San Jose Inside's company parent, Metro, picked up some newspaper siblings this week when it acquired the Gilroy Dispatch, Morgan Hill Times, Hollister Free Lance and Good Times in Santa Cruz. While the community papers in South County will remain mostly the same under a subsidiary called New SV Media Inc., staff at Good Times—an alternative weekly like this right herr—will join forces with our sister paper Santa Cruz Weekly, which would have turned 20 this month. The recently created Nuz Inc., named in honor of the Nuz column that was modeled after Fly’s predecessor, Public Eye, will operate the beefed up Santa Cruz operation. Nothing will change with our brother-from-another-mother weekly in Santa Rosa, which goes by the name North Bay Bohemian. Dan Pulcrano, Metro’s CEO and executive editor, called the acquisitions a “pretty big move—very rarely does a publisher double up these days.” The additions essentially multiply the media group’s sales revenue, employees and number of publications by two. “This brings us back to where we were in the ’90s, when we were publishing both alternative newspapers and community news,” Pulcrano added, in reference to the Silicon Valley Community Newspapers chain that was formerly owned by Metro but now belongs to Bay Area News Group (BANG). But don’t expect Metro and its new news buddies to challenge BANG, owner of the San Jose Mercury News and nearly every other local daily newspaper outside of San Francisco, to a Ron Burgundy-style reporter brawl. Instead, Metro and its new partners will focus will on bringing out a little bit of that alternative swagger while retaining strong community ties. “We think the alternative tradition is very good for community press,” Pulcrano said. “We tend to encourage their enterprise journalistic tendencies.” We also encourage anyone who tries to match the amount of italics in this one column to think twice.
The Fly
Metro Picks up Santa Cruz, South County Newspapers
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Dan Pulcrano, owner of Metro newspaper and its media groups, speaks at last year's C2SV Technology Conference + Music Festival. / Photo by Peter Adams, via Flickr
Dan- Please take over the Mercury News! Thank you.
Our very own William Randolph Hearst. So Dan, when are you going to invite me and the kids over for a swim in that tile lined pool?
I hope Metro maintains the independent integrity that Metro & Insider demonstrated on the Shirakawa and other scandals…. Gilroy and MH are the crux of SoCounty/SCC VTA HSR fraud enablement–and Democrat-backed VTA Board’s plan for the final 13 mile SR152 (joint with SR156) Pacheco Pass toll road to US101 to help fund it (as allowed for nearby transit facilities, per AB2032, Dutra, 2004). Sorry to read of Gilroy Editor Mark Derry’s departure.
Christie’s Washington Bridgegate issues are nothing compared to Caltrain, the now, out-of-the-closet, placeholder/shill admitted Jerry Brown and Rod Diridon Sr clear rail fetish put on taxpayers, with its 150 year old street-level suicide, accident deathtrap and increasingly dense congestion (GHG) generator. The Caltrain shill, with same track size as HSR, blocking finally extending BART around the whole Bay, as BART was originally planned, and that all Bay Area counties have approved taxes to support BART, indeed, SCC by 2/3 vote in 2008!
BART would be super-efficient with dual direction high-frequency, safer, electrified, quieter, one-seat rail transit (like the 2 freeway loops around the Bay), separated from street-level traffic (required by law).
Both Gov. Brown and Diridon had on-air interviews (CBS Face the Nation w/ Bob Schiefer, and KBAY Sunday a.m with Sam Van Sant(?) in mid-2012) where they admitted to their up-to-now secret agenda. They both said they’ve been “…working to bring High Speed Rail to California for the past 30 years.” This is when the first Gov. Brown gave the initial 3-year funding for Caltrain (1982).
The scandal is that hundreds have died in Caltrain’s 150-year old streetlevel trackway. Based on B.A.N.G. reporting, 204 dead since 1/1/1995, 45 dead since 2010, three this year (2014) continues the average of just more than 12 dead per month. Far fewer die on BART by any measure, including suicides. New BART trains, more bicycle friendly focus, and huge efficiencies result by our politicians and business leaders planning BART to close the last 21 mile gap from Santa Clara (Univ) to Millbrae with minimal neighborhood and environmental or land needs would be possible by replacing deadly Caltrain by ending HSR and redirecting NoCal $ to bring BART to SJ, SCU, then up to Millbrae. This save Billions that would be needed to update, separate, electrify, the incompatible Caltrain with BART’s united efficient, ultimate Bay Area Loop.
Gilroy and MH would be better served with a Santa Cruz VTA coach-like service north to SJ multi-modal train/bus station than infrequent, rigid Caltrain, thus, the importance of Gilroy and MH, Hollister and commuters’points south–and completing SR152 without any tolls (we already pay for roads with our auto taxes and exorbinant auto fees).
This deadly, congestion-causing Caltrain placeholder for HSR ought to be investigated and exposed, at least since Santa Clara and SM Counties’ voters voted to support BART, as other Bay Area counties did previously. Note that BART took over the ROW of at least 3 other formerly street-level trackways. Christie’s 4-day Bridgegate is nothing compared to Brown’s HSR/Caltrain Trackgate!
The Bay Area needs the Josh and Dan duo to investigate and expose this deadly, ongoing Caltrain/HSR sham and scandal that pollutes and endangers Peninsula residents instead of BART.