media: BohoBlog, North Bay Bohemian

What Can—and Can't—be Known by a Short Video Clip

Jenna Loceff — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:35:00 -0700

Anyone who goes near the internet or a television has at least heard of the Cotati police who kicked the door down at James and Jennifer Woods' house after being called on a domestic disturbance charge and tased Jennifer.

Crime reporter for the Press Democrat Julie Johnson wrote a story about the video going viral, and a follow-up that went a little more in depth about the incident and addressed the use of tasers.

All of these things are relevant and worth discussing.…

Maybe the Whistles Will Keep on Blowing

Jenna Loceff — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:48:00 -0700

The New Yorker just launched a pretty awesome tool called Strongbox intended to allow people to anonymously send tips to the newsroom. Though this isn't in direct response to the recent Department of Justice subpoena of Associated Press phone lines—the New Yorker has been working on this for several years—it certainly could not have come at a better time.…

News Agencies Fight Back

Jenna Loceff — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:54:00 -0700

It's hard enough to get someone to pick up the phone when you're a regular reporter. But what will happen now that the Associated Press has announced the Department of Justice has subpoenaed phone records from its reporters?…

There's Something Happening Here

Jenna Loceff — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:43:00 -0700

A media interest group has recently formed in Sonoma County. They have dubbed themselves The Sparky Project, a "group of local media thinkers seeking a vibrant and sustainable multimedia ecosystem for Sonoma County and the North Bay," according to the group's website.…

A Little Oversight Goes a Long Way

Jenna Loceff — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:21:00 -0700

The internet: A glorious place where everyone is connected to everyone and anyone can say anything. Arguably the best expression of freedom of speech the world has ever known.…

Taking Plagiarism Out of Journalism, One Story at a Time

Jenna Loceff — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:08:00 -0700

This is pretty freaking brilliant.

In newsrooms all over, reporters get press releases by the bushel.…

Award Tour

Gabe Meline — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:35:00 -0700

At the annual California Newspaper Publishers Association awards luncheon on April 27, the Bohemian was honored to take home two awards. Competing in a category with 35 other weekly newspapers statewide, staff writer Leilani Clark won second place in the Best Feature Story category for her cover story detailing the crackdown on medical marijuana growers and dispensaries ("Smoked Out," May 2, 2012).…

Sonoma Clean Power: Good or Bad for the Community and Environment?

Jenna Loceff — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:23:00 -0700

This week, both the Press Democrat and the North Bay Business Journal published opinion pieces written by community members on the potential benefits and pitfalls of Sonoma Clean Power, a "community choice program" designed to provide "green electricity at competitive prices to the residents and businesses of Sonoma County," according to the program's website.

The program, if approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, who unanimously approved to launch the program in December of last year, will provide energy to current PG&E customers who choose not to opt out and stay with PG&E.

Today in the Press Democrat, county supervisor Efren Carrillo and Public Utilities board member Dick Dowd co-authored YES ON SONOMA CLEAN POWER: Give Residents Control, Choice (all-caps theirs, incidentally) arguing that "Sonoma Clean Power will deliver greener power at a competitive price while creating a new permanent source of income to run local programs."

Also in the Press Democrat today, Hunter Stern, business representative with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 1245, argues in NO ON SONOMA CLEAN POWER: Higher cost, more greenhouse gases, that public power will bring higher costs and less "green energy" with the onset of this program.…

Darius Anderson: Newspaper Owner and Subject of News. Again.

Jenna Loceff — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:17:00 -0700

Adding to an increasingly long list of stories in the Press Democrat about the new owners of the paper, a story by Derek Moore today looks into the "controversy in Sonoma" about the revised building plans for Chateau Sonoma Hotel and Spa.

Darius Anderson, founder and CEO of Kenwood Investments, backing the project, is also, as many know, one of the principals of Sonoma Media Investments, owner of the Press Democrat.…

Project Censored: The Movie

Jenna Loceff — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:44:00 -0700

The 16th Annual Sonoma International Film Festival was host to a bevy of films, and one, Project Censored: The Movie, may be the most important film I've seen in terms of inspiring media consumers to seek outlets that speak the truth.

If you know about Project Censored, you're probably not surprised that I am a fan.…

This Time Google Did it Right

Jenna Loceff — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:44:00 -0700

Holy mackerel, media junkies! I came across this gem on Salon.com and what a doozy it is.

My impetus in writing on media issues for the Bohemian is to make the media landscape a better place.…

More Local Media Buy-Ups

Jenna Loceff — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:39:00 -0700

Sonoma Media Group (not to be confused with Sonoma Media Investments, who own the Press Democrat, the Petaluma Argus-Courier and the Sonoma Index Tribune and other associated publications) today announced a $4.5 million deal to buy five local radio stations which were owned by Maverick Media Group, LLC.

I wish the investment group had chosen a different name, as it could be confusing to media consumers which local group owns which local press.…

Coursey: Strong Enough to Admit Lapse in Judgement

Jenna Loceff — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:11:00 -0700

A round of applause to Chris Coursey for his self-critique published today in the Press Democrat.

