimed that the signs imply that McCaw is violating the law which Cappello argued was not true and therefore defamatory.
Perhaps if you're Wendy McCaw, you might be sensitive about such a slogan because, after all, if the shoe fits wear it. But the sign is merely a slogan and not an assertion of fact. "McCaw Obey the Law" is no more of an accusation of not following the law than the familiar slogan "Don't Drink and Drive." Rather than accusing anyone of doing anything wrong both slogans merely encourage those to whom they are directed to do what they ought to have the common sense and decency to do in any event.
Which brings me to my next point, statements of opinion can never be libelous. "McCaw Obey the Law" is not defamatory or libelous because it is not a provably false factual assertion but rather is simply someone's opinion as to how McCaw should conduct herself in dealing with her unionized employees. If I were to say, "In my opinion, Wendy McCaw's an idiot," that's just a statement of opinion and cannot be deemed to be libelous. Someone else might have a different opinion on whether or not she has been idiotic in the way she runs her busniness. On the other hand, if I were to say "Wendy McCaw has an IQ of 60," (which I am not saying) that statement is arguably libelous because it could most likely be disproved by reference to her IQ test scores.
So the bottom line is that statements of opinion are not libelous. False statements of fact are. Pretty simple isn't it? You're probably asking yourself, "Well if its so simple, how come Barry Cappello doesn't know this?" I'm not claiming to be as smart as Cappello and I'm certainly not as rich. After all, I'd be the first to tell you, lawyers who can litigate do, lawyers who can't, write blogs. But my guess is that he is well aware of this and is writing those letters for their in terrorem effect. (How's that for a lawyer like way of saying "fear factor?") But then again, that's just my opinion, don't be afraid to express yours.
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Of course there's never any shortage of opinion in the News-Press editorial pages, much of it of the rough and tumble variety. Editorial page editor Travis Armstrong's column yesterday was no exception. He used the occasion of his fifth anniversary with the paper to take some cheap shots at local politicos as well as past and present members of the newsroom staff.
Saying that his job gives him a great vantage point to "view hypocrisy on display" he describes those who have left the newsroom as "malcontents" He then goes on to say; "All in all, we have a better workplace today. But as with any company, there always are a handful of Eeyores." Eeyores? To those of you who are not up on your children's literature "Eeyore" is the name of the donkey character in the Winnie the Pooh series and of course another name for a donkey would be a jackass. Wasn't former 'Life' section editor Andrea Huebner fired for allowing a column to get by in which Dr. Michael Seabaugh "attacked" Dr. Laura. Of course only someone with Dr. Laura's delicate sensibilities would perceive Seabaugh's gentle suggestion that perhaps she ought to be more tolerant of diversity as an "attack." No one at the News-Press can speak ill of Dr. Laura, but apparently you can talk all the trash you want about the hardworking newsroom staff. Talk about hypocrisy,
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Its only January but its not too early for an Easter egg hunt. One of my readers found one and passed it on. Click here to find out whose picture and words still appear on the News-Press website. I won't spoil the surprise by telling you. And I guarantee, you will be surprised.
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You Have Questions, I Have Answers. Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007. The debut of The Answer Man, taking your questions on all topics.
Q. If the News-Press changes its name, what should it call itself?
A. The Penny Saver.
Q. What does it mean if someone is half Irish and half Scottish?
A. They like to drink but they don't like to pay.
Q. Who are Travis Armstrong's two best friends?
A. Charles Shaw and Rodney Strong.
Q. Do you know any good pick-up lines?
A. You're asking me? After all, I'm the guy who couldn't score at a place called "Lucky's."
Q. What's a "paid blogger?"
A. Someone who blogs while they're at their real job.
Q. When you die do you think the News-Press will run your obituary?
A. I hope so, even though it means no one will know that I died.
Q. What do you think they'll say?
A. Good riddance.
Q. The movie "Citizen Kane" was the thinly veiled story of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst. When Hollywood makes a movie about Wendy McCaw what will they call it?
A. "Citizen Insane."
Q. How would you describe what it's like to read the News-Press these days?
A. Its about as exciting as watching a tree form its annual ring.
Q. Who will be the next person that Wendy McCaw sues?
A. You mean there's somebody left that she hasn't sued?
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Although cameras were prohibited at the recent NLRB Hearing, intrepid community access videographer/citizen journalist Larry Nimmer was present to talk to citizens outside the Federal Bankruptcy Court and at the County building about the on-going labor dispute. The half hour program he produced is scheduled to air on Channel 17, Santa Barbara's Community Access Channel as follows:
Thursday, January 18th at 2:30 PM
Friday, January 19th at 9:30 PM
Wed., January 24th at 7:30 PM
Thursday, January 25th at 2:30 PM
Friday, January 26th at 9:30 PM
The highlight of the program is when Leana Orsua, the News-Press reporter assigned to cover the hearing, talks to the videographers about how she was told to report what happened at the hearing but acknowledges that she doesn't know much about the case because the newspaper hasn't covered it.
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The Masters of Mis-Information. Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2007. Watching the melt down at the News-Press is rapidly becoming this town's second most popular indoor activity. (The town's number one indoor activity shouldn't have spectators.) Think of all the talk that was generated around town by yesterday's bizarre editorial condemning other media outlets for their "agenda-driven reporting." This is the pot calling the kettle black, the snail calling the sea slug ugly, Moe calling Larry and Curly Stooges. I would contend that there is no local news outlet whose reporting (or lack thereof) is influenced by its agenda more than the News-Press is. The former Soviet Union had Pravda. Santa Barbara has the News-Press.
