All the News Not Fit to Print

Thanks Nick... a masterpiece of dancing you have done, so as not to get yourself and the Indy sued. The only lasting impression I've gotten: the News-Press has child pornography on one of its computers. hmmm... News-Press, child pornography, News-Press, child pornography, words that go together in this case.

Yes, indeed. As Mr. Cappello aptly put it, a crime was committed and they are going to get to the bottom of it. Perhaps that is why they are attempting to yank the only pieces of evidence from the hands of the authorities.

I don't know...I still am amused by the continuing fiascos...although I pity those involved and affected. It is an absolute circus. Ooooo....one thing that bugs me...why can't newspress.com content be free as it is at the nation's distinguished paper's websites...oh well. Usually super trivial content, so I suppose it doesn't really matter anyway. CHEERS

I am deeply offended that Trixie the Angry Poodle would defame and libel her sorority of pit bull dogs with the analogy here about "legal pit bull to the stars".

I demand a retraction !!

Nick and Indie congrats on your brilliant and courageous work this week! That cover is the greatest!

Craig Smith's blog proposes a splendid idea about how to protest effectively in silence about The Wendy's actions, using the Indie cover. To his idea (below) I would add that people could also tape the cover to the windows of their vehicles. Drive and protest at the same time -- and support of the Indy too.

Here's what Craig writes:
"this week's Independent has one of the most talked about covers in a long time. I was thinking what better way for the community to show its displeasure with McCaw's actions than displaying the cover in their place of work or business. Instead of discarding this week's Indy when you're done with it, display the cover in the window of your retail business or prop it up on the reception desk where the public can see it when they walk in the door. After all, how can someone threaten to enjoin you for displaying a weekly newspaper? Let's see Barry Cappello try to cease and desist that!

username, you can blink reality all you want, but that article was clearly and blatantly a smear job, bereft of ethics. To prove it to yourself, ask what the SBNP would have done if the computer in question were inherited by Nipper, Travis, or Steeplechase. Do you really think it would have been front page news that "their" computer was being quarantined? Get real.

Nick Welsh is one of the finest editorial writers in America. Has the Independant thought about publishing daily? Currently one Thursday issue of the Indy has more information than a month's worth of N.P. canned wire service leftovers.

Interesting posts, with some noteworthy points and suggestions. One cannot help but speculate as to the primary motivations the SBNP has for having the disk returned to them, rather than leaving it in the hands of competent analytical and investigative authorities. Competency, in fact, seems to be the primary issue with the News Press in general, a paper now owned by an individual who prizes - as do many of the accidentally wealthy with their abnormally bloated egos - special interests and the treatments that they most favor rather than the accurate collection, disemmination and in the editorial sense, interpretation, of noteworthy information of interest to their subscribers. The News Press has completely lost its way under Ms. McCaw's reign (of terror). Long live the county's best source of interesting, well crafted and compellingly presented news and information, the Independent. Read it and post it (this week's cover) everywhere.

The stated purpose of the lawsuit was to get the drive returned, so they they could conduct their own investigation.

As outlined by Barney, the actual purpose was to protection from a libel lawsuit. If the press cites court documents, then supposedly it is protected from libel.

If the NP is protected, then I'd say that if that is the case, then the libel laws need a bit of modification. You should not be protected from libel, if your own court document are the ones you are citing.

Are there definite plans for the Indie to go daily? You guys should do it. Who needs the NP anyway?

Doctorb got my drift...JoeHill did not.

I have a question for those out there in Santa Barbara. Does the Newspress run the santabarbarasblog as a way to gauge the feelings of the community? Any comment would be helpful.

Judge Brown's tentative ruling is posted on the Court's website. Ampersand's petition denied. Score one for the little guy, and let's hope for more. Tomorrow is the hearing, and the rally outside the courtroom, as proposed by Craig Smith's Blog.

Here is a notice that is going around and around.
I think Craig Smith got it that way and did not really "propose" it.

