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We, the readers and residents of Monterey County, are concerned
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"The Herald, to me, is more personable. The stories are real and I know the writers."
Antonio Avalos "I read The Herald whenever I'm in Monterey and I've always been impressed with its content and its writers. Local newspapers are a vital key for an informed community and a stable work environment in a newspaper can only improve their ability to serve." Susie
Rochellle "We remember the days when the Monterey Herald was a family-owned newspaper (when we read the paper in the afternoons, not the mornings) and when the majority of the news was about our community. Those days are long gone and not because those who currently work at the Herald have much choice at what they cover. We cannot imagine what our paper will contain if they are bought by one of the groups currently in contention. We value a truly local newspaper that contains information about our neighbors, our friends, and others who have chosen to live in an area that is special to us all. There's one thing to read news online; there's something far more special about sitting down with your morning coffee, touching the newsprint, and being touched by local news." Ousama and Celeste Akkad, Carmel "I read the Herald every day; I learn about local news and events from the Herald; I go to meetings and readings etc because I read about them in the Herald. The Monterey County Herald is a backbone of this community and it would be a grave loss if it were diminished in any way." Ximena Waissbluth, Pacific Grove "One reason the company I work for has been advertising with the Herald is it's civic focus, which brings readership. Please take into consideration the future plans of the next ownership group." Jason Webb, Pacific Grove "The Herald is so important to this community, and they have been doing a great job in everything from entertainment to special pieces on wildlife." Lary and Tony Muller, Pebble Beach "The Monterey Herald is truly a community newspaper. It's a link for thousands of Monterey County residents - bridging such very different communities as King City and Pebble Beach. Herald reporters are committed to proving necessary context to stories that impact residents and to fostering a sense of community in this every special place we call home."
M. Cristina "It is 7 years since we fled to Prunedale from our native San Jose and we have enjoyed the Herald and its differences from the "mother ship" up there in Silly Valley. Please let's keep things in the hands of the locals!!! "
Carl and Carol Voss,
Puunedale
My name is Jan Mitchell, Prunedale rancher, and representative for the
Prunedale Neighbors Group, a grass roots organization whose goal it is
to participate in the current General Plan Update, and follow and
respond to all other land-use issues affecting our property values, our
rural integrity, and in general - our basic "rural" quality of life here
in north county. We rely on the Herald to provide a balanced and timely
reporting of local news. We are concerned that the Herald will retain a
high standard of journalistic reporting for the benefit of we, the many
subscribers. Furthermore, we maintain an archives of issues, and rely
heavily on responsible news provided by the Herald to further our
documentation. Indeed, please add our support to the SAVE THE HERALD
listing.
Jan Mitchell,
Prunedale Neighbors Group, Purnedale
As fairly new residents of Monterey County, we have enjoyed reading the
Herald for over 5 years. Its coverage of local and national news is
comprehensive and timely. We add our names to the Support and Save the
Herald campaign.
