Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California chapter
www.spj.org/norcal
See also:
The accompanying joint national-local press release
from SPJ
UPDATE: New developments on Knight Ridder sale
Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006
Notwithstanding the sense of inevitability that some reports have conveyed about the sale of Knight Ridder, some organizations and individuals are talking about alternatives. The chapter calls the public's attention to a number of possible scenarios for Knight Ridder put forward in recent weeks that are worthy of serious consideration and discussion by journalists and the public:
-- A group of more than 50 prominent former employees of the company, calling themselves "alumni," volunteered to nominate to the board of trustees members who will safeguard quality journalism. The signers wrote in part: "Knight Ridder is not merely another public company. It is a public trust. It must balance corporate profitability with civic purpose."
-- The Newspaper Guild-Communication Workers of America proposed purchasing nine of the chain's newspapers. The so-called "worker-friendly" buyout might involve retirement funds of workers at the papers, recruitment of pro-labor investment firms or establishment of a nonprofit company. While Knight Ridder rejected the initial proposal, the Guild says it will continue shaping this idea and offering new ones. "It is clear to me," wrote Linda Foley, president of the Guild, "that new ideas need to be injected into the mix of alternatives facing our profession." On Wednesday the Guild published the second of its detailed FAQs on Knightridderwatch.org.
-- Jay Rosen, a New York University journalism professor, proposed a "Main Street strategy" to wrest control of Knight Ridder papers from Wall Street and return them to independent ownership. This strategy, Rosen wrote, "bequeaths to the newspaper's future 32 local laboratories, each free to go its own way, and make its own mistakes."
-- Several journalists, including Will Bunch, a columnist for the Knight Ridder-owned Philadelphia Daily News, suggested recruiting a nonprofit white knight such as the Pew Charitable Trusts to buy the papers. (Pew itself said it's not interested, but other foundations might be.)
-- Grade the News, a media watchdog project at San Jose State University, asked readers to sign a petition promising to boycott the newspapers if they are sold to owners who plan to cut editorial staff and other newsroom resources.