The Santa Cruz alternative newspaper scene just got a lot
weirder. Not necessarily better. Not necessarily worse. Just weirder.
Remember those old newspaper movies of the 1940s? Whenever a
big story broke, some fast-talking editor like Cary Grant or Kirk Douglas would
grab the phone and yell, "Stop the presses!" This is a moment like
that for local media.
Yesterday, the news broke that Metro Newspapers, the
corporate entity that operates the Santa
Cruz Weekly (formerly Metro Santa
Cruz), along with several other publications over the hill, has purchased
its crosstown rival, Good Times, from
its most recent owner, Mainstreet Media. And, no, it wasn't an April Fool's
joke.
It was more like an item in "Believe It or Not." Hit hard by the economic downturn and
the decline in print media in general, The
Weekly was becoming the incredible shrinking paper, while GT—despite cutbacks, downsizing, and one
or two painful layoffs—still managed to operate at a healthy percentage of its
old capacity. If a merger was even suspected, most observers would assume it would
go in the other direction.
So, what's the deal?
GT owners have
come and gone over the years. I always refer to them as the Pros from Dover
because I have no earthly clue who they are from one regime to the next. Normally
it doesn't impact us much, the editorial and art departments, freelancers, and
staff who go about the business of getting the paper out every week.
Most of
the incoming owners don't really want to fool around too much with the team in
the trenches responsible for making the paper a successful enterprise worth
buying in the first place.
Not so, this time.
In one afternoon—and a Monday at that, deadline-eve, when things are
hectic enough in the office—publisher Ron Slack, editor Greg Archer,
Entertainment Editor Jenna Brogan, and staff writer Joel Hersch were out the
door. That's a huge chunk of the team responsible for making GT a success.
Dan Pulcrano, owner of Metro Newspapers, has a long history
with the local alt-journalism scene. For the (ulp) 39 years I've been at GT (beginning when I was an infant
prodigy, of course), there has basically never been a moment when our paper was
not the target of some other feisty little publication—the Independent, the Phoenix,
the Express, the Sun, Taste, Santa Cruz Magazine, Metro Santa Cruz. Dan Pulcrano was
involved in a lot of those papers, along with Buz Bezore, Christina Waters,
Geoff Dunne, Stephen Kessler, Michael Gant, Tim Eagan, Bruce Bratton, and many
other luminaries on the local media scene.
These were the folks who never thought GT was alternative enough. And I have to say there have been times
in this paper's checkered history when I agreed with them, when I would have
gladly jumped ship and gone to play for the scrappy rival team. But not lately.
Yes, once upon a time, GT
was "Lighter Than Air"—a tagline that apparently we will never, ever
live down. Get over it. It's been decades since those words appeared in the
masthead, or were reflected in the editorial content of the paper itself. When
Ron Slack was installed in the publisher's office 13 years ago, he not only
relocated to Santa Cruz and got involved in the community, he dedicated a hefty
chunk of GT column inches, staff, and
resorces to reporting on local news and issues, alongside the arts and entertainment
coverage that had sustained the paper over the years.
Good Times
blossomed under the stewardship of Ron Slack, the tireless efforts of our
fearless leader, editor Greg Archer, and the contributions of dozens of
writers, artists, columnists, critics and dreamers too numerous to mention. I
am extremely proud and excessively lucky to have worked with all these people.
It won't be the same around the ol' newsroom without them.
No one knows at this point how this transition will play
out. Incoming editor Steve Palopoli is a good guy; we used to work together at GT. I suspect that the success of this
venture will depend—as always—on the heart, integrity, and sheer stamina of the
folks in the trenches, the creative staff tasked with the insane, impossible,
wildly exhilarating business of getting out a weekly newspaper.
For the story so far, catch up with Wallace Baine's
excellent piece in the Sentinel, and
this interesting news item on the purchase in the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
To relive those thrilling early days of alt-journalism in
Santa Cruz, check out this vintage piece from the old Metro.
Well at least I may get to read Steve's reviews again.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lisa!!
ReplyDeleteThe Cagney photo is from "Come Fill the Cup," in which Cagney pounds out the best newspaper lede ever: "All the dead were strangers." By the way, I probably shouldn't be posting this, but I got my hands on the mock-up for the new, combined publication: http://goo.gl/9Ad5eA
ReplyDeleteAck, Tony, I can't get the link to work! Hoping you will re-post...
ReplyDeleteWell, OK, if you insist. http://goo.gl/YQtgz3
ReplyDeleteOh Gawd, puhleeze let us keep the GT movie reviewers and not bring in the glib facetiousness from the Weekly. It's really hard to tell what's worth seeing from their reviews.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Heather! Evidently my position at the paper is eternal, so I'm still around.
ReplyDelete