The editorial is truly a tour-de-force of hypocrisy. Without naming a single individual or media outlet it runs on as one big "blind item" citing example after example of supposedly biased reporting that is driven by an unnamed reporter or media outlet's agenda. In perhaps the most hypocritical of all the statements contained in the editorial we are told:
[W]hat people should also find troubling about stories involving this newspaper is the lack of will or skill by journalists even to tell their audiences about the bias of the critics they are quoting in stories.
That statement comes from the same newspaper that last week failed to disclose to its readers that Scott Steepleton, the author of two stories on the NLRB hearings to which the paper was a party, was himself a witness who testified on the paper's behalf in those hearings.
The editorial concludes with this gem:
One only has to look at those behind the criticism to see that the First Amendment is not their concern.
Well, we've known for about six months now that the First Amendment is not Wendy McCaw's concern.
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As Barney Brantingham reported in the Independent on Monday, McCaw has upped the amount of damages she's seeking from former Executive Editor Jerry Roberts from $500,000 to $25 million. What possibly could be the reasonable, good faith theory behind a $25 million claim against Roberts? What changed to bump it up from $500,000?
The theory seems to be that Roberts is somehow to blame for the steep decline in the value of the News-Press. But making that causal connection will be impossible since Roberts has been out of the building since early July and most of the bad executive decisions and resulting bad publicity, were self-inflicted by McCaw, She likes to play the victim but she needs to look in the mirror.
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First the News-Press demanded a retraction from the American Journalism Review. The AJR's attorneys responded by schooling the News-Press' attorneys on the nuances of libel law. Now you can view the dueling letters side-by-side. They've both been posted on the AJR's website. Here's the News-Press letter that demanded the retraction. Here's the AJR's response. Note that the News-Press lawyers conclude their letter by stating "You are not authorized to disclose the contents of this letter publicly or to disseminate it, except to the extent necessary to publish the demanded retraction." In other words, this is a threat and keep it quiet.
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The Alpha Blog. Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007. "Alpha Dog," the long-awaited movie that dramatizes the story of the murder of 15 year old Nicholas Markowitz which took place here in Santa Barbara, opened in local theaters this weekend. Four people have already been convicted and are in prison for the crime, one of them is on death row. A fifth, Jesse James Hollywood, is in jail in Santa Barbara awaiting trial having been accused of being the "mastermind" of the murder. Neither Hollywood or his attorney want you to see the film having unsuccessfully attempted to get an injunction to block its release. The argument being that the release of the movie would make it difficult for Hollywood to get a fair trial.
I don't think they have anything to worry about. I was part of a not-quite-sold-out audience attending the 4:10 p.m. matinee last Saturday. Most of those in attendance looked barely old enough to drive let alone serve on a jury. In fact, I might have been the oldest person in the audience. I think its safe to say that most of the females in attendance were probably there to see Justin Timberlake and not Bruce Willis. Honestly, there weren't many people in that audience I would have left on a jury if I were still prosecuting cases. For some reason the phrases "rap music fan" (of which there is plenty in the movie's soundtrack) and "hanging juror" just don't seem to go together.
Have you ever noticed how many people sit in movie theaters these days and text message on their cell phones? If they can't sit through a two hour movie without instant messaging their friends how are they going to last in a courtroom six hours a day without being able to IM?
Although the movie is based on a case that most of us Santa Barbaran's are familiar with, all of the names and places have been changed. Instead of Santa Barbara, the victim is kidnapped and taken to Palm Springs. One scene takes place at "Fiesta" on "State Street" in Palm Springs. There is no State Street or Fiesta in Palm Springs. They should have changed it to Palm Canyon Boulevard and Spring Break.
Although he failed to block the release of the movie Hollywood's attorney, James Blatt, has dealt the prosecution a major setback in getting Santa Barbara Deputy DA Ron Zonen, that office's best trial lawyer, booted off the case. As I reported back in October, the California Court of Appeal had Zonen removed from participating in the case because he shared confidential files with the movie's producers. The finality of that ruling is up in the air as the California Supreme Court has taken the case over to review the removal decision. A ruling from that court is probably six or seven months away.
In the meantime, Zonen's stellar reputation has taken an undeserved hit. In recent months at least three articles dealing with the movie and the case have portrayed him unflatteringly. The most recent of which appeared in the L.A. Times on Sunday January 7th of this year. That and the other stories cite the assessment of a girl friend of one of the film's producers who, based on a one-minute phone conversation with Zonen characterized him as being "star struck" and wanting to be portrayed in the film by a "handsome actor." But then again, wouldn't we all? I mean if the News-Press saga ever makes it to film I want my part to be played by Denzel Washington and not Danny DeVito. (And yes, I know that Denzel doesn't play bit parts.) I'm sure Wendy McCaw would like to have Scarlett Johansson play her in the movie, but believe me, that ain't going to happen.
Zonen has gotten little else but grief out of his participation in the movie. The story ends before reaching the courtroom so no one was cast for the prosecutor's role. Hollywood's father, Jack Hollywood, who whined to the News-Press on Sunday about how unfair the movie was to his son, was also a consultant and was paid $10,000.00. Zonen was paid nothing. The movie had a red carpet premier in Los Angeles on January 3rd but Zonen wasn't invited. Susan Markowitz, the victim's mother, was invited and told KEYT's Tracy Lehr that she thought the film honored her son. Zonen has seen the film though. A private screening was arranged to enable him to respond to the defense's motion to remove him from the case. He does get an on screen credit. At the conclusion of the film one of the final credits to appear on the screen are the names of Zonen and the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department, as well as others who are listed as being among those whom the filmmakers thank for their assistance in making the movie. Of course by the time his name finally shows up only four of us remained in the audience. Everyone else had quickly gotten up and started heading to the door as soon as the movie was over and the credits started to roll.
