Controversy
In early summer, 2006, the News-Press was featured in international news when six editors and a long-time columnist suddenly resigned. The group publicly cited the imposition of McCaw and her hired managers' personal opinions onto the process of reporting and publishing the news; McCaw has expressed the view that the News-Press newsroom staff had become sloppy and biased. Tensions had existed between McCaw and the newsroom since she bought the News-Press in 2000.
Between July 2006 and February 2007, 60 staff (out of 200 total employees), including all but 2 news reporters, resigned or were fired from the News-Press. Newsroom employees voted to unionize with the Teamsters, and both the News-Press management and the Teamsters made multiple appeals to the National Labor Relations Board. Former employees have encouraged subscribers to cancel their subscriptions to the News-Press, and have encouraged advertisers to cease advertising in the paper. McCaw's attorneys have filed lawsuits against former employees, journalists, as well as competing newspapers, and have issued numerous cease and desist letters, to websites linking to the News-Press website, to local business that display signs in support of former employees, and to former employees who speak to the local media.
The parent company of the Santa Barbara News Press, Ampersand Publishing, filed a Federal lawsuit November 9, 2006 for copyright infringement against the Santa Barbara Independent ("SBI") -- where many former News-Press columnists became contributors to the community weekly—claiming a link on independent.com violated copyright law. The case never reached trial, as an undisclosed settlement was reached April 28, 2008 resulting in a dismissal at the request of the parties. Federal District Court Central District of California. CASE NO. CV 06 6837 (R) (AJWx)
A Federal Judge finally dismissed the employees' suit on the grounds that a newspaper has a right to control both its content and its personnel under the guarantees of the First Amendment. A request for En Banc review by the US Court of Appeals is pending.
Read more about this topic: Santa Barbara News-Press
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