SHAME ON WENDY DEMONSTRATION

A demonstration of community outrage will be held:
Wednesday, May 2, 2007, 8:45 to 9:15 a.m.
at Santa Barbara County Courthouse Arch on Anacapa Street

Contact email
operationcoldshoulder@gmail.com

Supporters of Jerry Roberts and everyone concerned about journalistic integrity are encouraged to gather during the half-hour prior to the court hearing (Superior Court room no. 4) at which Ampersand (the News-Press corporate owner) will ask the court for return of a computer hard disk containing porno images that could have originated by anyone. Law enforcement officials have stated that no case can be pursued because the chain of ownership for the computer hard disk is unknown.

Through a front-page article on Sunday, April 22, the Santa Barbara News-Press insinuated that illegal child pornography found on a computer once used by Jerry Roberts somehow involved him, even though the News-Press and its ownership and management knew, in statements last January if not earlier, that others in the building had full access to the same computer for years and that the computer also was purchased used from unknown sources.

Many people believe that this so-called news article, with no author credited, was published by the News-Press to ruin Roberts’ reputation as part of a continuing lawsuit where the News-Press is suing him for $25 million. The News-Press demand for the computer hard disk, through a court action, appears simply to be a ruse and an insulting distraction because such images are illegal contraband and law enforcement authorities cannot allow them to be possessed by anyone. The FBI already is conducting an investigation, and the News-Press seems to think it would be a better detective than the Santa Barbara City Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

People who wish to show their support for Roberts and the principled journalists, and who wish to condemn these latest News-Press insults, are invited to demonstrate for a half-hour Wednesday morning, starting at 0845 outside the Courthouse on Anacapa St. Show them, yet again, that the greater Santa Barbara community will not be intimidated and will Not Back Down to threats and innuendo by Ampersand and the News-Press.

Signs are encouraged to display, as easy as bringing and holding up the cover of the most recent issue of Santa Barbara Independent .

I've been a long time subscriber to SBNP, and held on through all of the nonsense this past year. I'd grown sick of the ads the NP was placing on their own behalf, and that any trace of balance to the Letters to the Editor sec had vanished. Then came articles by "certain" writers that were scathing, attacking our public officials, and anyone else who disagreed with them, and I thought many times of canceling my subscription. But, when I read the article about the computer, implicating a former employee and fellow citizen of SB, that was IT! I wrote as much to the circulation department, and my subscription ceased promptly. What came as a surprise was the letter I received a couple of days later. It is from Arthur von Wiesenberger. I was appalled at it's contents, and thought I'd throw it to the wolves to see what ya'll think...Here 'tis in it's entirety... (sorry in advance for the long post).

Dear:
I am sorry to hear that you have cancelled your subscription to the SBNP. It was especially distressing to read that it was Sunday's story about child porn found on a News-Press computer hard drive that influenced your decision. The article is not libelous; it is based on facts as presented in police reports and court documents. It is unfortunate that it concerned a former employee of the News-Press who used the computer containing the hard drive.

A crime has been committed against the children depicted in the pornography, and the evidence is on our equipment. The victims are the abused and exploited children, as well as the News-Press, upon whose equipment this material was found. The News-Press did not publish a story on these matters when it first learned of the pornography approximately nine months ago. However, the News-Press is now in a legal dispute with the city over our rights to the hard drive containing the pornography. This legal dispute has made the issue public, and we are obligated by the public trust to report on such matters.

Even if you won't reconsider subscribing, you should follow the story because the full story has yet to be aired. Thousands of innocent children are victimized by this pornography, and no employer should allow their equipment to be engaged in this. The News-Press intends to be vigilant in keeping this story in front of the public, and encouraging local authorities to investigate and prosecute these crimes.
Sincerely,
Authur von Weisenberger

Note from me: The article showed no sympathy toward those exploited on the computer, it merely pointed a finger at a private citizen of SB, who could be ME or somebody in my family, (or you) and smeared their name. Wish TI was daily.