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As long as we're talking about movies let's take note of the fact that Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker won Best Actress and Best Actor Golden Globe Awards last night making them the front runners for Oscar, and they're both coming to town for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival which opens next week.
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Seen at the Daily Grind having coffee Monday morning; former News-Press editors Jerry Roberts and Don Murphy. Roberts, having recently disclosed that he has been diagnosed with cancer looked great and appeared to be in good spirits. Also, seen at the Grind; former Assembly Member Hannah-Beth Jackson. If you've been wondering what our former Assembly Member has been up to check out her website at Speak Out California!
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Former News-Press writer Paul Yarbrough suggests the following bumper sticker would be appropriate for Santa Barbara drivers; "Have YOU been served by Wendy today?"
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Want to Blog? Be My Guest! Monday, Jan. 15, 2007. Yesterday, one of my readers who still reads the News-Press but prefers to remain anonymous, e-mailed the following to me. I thought it was so on target that, with a few minor edits and the addition of some links, I am running it here.
Wendy McCaw's Sunday newspaper is the most important one for her business, as the thick stack of ads that fall out indicates. So most owners would want to make sure there is lots of local news and interesting community commentary for readers.
But McCaw's Sunday paper with the "best local news that can be had" appears to be sinking lower. In Sunday's "A" local news section, only three local stories: local businesses don't take pesos (we didn't have a basil shortage or a certain fire with a trapped victim either), a Jesse James Hollywood story (Wendy and the Baron seem to love ANYTHING Hollywood) and a story about homeless shelters opening because of the cold (reported late, following Blogabarbara's posting several days ago).
McCaw's idea of journalistic perfection may be to squeeze all community commentary out of the newspaper. She's getting close. Other than Lorraine Wilson on the society page, who recently featured pictures of McCaw and her boyfriend/co-publisher with Jay Leno, and John Zant in the sports section, whom is a living institution and whom she probably doesn't read, there were NO local columns in Sunday's paper.
The good news is that, for the first time, both Dr. Laura and Travis didn't have columns, a sign (along with the ad in classifieds for a Circulation Sales and Retention Manager) that McCaw wants to reverse plummeting newspaper sales.
But the bad news still is that Sunday lacks Barney, Starshine and Randy Alcorn, with no local replacements in sight. They are among the approximately dozen local columnists who departed within the past six months.
Not much life on the opinion page either: McCaw's editorial is the same old recycled creeks and Coastal Commission stuff.
Even the quality of the ads is declining: One of the most beloved members of the local non-profit community is Chuck Slosser, the CEO of the Santa Barbara Foundation. The newspaper continues to run a big ad, with a nice photo of Dr. Slosser, but with his name spelled "Dr. Schlosser."
Maybe Associate Editor Scott Steepleton was so busy testifying in the NLRB hearing, and also reporting -- very one sided on the very same proceeding where he was a witness, that he forgot about local news for Sunday's paper.
If all of this is McCaw's idea of "truth, excellence, ethical journalism and the best coverage of local events that can be had," as she professed on January 1, she's seriously out of touch.
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Today's New York Times has a major story on the News-Press. The story, written by Sharon Waxman, who was here last week for the NLRB hearing, brings the whole nation up to date on the latest shenanigans and those desist letters that never seem to cease coming from McCaw's lawyers.
Best line in the the Times story is; "When (McCaw lawyer David Millstein was) asked why Mrs. McCaw has consistently chosen legal action when she has felt wronged, rather than engaging in dialogue with readers or her news staff, he said, 'A cease-and-desist letter is a form of dialogue.'" Yep, and a gun is a form of persuasion.
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The unfair labor practice hearing where, among other things, the News-Press will be called upon to defend its firing of Melinda Burns, originally set for February 26th, has been rescheduled for March 12, upon the request of the NLRB's General Counsel, and with the agreement of the union and the paper.
On Friday, the union announced that it intends to file an unfair labor practice charge against the News-Press on Scott Steepleton's January 10 demand that newsroom employees remove "McCaw Obey the Law" buttons and signs, and will also pursue a charge regarding Steepleton's December 15th demand that newsroom employees sign an affidavit stating that they did not "leak" an internal Wendy McCaw memo to yours truly.
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Revisionist History. Friday, Jan. 12, 2007. I almost took today off from blogging. Spending a day and a half sitting in a courtroom watching the News-Press' attorneys bumble their way through an NLRB hearing has set me way behind in my grading of that huge stack of mid-term exams. But alas I'm here. Leave it to Barry Cappello, Wendy McCaw's favorite intimidator, to lure me back on line.
In a letter to the editor published in both the print edition of this week's Santa Barbara Independent, and online, Cappello says in part: "When Mrs. McCaw acquired the News-Press, she saved it from the disgrace of insolvency. After years of losing money, the paper was going to be closed or sold off to a national chain with no local input or control." Au contraire. Both the New York Times and the American Journalism Review have reported that when McCaw bought the paper it had a profit percentage of 11%, which is higher than most Fortune 500 companies. The New York Times distributed a "bid book" as part of its selling effort in 2000. The book showed that the News-Press was far from the "disgrace of insolvency," In fact, it was enjoying record profits. Which is probably why McCaw might have paid as much as $150 million for the paper.
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BTW, an article posted on L.A. Weekly notes that Cappello, despite being her staunchest advocate, has never met McCaw. Never met McCaw? Even I've met Wendy McCaw! Who would have ever thought that?