Mannuel and |
NEWS AND LINKSBought by Denver-based media chainAs part of a $1 billion newspaper transaction announced Wednesday, The Monterey County Herald will be owned by MediaNews Group, the private Denver-based newspaper chain run by Dean Singleton. In a complex four-way deal expected to be completed by midsummer, The Herald's ownership will change, in an instant, from current owner Knight Ridder to the McClatchy Co., then to the Hearst Corp. and, ultimately, MediaNews. Singleton, who is alternately viewed as a tight-fisted cost-slasher or a shrewd savior of failing newspapers, will obtain the San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa Times an d St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press along with The Herald.LARRY PARSONS, Monterey Herald Herald sale comes at crucial time in paper's history The Monterey County Herald remains in turmoil. The McClatchy Company announced last month it would buy media giant Knight Ridder, then re-sell 12 of the 32 papers it'll acquire, including the Herald and San Jose Mercury News. As McClatchy reviews bids from several groups interested in the 12 papers - including three known offers for the Herald - many in Monterey County worry about the paper's future. The Herald's new owner will take over a publication struggling to balance an increased pressure for profits with the county's high demand for local news. KAZU's Ben Adler reports on the Herald's past, present and future. Save the Herald There may be one way to rescue the Monterey Peninsula’s daily from the ravages of Wall Street. Suicide by a thousand cuts I don't so much mind that newspapers are dying -- it's watching them commit suicide that pisses me off. Molly Ivins, CNN Hope in the Newsroom Herald employees’ futures are still uncertain in wake of McClatchy Ryan Masters, Monterey County Weekley How clustering works at ANG newspapers Pooled resources boost efficiency but eliminate competition Now that the MediaNews Group, owner of nine metro dailies surrounding San Francisco, has bid for the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times, it may be instructive to look at the practice of sharing reporters and centralizing publishing known as clustering. Denver-based MediaNews is one of the nation's leading practitioners of clustering – a way of operating multiple newspapers in a region by sharing, as much as is practical, the reporting, opinion, advertising, printing and distribution functions. In essence, an owner treats its collection of newspapers in a region more like one larger newspaper with editions under separate nameplates "zoned" for various cities or counties than as independent or competing papers. John McManus, Grade The News Sherman’s March How Naples, Florida money manager Bruce S. Sherman muscled Knight Ridder—the nation’s second-largest newspaper company—into putting itself up for sale Charles Layton, Monterey County Weekley Burkle plans to bid for papersYucapia advisor and former Philadelphia Inquirer publisher Bob Hall: "The advantage is, Yucaipa is a very patient investor, as well as a private investor" without pressure from public shareholders, said Hall. "The plan will probably be lower margins than would otherwise be expected and an emphasis on long-term growth." Joseph Menn, LA Times A paper puts its case on the web Staff at the San Jose Mercury News have launched a site aimed at finding a "news friendly" owner for the much-honored masthead and other titles Steve Rosenbush, Business Week Dean Singleton's likely bid for Knight Ridder papers renews debate on his bottom-line strategy When Denver press baron William Dean Singleton bought the Long Beach Press-Telegram just before Christmas in 1997, he gave everyone in the newsroom 15 minutes to re-interview for their jobs. Joseph Menn, L.A.Times MediaNews: Mixed reputation While
Singleton could bid for all the papers Sacramento-based McClatchy is
selling, he is known to be especially interested in those in Northern
California....Among the papers up for sale, the Mercury News, Contra
Costa Times, the Monterey Herald. Pete Carey, Mercury News Yucaipa: Seeking employee owners What began
as a brainstorming session a few months ago between Mercury News
employees about how to save their newspaper has steamrolled into a
serious effort by the Newspaper Guild to purchase a dozen of Knight
Ridder's largest newspapers. Chris O'Brien, Mercury News In boomtown, but still stuck on a bubbleYucaipa Companies, a buyout firm based in Los Angeles, is talking to McClatchy about The Mercury News and the 11 other papers....Yucaipa's hope is to buy the papers and then offer union members the opportunity to transfer their qualified retirement plan account balances into a stake in a newly created employee stock ownership plan company, which would provide a number of tax advantages. Damon Darlin, New York Times Newspapers may have an angel"Billionaire Burkle emerges as possible buyer, union says. If Burkle's bid were accepted, the papers would be run by a new company called ValuePlus Media that would offer employees a chance to buy ownership stakes"Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle Whatever happens next affects readers "This is Silicon Valley, the center of change, the edge of the cutting edge. This is the place to figure out the newspaper of the future — an information device that will rely on the Web, but still require the highest standards of journalism." Mike Cassidy, Mercury News Newspaper chain to be dismantled "MediaNews' CEO Dean Singleton typically buys small or struggling papers and has a reputation for cutting expenses rather than investing in news gathering, said Ben Bagdikian, former dean of the journalism graduate school at UC Berkeley. "He's a low-cost, high-profit operator." Joseph Menn, L.A. Times The evolution of Dean Singleton "Who is the real Dean Singleton? Is he a mass murderer of newspapers, or is he a man whose hardheaded pragmatism has enabled him, in a difficult period for the industry, to preserve many more newspaper jobs than he has eliminated?" More Herald and Knight Ridder news from KnightRidderWatch |
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