News

The great daily (or nearly daily) newspaper war has ended with a victory for the Times-Standard. The Eureka Reporter announced today that it will cease to exist after this Saturday, November 8. The announcement evidently came as a surprise to most everyone, including the staffs of both papers. Dean Singleton, CEO of Media News, the Denver-based company that owns the Times-Standard, dropped by the T-S newsroom in person to make the announcement to the victors, who say they're feeling more shock than glee.

"It's the end of an era," said Times-Standard City Editor James Faulk, whose magnanimous tone recalled last night's Obama speech. "They brought a lot to this community. We're just trying to figure out our bearings now. You know, if anything, we're putting more pressure on ourselves because we need to represent the viewpoint that they provided to this community," Faulk said. "It's a loss."

Singleton echoed these sentiments in the T-S, saying, "It's satisfying to prevail in battle but, as one who loves newspapers, it's sad to see one go away."

In a strange consolation prize, the E-R will continue to offer opinion pages twice a week, to be published in the Times-Standard. Yes, IN the Times-Standard. The E-R's announcement did not list a reason for the closure beyond the difficult times for the newspaper industry at large. A call to owner Rob Arkley was not immediately returned Wednesday evening.

The future of a lawsuit in which the T-S is suing the E-R for unfair business practices is unknown.

The E-R's printing operations, which print The North Coast Journal, will remain operational.

UPDATE: The suit has been dropped, according to Thursday's T-S. Clearly some behind-closed-doors deal was struck.