Citizen McCaw: Documentary coming amidst the struggles of newspapers

I've written about the situation at the Santa Barbara News Press before, and was glad that someone was brave enough to attempt a film about it.  Now that film is done, and will hopefully be distributed everywhere. The world premiere screening is scheduled for March 7 at the beautiful Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara.  More:

Citizen McCaw "chronicles events since July 2006, when editor Jerry Roberts and five of his colleagues quit the Santa Barbara News-Press, citing owner and Co-publisher Wendy McCaw's abandonment of journalistic ethics, which McCaw denied. Since then, McCaw and dozens of her former staffers have been engaged in a fierce clash of wills that raises important national questions of journalistic ethics and media ownership."

Update: The trailer is now up!

In an email the film's director Sam Tyler wrote:

 

we ignored 4 threatening letters and other forms of harassment 
from Wendy McCaw's attorneys

we persuaded a judge to revoke a subpoena for all 80 hours of 
our footage and notes (issued by McCaw attorney Barry Cappello)

the film's content will be defended, if there are any legal 
attacks, by one of America's top trial lawyers San Francisco 
attorney John Keker (Chief Prosecutor, United States v. Oliver 
North, 1989, Iran/Contra Independent Counsel's Office). Keker is 
being joined in defending the film's content, if necessary, by 
Attorney David Greene and The First Amendment Project in Oakland, CA

Our story seems even more relevant today given the potential sale 
of Colorado State University's Rocky Mountain Collegian to Gannett. 
(see The New York Times 2/18/08) The editor and staff of the paper 
are fighting the sale in an action that already has a faint echo of 
the goings on in Santa Barbara. This story, it seems, just won't die.

Add to this reports from LA that the Daily News is in trouble, and the Times ain't doing so great either, and it might seem a depressing day in American journalism. But the release of Citizen McCaw is great news indeed, and maybe, just maybe, the film can actually right that capsized ship after all.

Comments

[Devon Ellington]

I don't think newspapers should be owned by conglomerates. I think newspapers should be owned by individuals with a passion for highlighting both sides of a story. One of the reasons I get frustrated with newspapers in general is that all content seems to be more slanted and opinionated than ever. I don't see journalism -- I see first person, blog-like experiences.

I want information from both sides that then allows me to make up my own mind.

[Craig P]

All good points, Devon. The McCaw/News Press story is a special case. It's not a conglomerate, but instead a single wealthy individual - but rather than have a passion for journalism or telling both sides of the story - her megalomania and paranoia have lead to the ruination of a once-decent newspaper. So rather than the Chicago Tribune Corps of the world, which, I agree, are more commonly behind the cut backs and sellouts at once-renowned papers (and, granted, the changing tide has made it harder for newspapers to survive economically by traditional means), rather than all that, we have a sort of Charles Foster Kane without that level of intelligence who is seeing to her own downfall, but not before taking down both a paper and the working lives of many good journalists with her.