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Besides suing author Susan Paterno over the "Santa Barbara Smackdown" article that appeared in the American Journalism Review, the News-Press has written and demanded a formal retraction of the article by the AJR. AJR's attorney's have posted their lengthy response rejecting the retraction demand. I'd say the AJR lawyers are taking the News-Press lawyers to school on this one.
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These Two Attorneys Didn't Get the Memo. Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007. After spending the better part of a day and a half watching the NLRB hearing on the News' Press' objections to the outcome of the union election, I really wish someone would have told the paper's attorneys what the issue being contested at the hearing was. The issue, as so succinctly stated by Administrative Law Judge William Schmidt, was "whether laboratory conditions were sufficiently impaired so as to warrant a new election?" The phrase "laboratory conditions" is a term of art in the labor relations field, a reference to the fact that union representation elections are not to be contaminated by influences which would inhibit the employees from exercising their free choice.
Of course it was the News-Press' contention that the employees exercise of free choice had been inhibited through threats, intimidation and coercion. Now, how someone can expect to prevail on that argument without calling a single employee past or present who can raise their right hand and swear on a Bible, a Koran, or their dead grandmother's grave that they voted for the union because they were threatened, scared or intimidated is beyond me. There was absolutely no testimony that came anywhere close to that prompting Judge Schmidt to observe from the bench that the evidence largely showed that "this was a routine, ordinary election campaign."
So desperate were the News-Press attorneys to dredge up something sinister and threatening they used their cross-examination of McCaw PR flack Agnes Huff to elicit her impression that if the newsroom employees demands weren't met by September 5th, there would be "an all out war on the News-Press." After hearing that statement Judge Schmidt nearly declared all out war on the News-Press attorneys. "That strikes me as significant evidence and I haven't seen a shred of it, not a shred" he began and his voice steadily rising. "That's a wildly exaggerated statement by the witness."
The judge became even more exasperated when Huff tried to link a threatening post on the Blogabarbara blog to the union. "The allegation that the Teamsters wrote that threat is a really serious charge. No one in the hearing room has come through with a shred of evidence of who the author is. The insinuations have to stop." The judge appeared most annoyed with the timing of the attorney's effort to draw the connection. Yesterday McCandless and Millstein had spent the entire day putting on their case in chief however, they didn't put on any evidence as to the origin of the threat. Only after they rested and the union called Huff to testify, did they try to make the connection through cross-examination. The judge stated: "If you're going to link this memo to the union you should have done it in your case in chief. I'm stunned." And so were many of us in the audience. As the judge noted, "It lacks credibility to approach it in that fashion."
At one point the judge took a mid-morning 30 minute recess to allow the News-Press attorneys to produce evidence which would substantiate Huff's claim that an all out war on the News-Press had been threatened. In effect he was saying, "if you have a smoking gun, this is the time to bring it to me." Needless to say, they didn't.
Were the News-Press' attorneys Sandra McCandless and David Millstein totally ineffective? Not so according to Nick Welsh of the Independent. As he observed during a break in the proceedings, they succeeded in doing what few others have ever done, "they made the Teamsters look sympathetic."
As promised by union attorney Ira Gotlieb, he did call News-Press co-publisher Arthur von Wiesenberger to the stand. Asked if he was familiar with Blogabarbara, Wiesenberger said that he had heard of it but had never visited or blogged on the site and denied knowing who "Nelville Flynn" was. (Many followers of the local blogosphere have suspected that "Nelville Flynn" is Weisenberger's nom de plume.) Gottlieb decided not to call Wendy McCaw to the stand. All of the testimony in the case was concluded before the lunch break. After attending to some housekeeping matters after lunch the judge asked the parties to file further briefs, due January 25th, containing their arguments on the issue. The judge should rule on the objections sometime shortly after that.
Yesterday I reported that News-Press reporter Leanna Orsua, after spending the entire day covering the hearing, begged off on writing a story, saying that she was "overwhelmed." The News-Press ran a short story on the first day of the hearing in yesterday's paper. It carried no by-line, but rather was credited as a "staff report." Reliable sources tell me that the article was actually written by Associate Editor Scott Steepleton. It would have been nice if Steepleton had disclosed that he had testified as a witness in the very hearing he was giving an account of. Another example of the News-Press' idea of "unbiased reporting." And yes, many of us who attended the hearing thought that the story that appeared in the News-Press was awfully one-sided. Steepleton was present at the hearing on Wednesday sitting in the audience with his reporter's notebook in hand.
Speaking of News-Press attorney's McCandless and Millstein, they are among those being identified as part of McCaw's posse of yes men (and women) in an article now available at L.A. Weekly.
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Is That All There Is? Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2007. I must say, I spent yesterday afternoon watching the NLRB hearing in which the News-Press is trying to set aside the union election which they resoundingly lost and I emerged totally underwhelmed by the paper's case (or perhaps I should say, lack thereof.)
In a case where they claim employees voted in favor of unionization because they were threatened or intimidated into doing so, they did not produce a single employee to so testify to that fact. Although they claim that an anonymous posting on Blogabarbara threatened the paper's property, they did not produce any evidence that anyone associated with the union was behind the posted threat.
Nor was I the only one who was not impressed. Presiding over the hearing was Administrative Law Judge William Schmidt who will decide the case. At the end of the day he remarked from the bench that he was not impressed with the employer's case with respect to the claim that the newsroom employees "march" to deliver a letter to Wendy McCaw was intimidating, that supervisory employees inappropriately urged unionizing or that a News-Press logo displayed in proximity to a union slogan gave a false impression that the paper endorsed unionization. "If that's all there was to the case, I'd stop it right now." Judge, you should have stopped it, because the employer rested their case and that's all there was.
