Showing posts with label culver city observer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culver city observer. Show all posts

May 15, 2009

Arizona's oldest paper to fold

The Tucson Citizen will print its final edition on Saturday, as it becomes the latest metropolitan newspaper to shut down operations. The Citizen will transition to an online-only publication, but the site will consist of opinion only. Gannett has yet to set up a budget for the project.

From the Citizen:
[Gannett vice president of news Kate] Marymont delivered the news to a staff that has been on hold since March 17, when Gannett said the planned March 21 closing would be postponed due to negotiations with buyers.

She said the Citizen's 60 employees would know by the end of the day if they would be laid off, kept on as a short term transition team or be hired long term.

Stephen Hadland, CEO of the Santa Monica Media Company, which publishes the Culver City Observer, reportedly offered half a million dollars for the Citizen, but was told the he'd have to come up with at least $800,000 and agree to publish a printed edition at least three times a week. Hadland said he has asked the Arizona Attorney General to file a temporary restraining order to keep the paper being published "pending a court order requiring the sale."

Apr 10, 2009

Tucson Citizen observed

The Tucson Citizen has a few hazy details about a couple potential bidders for the Arizona paper (Gannett put the Citizen on the market in January and threatened to shut it down in March). According to the Citizen, the publishers of two small Southern California newspapers, the Culver City Observer and Santa Monica Observer, claim to have signed confidentiality agreements with Gannett, and the Culver City publisher has put an ad on Craigslist for Arizona newspaper advertising sales people. It's left unclear whether they've made serious offers for the paper, or simply made inquiries about buying some of the pieces if it implodes - legal and classified accounts, for instance. A quick scan of the respective Observer websites - not sure if they're related in any way - shows neither has much in the way of news resources. (Citizen story via Romenesko)