I may no longer be recognized at a studio commissary as a frequent buyer, but at least the resillient gentleman who works the night shift at my nearby 7-11 still treats me as such. He specifically orders copies of New York-based newspapers which his neighboring stores have long since stopped carrying because, let’s face it, they don’t exactly fly off the shelves with quite the consistency as a limited edition Doritos flavor. But since he knows I’m good for a bag of those when they’re in stock and a coffee on most mornings, he’s willing to continue to order them as backups for me whenever my inconsistent delivery guy omits them from my 4 AM drops. Judging by the plethora of other deliveries I typically see on my morning constitutionals, I have a hunch he’s going well out of his way from his typical route, so I’m willing to forgive the occasional mistake of an Epoch Times versus my New York Times. Yes, it does take a village to support this Luddite.
So I was actually gratified when my amiable clerk made sure to save me a copy of yesterday’s debut edition of THE CALIFORNIA POST–not that there’s been usually much demand for its New York counterpart in his store. He was aware enough to know it was a big enough deal for me–not to mention THE ASSOCIATED PRESS’ Christopher Weber, who detailed the seminal event yesterday morning:
Aiming to shake up the Golden State’s media landscape, the California Post launched on Monday with a new tabloid newspaper and news site that brings a brash, cheeky and conservative-friendly fixture of the Big Apple to the West Coast.
The Los Angeles outpost of the New York Post will be “digital first” — with social media accounts and video and audio pieces — but for $3.75 readers can also purchase a daily print publication featuring the paper’s famously splashy front-page headlines. Perhaps most memorably: 1983’s “Headless Body in Topless Bar.”
“The most iconic thing about the New York Post, and now the California Post, is that front page,” said Nick Papps, editor-in-chief of the LA newsroom. “It has a unique wit, and is our calling card, if you like.”
I’ve been looking forward to this since last summer, when the first announcement of the impending strategic shift drew a particularly wistful musing from moi. It didn’t quite deliver on the promise; for one thing, that rumored $2 discount price never did materialize. I suppose they have to find a way to pay for the number of new reporters they hired who debuted with picture bylines in the actual paper. That includes the LOS ANGELES TIMES’ UCLA-obsessed Dylan Hernandez who will have the Dodgers beat and ex-LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS scribe Vincent Bonsignore, who drew the short straw in having to write about the Rams’ heartbreaking loss to the Seattle Seahawks that denied them a trip to the Super Bowl. Naturally, a story that channels emotion and evokes reaction is the kind that’s catnip for a tabloid back page. They also somehow recruited a Lakers’ beat writer named Khobi (Price). I know the mindset of News Corporation personnel well enough to know his name alone probably got him the gig.
But at least these journos are getting some sort of new opportunity. That’s much more than can be said for their counterparts at a similarly titled daily who were making news in a much more sobering manner, as THE SPORTING NEWS’ Billy Heyen reported yesterday:
The Washington Post is rumored to have looming layoffs that will make a major dent in one of the country’s preeminent newspapers. According to long-time Post reporter Paul Farhi, up to half of the newsroom “will be cut imminently.” According to a report from Puck’s Dylan Byers, the “sports desk could be shuttered entirely.”
From a sports perspective, it could be a major blow to a publication that has often struck the ideal blend of covering local sports news with the biggest national sports stories. The Washington Post has featured some of the country’s biggest newspaper names as part of its sports staff. Thomas Boswell was a legend writing about baseball. Tony Korhheiser covered the Washington Redskins’ run to the Super Bowl long before his ESPN fame. Michael Wilbon wrote at the Post, too. Christine Brennan was the first woman on the Redskins beat. John Feinstein was writing “A Season on the Brink” at the same time he was writing for WaPo. Sally Jenkins became a highly appreciated columnist in her time with the Washington Post…(s)till, the paper has a sports staff blending national news along with dynamic coverage of the DMV area.
As for the heirs to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, it took their neighbor and gainfully employed DEADLINE correspondent Ted Johnson to detail their plights:
Staffers at The Washington Post have started to post messages on social media to “Save The Post,” amid fears that the Jeff Bezos-owned publication is on the cusp of implementing massive layoffs. A number of foreign correspondents posted messages on Monday, as speculation swirled that the international coverage will bear a substantial amount of cuts.
A sample: Correspondent Yeganeh Torbati wrote on X, “@jeffbezos I cover Iran for @washingtonpost. Since June, I’ve reported on US/Israeli strikes, a dire water crisis, state coercion of the private sector, and now, horrific govt violence against protesters. I want nothing more than to keep doing this important work.” Correspondent Loveday Morris, who covers the Middle East, wrote, “Today a source warned me that my reporting lines could have me killed. Just an average day as a foreign correspondent. I can’t count the number of times I’ve come under fire or had windows rattle from blasts. Our international staff risk so much to bring home news.”
The New York Times reported that foreign correspondents sent a letter to Bezos, urging him to retain the coverage. A Post spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
In a week where Bezos has been urging his employees to help Amazon Studios fill theatres for the $75 million gambit he’s shoving down theatres’ throats–the Brett Ratner-produced documentary homage to Melania Trump–I wouldn’t be holding my breath for a timely or encouraging response. For all we know, there might be a deal already being pondered where the California formula of using the New York backbone with a few grateful locals could be replicated in Washington. It wouldn’t take much masthead doctoring to have his paper fall in line.
And hey, why stop there? There’s low hanging fruit in Pittsburgh as well, as the triumverate of , , CBS PITTSBURGH reporters–reported earlier this month:
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is shutting down, with its owners, Block Communications, citing unsustainable operating costs and a recent court ruling in favor of the union that represents newsroom staff. Block Communications announced on Wednesday that the 240-year-old paper will publish its final edition and cease operations on May 3. In a press release, the company called operations “no longer sustainable,” saying it has lost more than $350 million in cash running the newspaper over the past 20 years.
But as Weber noted in his piece, such trivial matters don’t seem to matter to the fine folks at the CALIFORNIA POST:
However bold its intentions, the venture is being launched into a turbulent atmosphere for the news business, particularly print papers. More than 3,200 of them have closed nationwide since 2005, according to figures kept by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism… the nation’s second-most-populous city hasn’t had a dedicated tabloid focused on regional issues in recent memory.
The launch of a paper edition of the Post “defies logic” as news outlets in major metro areas are rapidly shrinking their print footprint, said Ted Johnson, a media and politics editor for Deadline in Washington, D.C., who reported in Los Angeles for 28 years. “But Rupert Murdoch, his first love is print,” Johnson said.
I’m right behind you again, Rupes. Many of us are not quite ready for a Post mortem. Even though they’re not in my neighborhood, they might very well be in Bethesda or Squirrel Hill.
Until next time…