If I were union attorney, Ira Gottlieb, I'd be tempted not to put on a "defense" case tomorrow. The News-Press' case was that weak. At one point, News-Press attorney David Millstein argued that he suspected collusion between the union and former supervisors. Judge Schmidt replied "I know what you're saying, but it doesn't knock me down, yet." Instead of trying to land some more punches, the News-Press rested their case. When I walked out of the courtroom at the end of the day, the judge was still standing.
No knockout punches and no points put on the board. Indeed, for most of the time I was in the courtroom (work commitments prevented me from attending the morning session) the News-Press lawyers, Millstein and Sandra McCandless, looked like they were lost in the woods. It was obvious that between these two they had spent far more time in the office cranking out cease and desist letters than they had ever spent in any hearing room putting on evidence. After each witness they called I asked myself, "did that witness help the paper's case? Did it hurt the union's case?" Every time, the answer was no.
From what I'm told, News-Press associate editor Scott Steepleton was the most entertaining of the witnesses and turned out to be something of a Foley artist. Steepleton described how frightened he was in late August, when a group of newsroom employees tried to deliver a letter to McCaw.
"They started stomping their feet and marching toward Wendy McCaw's office," he said, demonstrating his version of events by standing up in the witness stand, stamping his feet, swinging his arms and glowering at those in the audience. A few minutes later, Steepleton repeated the performance, again getting up and stamping. You know, if Steepleton was in fact frightened, it proves nothing as he was a supervisor and ineligible to vote in the election.
For a hearing where the main issues were supposed to be fear and intimidation, there was precious little evidence of it. The closest the News-Press came was witness Yolanda Apodaca, the paper's human resources director. She testified that two newsroom employees had come to see her complaining about union intimidation. The employees had asked to remain anonymous, she said. Apodaca began to recount how one of them was visibly upset" - but she was interrupted by Schmidt, who emphatically told McCandless he would not consider any anonymous evidence in deciding whether the union campaign was clean. "No," Schmidt said. "Is that what this is going to be? Not in my hearing room . . . It is not due process if some unidentified person said 'so-and-so.' That is fundamentally unfair. This is not a Star Chamber."
The hearings figure to have some amusement value today. Union attorney Gottlieb plans to call as witnesses Agnes Huff, Wendy McCaw's PR Flack, boyfriend and co-publisher Arthugr von Wiesenberger, and, if permitted by the judge, McCaw herself.
Yesterday's hearing was covered by the Independent, The Daily Sound, the New York Times and KEYT. The News-Press sent reporter Leanna Orsua to cover the proceedings. Although McCandless and Millstein refused to be interviewed on camera by KEYT's Michelle Cole, I did see McCandless answering questions posed by Orsua after proceedings had adjourned for the day. But don't be surprised if an article on the hearing doesn't run in today's News-Press. Word is that around 5 p.m. Orsua phoned the newsroom and begged off on writing a story saying she was simply too "overwhelmed" and had a conflict of interest.
As I said earlier, I could only attend the afternoon session of yesterday's proceedings. I am extremely grateful to former News-Press reporter Melinda Burns for furnishing me with her account of what went on in the morning session. Portions of her work were included in today's column.
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Joy Finally Leaves the Newsroom. Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007. If you're a regular reader of this blog you're probably thinking to yourself, "didn't joy leave the News-Press newsroom about six months ago?" It definitely did but that's not the joy I'm talking about today.
The Joy I'm talking about worked for 34 years at the News-Press. On Friday, December 15th of last year, the last evening before her end-of-year two week vacation, Joy Wells was asked to meet with News-Press Associate Editor Scott Steepleton and Human Resources Director Yolanda Apodaca and was informed that she was being dismissed from her position as Executive Assistant for News. When she asked why Steepleton told her that he did not feel that she "was supportive of the office." Apodaca immediately suggested that she apply for another position in the company at no loss of pay. Wells asked if she could think it over while on vacation. On December 30th Wells submitted her resignation letter stating that she could "no longer justify working in an atmosphere that has become rife with suspicion, distrust, secrecy, fear and vindictiveness."
Wells, who had been Jerry Roberts' secretary, and continued in her position under Steepleton, was considered by many in the newsroom to be their "den mother." If you had a problem finding the right supplies, if you needed an aspirin because of the pressure you were under and the splitting headache that came with it (and there were plenty of those days lately) Joy Wells was always there to take care of you. "Joy was the glue that held the newsroom together in good times and bad. She was a true professional, equally ready to supply a paper clip or type up a complicated grant application. She worked hard, she was always cheerful and we regarded her as our friend," lamented former News-Press reporter Melinda Burns.
The feeling was mutual. Joy told me in an e-mail; "I love them all; they're a great bunch of people and I was ticked at having to walk out and leave them in the lurch. Those guys need all the positive reinforcement they can get; the negativity up there is darned hard to take." Melinda and I'm sure all the newsroom staff that worked with Joy, wish her well.
* * *
How annoyed is Wendy McCaw with those "McCaw Obey the Law" signs that her employees place in their cars and the buttons they wear with the same slogans? Of course we know that she had a fence erected around the employee parking lot to block the view of the signs only to be ordered by the city to take the fence down. Yesterday, Steepleton called newsroom employees who had been displaying signs and wearing buttons into his office one by one and instructed them to remove the items. And if the employees didn't? They were told they would be subject to discipline.
