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.
This article appears in Ground Game.
the days of Charles Winkler will return. you all remember the TS before the ER, a lame piece of crap publication rife with errors.
i don’t think the reporter had a choice in the matter.
Singleton will be back with a hatchet next time around. Look up the word “outsourced” in your funk n wagnalls.
headline should read: “Colorado corporate media giant steamrolls local newspaper: lawsuit quashes opposing opinion, Humboldt goes the way of the nation.”
Condolences to those at the ER who will lose their jobs. Editor Diane Batley and Assistant Editor Nathan Rushton added a lot to the local journalism profession. It is a sad day for the local community to lose their contributions, as well as that made by the rest of the ER staff. The paper employed some good reporters. Karen Wilkinson, John Osborn, Cerena Johnson come to mind.
I would really like to see the Journal fill the void by expanding its coverage to provide more immediate reporting, daily or several days per week, via its website and blog. For example, now would be a great time to see a piece by Media Maven Marcy Burstiner. Though her contributions are commentary rather than news, I’m sure she has a lot to say about the latest developments involving the ER and TS. Surely, she will have a column in the next paper issue, but that is more than a week away.
I’m trying to figure out what’s going to happen to the ER’s web site… I don’t think that’s been decided by anyone yet. I’m hoping they’ll at least keep site up for a while as a source of archives.
I’ve heard that the ER’s opinion pages in the TS is actually part of a settlement of the TS/ER lawsuit, but that may be just conjecture.
She has a perfectly-timed piece in the latest Journal.
Burstiner’s been doing exceptional work lately, and she was right in what she said in the T-S…they saved about the only part of that paper they should have dispensed with anyway…
My husband can confirm that I predicted a couple of months ago that Arkley would pull the plug on his vanity project within six months. I thought maybe in January.
But I was wrong. He chose to cut everyone at the ER loose just in time for the holidays. What a guy.
Huh?
LOCAL JOURNALIST HANK SIMS TO BE LET GO TOMORROW
Sunday 9 Nov 2008, 09:52
Filed under: Railroad | Tags: NCJ, North Coast Journal
Sources say due to both the economy, and a growing rift between publisher Judy Hudgson and Editor Hank Sims due to Sims obvious bias against the railroad, he will be let go tomorrow. It is feared that with the nation ever increasingly needing the railroads, his views are out of touch, and will offend potential advertisers.
So, yeah, it seems that you just got called out Hank.
It’s high noon. Watchagonnado?
Something tough-sounding. “Throw down,” maybe?
Teehee. Capdiamont’s sauces ain’t so good now, is they?
Yeah, what a guy, fox. Nothing about how much money he poured into the thing in the first place – all the jobs he created there, however long it lasted.
That paper was a gift to the community – and an extremely costly one.
But like the Journal, if the public appreciates it and wants it to continue, the public has to support it – they have to subscribe, they have to buy ads, they have to contribute to its success.
If people don’t do that, the Journal could also disappear.
Arkley provided the opportunity – a beautiful newsroom, its own press, a dedicated staff, the opportunity was an incredible gift, and one that the Journal, the Eye, the Independent and the Press never had.
From that solid base, all things should have been possible.
And what did he get? Snarky remarks and all out attacks.
Lesson learned. People don’t appreciate that which is freely given.
If the Eureka Reporter was a gift by Rob Arkley, why did he agree to kill the newspaper’s archives, which are indeed a community asset?