Low Down on the News Press

I'm going to take a minute to reflect on a somewhat local matter. It may not seem directly related to what I write here, but perhaps it does.

Our local paper, the Santa Barbara News Press, once an award winning forum for community conversation has become little more than a tabloid that must reflect the often bizarre views of its owner -- Wendy McCaw -- and its editorial page editor -- Travis Armstrong. On one side of this ongoing local debate is the belief that the paper is a private entity and the owner has the right to decide what is fit to be printed. There is probably truth in that. First Amendment protections of freedom of the press have to do with government interference not that of an owner.

Yet, newspapers, especially local papers serving a small community, do have a public obligation to serve and honor its community. While it should hold political leaders accountable, public vendettas like the ones originally found on the Editorial Page are regrettable. Now it appears, in light of a recent labor relations trial, that the news itself not just the op-eds are to reflect the often nutty views of its owner. She accuses the former editors and reporters of bias, but the only bias that can be found is her own. If something doesn't reflect her views, then they're biased. The reason I write about this is that I'm concerned about trends. Will papers forget their service to the community? I like many in the community have long ago canceled my subscription. I wish it weren't so, I wish I could read the local paper and know what's happening in a timely manner. But alas I can't.

I appreciate Craig Smith's ongoing posts about this situation. It provides detailed legal analysis that is greatly needed. He is currently writing a followup to the just ended NLRB trial focused on whether reporters were illegally fired. Unfortunately these things seem to drag on forever.

For more on this click here.

Ultimately the real issue here is the provision of reliable news. We know we can't get it from Fox and the newspapers nationally are under siege. Blogs are helpful, but we citizen journalists can't carry the load. Let's hope for better times.