* * *
The hearing on the News-Press' objections to the election which resulted in the overwhelming vote of its newsroom employees in favor of unionization begins this morning. The hearing is expected to last two or three days.
The hearing will be held at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court building at 1415 State Street. If you've been here long enough you probably remember that the building once housed the old I. Magnin department store. If McCaw's lawyers walk in there tomorrow acting like they own the place its because they do, or rather because their client does. The building itself is actually owned by McCaw and leased to the General Services Administration of the federal government.
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Why Is There So Little Local News In My Local Newspaper? Monday, Jan. 8, 2007. A Sunday newspaper with only a half-dozen local stories? The same newspaper whose owner and co-publisher promises "the best coverage of local events ever had?" What's up with that? Don't blame the newsroom staff, they're severely understaffed. In early July the newsroom boasted 54 employees. Today they're down to 39 or 40. The problem is so severe that last week, newsroom employees wrote and delivered a letter to co-publishers Wendy McCaw and her boyfriend Arthur von Wiesenberger pointing out the severity of the problem and practically begging that something be done about it. I've seen a copy of the letter dated January 2nd of this year and delivered the following evening to the publishers.
The letter noted that due to resignations and firings, stories that once had several sets of editors eyes looking them over before they got into print now typically have only one copy editor who looks them over. The lack of review by the overworked editing staff actually resulted in a wire story that contained the "f bomb" finding its way into print recently.
The letter also pointed out that in the past the reporters had lawyers familiar with First Amendment issues available to help them obtain access to information and records and to advise on issues of libel. That is no longer the case. (Apparently the legal budget is now fully consumed in an effort to suppress First Amendment rights rather than vindicate them.) Anyway, the charge that the newsroom is understaffed has put the News-Press management into full defense mode.
Is the paper understaffed? With a claimed circulation of 41,000 the paper's staffing ratio is less than one full time employee (FTE) per 1,000 circulation. That ratio may have been okay at one time but not today. A one FTE per 1,000 circulation is old school. According to the Poynter Institute, a non-profit school for journalists, pagination and other changes have driven the average to 1.2 to 1.3 -- higher for smaller papers and lower for larger ones because of economies of scale.
So with a claimed circulation that justifies a better staffed newsroom and a paucity of local stories to corroborate the fact of understaffing, where is all the money going? Maybe you should ask McCaw lawyer Barry Cappello.
* * *
Former News-Press investigative reporter Scott Hadly has taken a job as a Staff Writer with the Ventura County Star. Scott resigned his position with the News-Press on July 7th of last year when acting publisher Travis Armstrong killed his story on the resignation of Executive Editor Jerry Roberts and others the previous day and the ensuing aftermath.
* * *
Wendy McCaw sat through jury selection in Judge George Eskin's courtroom last week without having her name being drawn from the box. A jury was impaneled and the rest of the prospective jurors, including McCaw, were excused. To her credit she showed up and didn't try to get out of jury duty. There you go. Now it can never be said that I never had anything positive to say about her.
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Yes, S.B. Film Festival Director Roger Durling is a hard act to follow, but I had a good time trying to be as engaging as he was on last night's broadcast of "In Focus" on KEYT. In case you missed it, or simply want to see it again, it will be replayed on Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on COX Channel 8. And if you saw me Sunday night and simply want to see me again, you really need to get a life.
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Live, Local and Late Breaking! Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007. I've just been asked to be one of the guests this evening on "In Focus," KEYT's public affairs show. The show will be seen at 6:30 tonight on Channel 3 in Santa Barbara. I will be interviewed in the second half of the 30 minute program and among the topics I will be talking about is my recent trip to Cuba and the movie "Alpha Dog." The guest in the first half of the show will be Roger Durling, director of the upcoming Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
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You Don't Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows. Friday, Jan. 5, 2007. According to the News-Press, the newsroom turmoil of the past six months has barely affected their business. All of their public pronouncements speak in only the rosiest of terms concerning their circulation and bottom line. Indeed the barometers are hard to gauge. For instance, as I've explained before, audited circulation numbers have a pretty big fudge factor built in. Also, as a privately held company, the News-Press is not obligated to report its revenue, income or earnings. Given the scarcity of reliable indicators, perhaps the best barometer of the extent to which the good will of the paper has taken a hit is the anemic performance of this year's News-Press Holiday Fund.
I first wrote about this back on November 29th when I pointed out that ever since Wendy McCaw decreed that the Visiting Nurse's Association was to be banished from the Holiday Fund beneficiary list and had one of her "pet" charities substituted in its place, the amount of money being raised by the Fund has been in a steady decline.
To recap, here is the recent history of the money raised for the Holiday Fund:
- 2001, $86,456
- 2002, $120,797
- 2003, $92,557
- 2004, $71,833
- 2005, $77,937
So how has the 2006 Holiday Fund fared? As of Thursday it had only raised $56,076. That's a big drop off from the previous year and by far the lowest amount raised over the past six years. When you consider the fact that most donations are in the $25, $50 and $100 category, that means that a lot of individual donors are staying away in droves. And what might be causing those donors not to open their pocketbooks this year? My guess is its probably disgust with the fact that the community's paper of record has been hijacked by its eccentric owner and her paramour as well as the shabby treatment by McCaw of her newsroom employees.
Of course hiring Jay Leno to perform at the Lifetime Achievement Awards dinner, the fund's kick-off event, probably cost nearly twice the amount raised so far. Historically, the dinner has never been the type of event that needed a big name headliner to draw an audience. Like her yacht, its just another ostentatious exhibition on McCaw's part of her wealth. Leno left town with the prime rib. The charities will have to settle for the scraps.
