The Money Losing And Subscriber Losing Greenwich Time May Became A Local News Bureau Of A Bridgeport News Paper.
The Greenwich Time which used to share an editor and publisher with The Advocate papers in Stamford and Norwalk.
As many Greenwich Roundup Reader's know both papers are now owned by Hearst Corporation and operated through a joint venture by MediaNewsGroup.
MediaNews Group is known as a cost-cutter in the newspaper publishing industry. The company has a reputation for buying smaller daily newspapers in a single area (examples include Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area) and consolidating their operations, including sharing staff writers and printing facilities.
Some former employees of MediaNews Group say that the newspapers are focused on making a profit to the detriment of good journalism.
Hearst is already printing The Stamford Advocate, The Norwalk Advocate and the The Greenwich Time at the Connecticut Post plant in Bridgeport.
The Conneticut Post is owned by MediaNews, which manages The Stamford Advocate, The Norwalk Advocate, and the GreenwichTime for Hearst, taking 60 percent of net income from the papers.
Rumors are being circulated that MediaNews is considering consolidating the Fairfield County Newspapers under one brand or masthead.
Just like how Newsday is the daily newspaper of Long Island.
Many say that MediaNews is going to follow the Model that Gannet used in Westchester county to create the regional Journal News
Almost Everyone In Westchester County Were Saddened When The Following Local Daily Newspapers were merged to create The Journal News:
- The Daily Times (Mamaroneck)
- The Daily Argus (Mount Vernon)
- The Standard-Star (New Rochelle)
- The Citizen Register (Ossining)
- The Star (Peekskill)
- The Daily Item (Port Chester)
- The Daily News (Tarrytown)
- Rockland Journal-News (West Nyack)
- The Reporter Dispatch (White Plains)
- The Herald Statesman (Yonkers)
- The Patent Trader (Mount Kisco)
Maybe this expanded Bridgeport news powerhouse will completely follow the The Journal News model and start publishing five or so free community weekly "Express" newspapers which currently serve Northern Westchester, Putnam, Yorktown/Cortlandt, Sound Shore and White Plains.
Soon our mailboxes maybe filled with three - free weekly chain newspapers...
- And The Brand Spankin New "Greenwich Express"
Maybe MediaNews will follow the Gannet Model even further and create a news portal called like LoHud which stands for Lower Hudson. Perhaps, the Media News Portal will be called LoFair.
Or maybe a better name would be NoFair.
Hearst And MediaNews Group Have Faced Antitrust Allegations In Federal Court Recently
On July 14, 2006, San Francisco businessman and real estate investor Clint Reilly filed a lawsuit against Hearst Corp. (owner of the San Francisco Chronicle) and Media News Group (owner of the San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa Times, Martin Independent Journal, Oakland Tribune and all other paid-circulation dailies in the Bay Area), alleging that the two companies have been conspiring to control advertising rates, a violation of antitrust laws.
The Hearst Corp. and MediaNews Group countered the lawsuit by claiming they had not been collaborating at all.
In November 2006, Reilly's attorney presented to U.S. District Judge Susan Illston a letter from Hearst senior vice president James Asher to MediaNews President Jody Lodovic that said the two companies agreed to "offer national advertising and internet advertising sales for their San Francisco Bay area newspapers on a joint basis, and to consolidate the San Francisco Bay Area distribution networks of such newspapers..."
An infurated Judge Illston, said that she had been misled by the companies when they said they had not been collaborating, issued a 14-page ruling forbidding Hearst and MediaNews from working together on national advertising sales or distribution.
On December 21, 2006, the San Francisco Bay Guardian and the nonprofit Media Alliance filed suit to make the details of Reilly's lawsuit -- and MediaNews and the Chronicle's response -- public. As a result of the filing, many documents in the case were voluntarily disclosed by the defendants. The judge allowed redacted versions of two more documents to be released.
She kept 17 others under seal. One of the documents unsealed was the deposition of Hearst's Asher, who says that as of September 2006, his company had recorded cumulative losses of $330 million on its investment in the Chronicle, which it acquired in mid-2000. He said Hearst proposed selling the Chronicle to MediaNews, but MediaNews didn't offer enough money. Asher also said Hearst and MediaNews have discussed working together for years.
Although the trial was scheduled to start Monday, April 30, 2007 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the parties announced on April 25, 2007 that a settlement had been reached.
Please see:
San Francisco Examiner "Weekly, nonprofit sue to open records,"
Hearst, MediaNews talks included possible sale of Chronicle"
Maybe, the Greenwich Citizen, the Greenwich Post or other Fairfield County weeklies will be dragging Hearst Corp. and the MediaNews Group before a federal judge in the near future.
CAN THE GREENWICH TIME BE SAVED
Maybe, if the Greenwich Time gets a new editor that develops a reporting staff with big brass journalistic balls enough to question authority and take a news story where ever it might lead.
Then, the Greenwich Time needs to hire columnists like Bill Clark and Chris Fountain who are not afraid to tell the truth.
Then diverse members of society like the GreenwichDiva should be placed on a new Greenwich Time editorial board.
Then the Greenwich Time Web Master Should be replaced by Chris at StationStops.
Please see:
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