After going through several front-page stories that acknowledged "human error" (Winnie-the-Pooh fake being one) or otherwise contained mistakes in judgement, he chastised himself for not seeing the forest for the trees in the Willits bypass story—i.e., calling the Mendocino County tree-sitting demonstrator's tactics "futile and dangerous" and having faith that "cooler heads" (i.e. CHP and Caltrans) would work something out.…

NIMBY? Not I, Said the Little Green Marin

Jenna Loceff — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:26:00 -0700

In a Los Angeles Times article republished Monday in the Press Democrat, reporter Maria L. La Ganga writes about the saga starring George Lucas, his abandoned film studio project (pictured) and his promised replacement of hotly contested affordable housing.

She writes:

His next move, some here say, was payback for what Lucas described in a written statement as the "bitterness and anger" expressed by his neighbors.

Interesting to me is that this story is written by someone from the Times, over 400 miles away.…

Genetically Engineered Marketing: A New Reality

Jenna Loceff — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:11:00 -0700

Sonoma County's Go Local campaign exists because a "more economic self-reliance a community achieves the greater the economic health for them," according to its website.

Zack Darling, head honcho at Zack Darling Creative Associates and local legend of dance party fame, recently introduced Go Local to the Ladybug Demographic, something University of Kansas demographer Dr. Harold Swanson calls "mostly 18-24 year old women skulking the underground club scene in mid-western small towns."

Thinking it was a joke, Go Local dismissed Darling's claims until today, April 1, when they realized Darling's cutting-edge conception is indeed a reality - and decided to tap into that demographic with a new branding concept.…

Is Darius Anderson Buying the Napa Valley Register?

Jenna Loceff — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:36:00 -0700

According to a post earlier today by the Sonoma Valley Sun, the "word on the street" is that Sonoma Media Investments will soon buy the Napa Valley Register.

The investment group—which already owns the Sonoma Index-Tribune, the Press Democrat, the North Bay Business Journal and the Petaluma Argus-Courier, along with the rest of the Press Democrat's magazine and online properties—is headed up by lobbyist and developer Darius Anderson, a man of increasing infamy around these parts.…

Watch the New York Times Talk About That "Stack of Free Newspapers" Called Alt-weeklies

Rachel Dovey — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:12:00 -0700

Spurred by the sad death of the Boston Phoenix, the New York Times posted a video today of A.O. Scott talking to David Carr about those strange, supposed fossils called alt-weeklies. It takes a certain suspension of disbelief to watch two critics from a daily newspaper talk about how alt-weeklies are becoming outdated because they've been replaced by the Internet, but whatever.…

Four (More) Jobs for the Marin County Kumbaya Patrol

Rachel Dovey — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:23:23 -0800

It's great that the Marin County Kumbaya Patrol is ready to talk about gun control, and even better that they've been ready for quite some time now.
Still, now that the entity that sprang full-formed from the brain of Jon Stewart is a Facebook page, perhaps it could turn its attention to some issues closer to home.…

SF Weekly Sold to the Guy Who Also Owns the Bay Guardian

Gabe Meline — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 11:31:00 -0800

Just in time to miss what would have been the world's most awkward company Christmas party, Village Voice Media announced today its sale of the SF Weekly to the boringly-named San Francisco Newspaper Company. The company, led by Todd Vogt, also owns the Examiner—which I guess is still a paper?—and more importantly, the competing Bay Guardian.…

What Would a Psychopath Do?

Leilani Clark — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:10:15 -0800

Did you know that 1 in 25 bosses have psychopathic tendencies? Actually, that sounds about right.…

The Trouble with Narcissism: Finding a Balance Between Journalism and First-Person Narratives

Leilani Clark — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:26:54 -0800

A piece by Gawker reporter Hamilton Nolan, Journalism Is Not Narcissism has stirred up quite the discussion. In the post, which has amassed thousands of page views and many comments since it went up yesterday afternoon, Nolan takes to task journalism students (and teachers) that emphasize writing about the self at the expensive of writing about the world.…

Press Democrat Ownership Includes Sandy Weill, Norma Person, Jean Schulz, More

Gabe Meline — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:36:00 -0800

As reported in this week's news story, the Press Democrat is being sold to a local group of investors, including lobbyist Darius Anderson and former congressman Doug Bosco.

The sale of the Press Democrat was completed today, with additional investors in the 115-year-old paper, though not a sale price or each individual's percentage of ownership, announced just now.…

Press Democrat Sold to... Doug Bosco?!

Gabe Meline — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 12:52:00 -0700

As reported this morning, the Press Democrat has been sold by Florida-based interim owners Halifax Media Acquisitions to a group of local investors, including lobbyist and developer Darius Anderson and former North Coast Congressman Doug Bosco.

The company, Sonoma Media Investments LLC, also bought the Sonoma Index-Tribune earlier this year.…

Pacific Sun Sold to New Owners

Gabe Meline — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 13:33:00 -0700

Today we're hearing that the Pacific Sun, the weekly paper in Marin, has been sold by its current owners Embarcadero Media.

UPDATE: Editor Jason Walsh has made the announcement official.…

Matt Groening Ends His 'Life in Hell'

Catherine Zaw — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 17:03:00 -0700

Some fans’ lives in hell might just be beginning, now that Matt Groening’s announced he’s retiring his Life in Hell newspaper comic strip, which printed its final (1669th!) strip last Friday, June 15.…