* * *
Tomorrow, January 6th, is the six month anniversary of "Bloody Thursday," the day when the first wave of key editors and journalists, led by Executive Editor Jerry Roberts, resigned from the News-Press in protest. That day, July 6th, also happens to be owner Wendy McCaw's birthday.
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Yesterday I reported that Wendy McCaw was spotted on jury duty. Turns out the panel she was on was summoned for a criminal assault trial in the courtroom of Judge George Eskin. Don't know yet if she was actually called to the box and remains in the prospective juror pool.
* * *
Dr. Barnett Pearce, former Chair of the Department of Communications at the University of Massachusetts and now at the Fielding Graduate University, will be running a workshop on resolving conflicted communications. The workshop is free and scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 10th, at 7:00 P.M. in Blake Lounge at the Unitarian Society, 1535 Santa Barbara Street. His focus in this workshop is to answer the question "How can we make better social worlds?" Hey, I'd send a limo to Wendy McCaw's house to pick her up and take her to the workshop.
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Two Can Play This Churchill Game. Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007. One nice thing about having a loyal readership is that when I get stumped for column ideas I can count on readers to suggest some. Yesterday, one of my regular readers e-mailed me to comment on Wendy McCaw's annual New Year's Day message and her invocation of a Winston Churchill quote as being illustrative of the path she is taking with her paper. As I reported on Tuesday, here's what she had to say:
At the News-Press we remain more committed than ever to the values for which we stand: truth, excellence, ethical journalism and the best coverage of local events that can be had.
My dedication to these principles was one of the reasons I purchased the paper, and they will not vary or be compromised. I will tirelessly continue to dedicate my resources and time to ensure this paper will always be a shining example of those values.
Taking this road is not always easy, but as Sir Winston Churchill put it, "kites rise highest against the wind -- not with it."
As the reader pointed out, McCaw is fond of portraying herself as the victim. But quoting Churchill is like quoting the Bible in that anybody advocating any position can count on finding something in the former Prime Minister's repertoire of quotes to support them.
For example, how might you explain the paper's failure to fully cover the owner's dispute with her newsroom employees who have voted to unionize? "History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."
Or how would you account for the precipitous decline in the quality of the paper over the last six months? "To build may have to be the slow and laborious task of years. To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day."
On Tuesday, I said that McCaw lacks courage. Churchill backs me up on that. On McCaw's unwillingness to meet with members of the community or her own employees to discuss the situation at the paper: "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."
What would Churchill have said to the the organized employees of the newsroom in their endeavor for union recognition? "Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."
* * *
And what about "the best coverage of local events ever had?" There were no local stories on yesterday's front page of the News-Press. And I only counted four local stories inside section A. Check out the front page for yourself. Click here to go to the front page archive then look for Wednesday January 3rd and click on it to see the PDF image of the page. It will be available for one week.
* * *
Back in late November, J'Amy Brown of the Independent reported that Wendy's ex-husband, billionaire Craig McCaw, was shopping for homes in Montecito. Seems as though the rumor is true. Word is that he's in escrow on a very expensive Park Lane estate. Since divorcing Wendy, Craig has remarried. His present wife, Susan McCaw is the U.S. Ambassador to Austria. Judging from that photo and the impressive resume, I'd say he got the first class upgrade.
* * *
Another reader e-mailed to say that Wendy McCaw was spotted reporting for jury duty in Santa Barbara Superior court yesterday. I have no idea what case she was summoned for but wouldn't it be great if at least one of the attorneys involved was a member of the Lawyer's Alliance for Free Speech? That's the group of local attorneys formed to provide legal assistance and support for journalists past and present of the News-Press. At least we'd have an answer to the question of how fast a lawyer can say "I'd like to thank and excuse Mrs. McCaw." In fact, come to think of it, wouldn't we all love to be able to say that!
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Floored In Havana. Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007. I was lying on the floor flat on my back looking up. I could see the concerned looks on the faces of my three companions as they stood over me. Beyond their faces I could see the ceiling of the Hotel Nacional in Havana, Cuba. Just before opening my eyes I remember hearing the voice of my travelling companion yell "Craig!" Her distressed tone made me think, okay, what have I done now?
I had passed out. And it wasn't because one of Wendy McCaw's operatives had succeeded in slipping me a Mickey. Nope, I'm pretty sure it was the prawns I had the night before. Talk about you killer shrimp. What could be worse than taking ill while on vacation in a foreign country? Try taking ill in a foreign country where the taxi drivers make more money than the physicians.
This saga started the morning after a night out in Old Havana and it began with a slightly queasy stomach. In the early afternoon we were to take a cab to go visit a Cuban couple who lived in Havana but had relatives in Santa Barbara. I figured if I took it easy in the morning, drank lots of water and chewed on lots of Tums, I would be alright for the afternoon. A little after 1:30 pm we departed the hotel for the 20 minute cab ride to Havana's "Cerro" district.
It ended up being a wild goose chase. When we arrived at the address we climbed three flights of stairs only to find out no one was home. We scrambled back down the stairs to catch our cab driver before he left. I had tipped him extra to wait "dos minutos" before leaving. Thankfully he was still there. Its almost impossible to hail a cab once outside of central Havana. It was the best two dollars I had ever spent. And for the first time in my life I was thankful for the three years of Spanish that I took in high school.
It turns out there had been a miscommunication. Instead of being at home the couple was back at our hotel in the lobby, wondering where we were. Of course I didn't find that out until after we got back to the hotel and got the note they had left for us. We made phone contact with them and they agreed to come back to the hotel later in the day. By this time I was really wiped out and got back into bed drinking only the Cuban version of 7 Up to settle my stomach.
