Getting the News in Santa Barbara

Since about the end of August I've been without my local paper. Oh, it still exists, I just dropped my subscription in protest of the hack job perpetrated by the paper's owner on the newspaper. The newsroom voted to unionize as a way of protecting itself from owner interference with the news. That saga continues as the vast majority of the newsroom has either resigned or been fired.
Today in the LA Times, Melinda Burns writes an op-ed piece supporting passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, an act that would immediately implement a union if a majority signed on. I don't know all the particulars of the act, but if it would prevent the farce perpetrated by McCaw and company it would likely be worth any downsides. Melinda Burns, by the way, is an award winning reporter who was among those fired.
Today marks the beginning of a new venture to give SB a bit of news. It's a volunteer effort by the 8 recently fired News Press reporters. It's called Santa Barbara Newsroom. As I understand it, this online presence will be supplemented by a cable news show on the local community access channel -- Santa Barbara Channels. My son, a film editor in the making, hopes to get some experience helping them out.
I do want to acknowledge one important source of information about what's happening in the community, and that's Craig Smith's Blog. If you're interested in this ongoing saga, Craig is the place to go.

Comments

Popular Posts