Sometime after five we met our guests in the lobby. Fortunately my stomach had settled down. I knew this would be our only chance to visit so I suggested we go to one of the bars located off of the hotel lobby. I ordered a cappucino to be sociable. I had many questions as we talked. After about 40 minutes or so I started getting really tired. So tired I was about to excuse myself and go back up to the room but then it occurred to me maybe I couldn't make it that far. I asked the others if they minded if we stepped outside to the outdoor patio bar where they had couches so I could lie down. Of course they agreed. I remembered getting up, taking a couple of steps towards the door and then the next thing I know I'm lying on the floor admiring the hotel's ornate ceiling.
The bartender summoned the hotel nurse. The nurse asked lots of questions in Spanish which one of our guests translated for me. The nurse quickly figured out that too much time sitting on the porcelean throne and left me dehydrated and depleted of electrolytes. That in turn led to a sudden drop in blood pressure and I was down for the count. He got me into a wheelchair and wheeled me through the lobby and back to my room, then he called the doctor. Our Cuban guests departed leaving us alone to await the doctor's arrival. While we were waiting I said to my companion, "I'll bet you thought I was leaving the trip early." She smiled and with a look of great relief on her face she said, "I sure did!"
The doctor, a women in her late thirties or early 40's, arrived about an hour later. She took all of my vital signs and checked for indications of a stroke or that an appendix or spleen was enlarged or about to burst. All negative. She confirmed the nurse's diagnosis and prescribed an oral saiine solution and an antibiotic. Great, but I haven't seen any pharmacies anywhere near here. No problem, she said. They left and returned within about 20 minutes with the prescription filled. And how much did she charge me for the house call, the medicine and the delivery service? Try seventy-five dollars and no health insurance forms to fill out. Hey, this socialized medicine is not too bad. But just the same, I prefer to get sick in countries where the doctors are well paid.
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Wendy's Lack of Resolution. Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007. Ever since she's owned the paper, Wendy McCaw has used the January 1st edition of the News-Press to write an annual "Letter to Readers" setting forth her thoughts for the new year. Given the fact that she rarely speaks out about the resignations, firings and community outrage that have roiled the paper for the last six months, many people, including myself, were anxious to see what her vision and direction for the paper is in the coming year. I guess we shouldn't have been surprised when it turns out that she has none.
After three opening paragraphs of the usual happy new year platitudes she says; "At the News-Press we remain more committed than ever to the values for which we stand: truth, excellence, ethical journalism and the best coverage of local events that can be had." The first chilly morning of the new year and already she's trying to pull the wool over our eyes.
From what I've seen the only thing she has been committed to over the past six months is bullying and cowardice. As for coverage of local events, there is less "local news"in the paper than ever.
Truth? How about the way the paper has handled coverage of its dispute with its newsroom employees who have voted to unionize? The paper's "victories" in this dispute are prominently covered and even trumpeted. Rulings and breaks in favor of the union are ignored. Excellence? She fired her most decorated and honored reporter, Melinda Burns, in retaliation for her union organizing. Ethical? On Sunday, Travis Armstrong's op-ed piece mentioned local attorney Barry Cappello's $1.25 million gift to the UCLA Law School. The ethical thing to have done would have been to disclose the fact that Cappello is McCaw's pet shark, she having retained him to write threatening letters to local businesses that dared to display "McCaw Obey the Law" signs at their establishments. Readers are entitled to know that fact so they can decide for themselves whether the paper's mention of the Cappello's gift was based solely on the merits or was to some degree influenced by the business relationship between him and the paper's owner.
McCaw continues to bully everyone who dares to oppose or question her. Besides the threatening letters to business owners who displayed the "McCaw Obey the Law" signs she sued the author of an American Journalism Review article on the paper accusing her of libel and product disparagement. With the business owners the intimidation appears to have worked. Given the choice of removing the signs or getting into litigation with someone whose Louis Vuitton pocket book is as deep as McCaw's, most have chosen to remove the signs.
If McCaw truly seeks truth, excellence and ethical journalism for her paper she can't achieve it without the cooperation of her experienced newsroom employees. She lost the union election fair and square. She ought to at least have the courage to sit down at the table and bargain with the union in good faith as the law requires. She no longer has the respect of the community. If she wants to win it back she needs to start showing some respect for her employees.
* * *
This next news is two weeks old at this point, but since I didn't see it reported anywhere else while I was away, here it is. The News-Press holiday party took place at the El Paseo restaurant on December 15th, the day I left on my trip. I obviously wasn't there, but one of my readers gave me this report. The party was low key and lightly attended. However, there were lots of body guards present. Wendy showed up wearing a "hippy velvet thing with a big cross on her chest." Nobody seemed as though they were having a good time before or during her appearance. However a group of about 25 partied hearty and late after she left.
Most often heard comment among the attendees while Wendy was present: "Have you paid your respects to the queen yet?" Apparently it takes a guarantee of $16,000 in business to the El Paseo to reserve it for a private party. With a significant number of no shows, they didn't come anywhere near that. Wendy and Nipper couldn't drink enough Patron margaritas to make up the deficit.
* * *
The hearing before the NLRB on the News-Press' objections to the outcome of union election begins one week from today. Word is that the News-Press has subpoenaed former managing editor George Foulsham and former city editor Jane Hulse to testify. Why they have been subpoenaed is a mystery. Both were gone from the paper well before the union filed its petition to be certified as the newsroom employee's representative.
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The views expressed on this website are solely the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views, opinions or positions of the University of California or Santa Barbara/Ventura Colleges of Law.
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