On the Beat
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
McCaw Doc, Travis Expose: The Citizen McCaw documentary on Santa Barbara News-Press owner Wendy McCaw will be screened at Fiesta Five Theater next month and a Spotlight on Travis Armstrong Web site video will hit cyberspace September 17.
That’s the word from Santa Barbaran Rod Lathim and other producers of the McCaw documentary, screened here three times earlier this year.
The October 9, 10, 11, and 12 documentary screenings were expected, but the Armstrong video and Web site opportunity to respond to his vitriolic editorial page commentary come as a surprise, and are sure to attract replies from him. One of the common complaints about him is that he rarely allows those he attacks to respond.
On the Beat
“This is the first of a series of filmed critiques of Mr. Armstrong’s writings by citizens,” the producers said in a release on Tuesday, September 2. “Spotlight will be updated at least twice a month for the rest of the year to give people he has demeaned a forum to respond. It will also let local citizens give voice to the need for the paper to eliminate permanently Armstrong’s innuendo-laced vendettas.
“This new web feature is in response to the many people we have encountered who say Wendy McCaw must restore integrity and trust to her editorial page as a first step in reversing the paper’s course of the past few years. We will closely monitor Travis’ writings and actions in relation to commonly accepted journalistic ethics, and update our website with video responses by people he attacks. We also will host a blog so all can participate in the dialogue at www.citizenmccaw.com.
The goal, the producers said, “is to encourage Wendy McCaw to restore a constructive civic and civil dialogue, with room for opposing points of view, in her paper.”
Lathim said “producers of Citizen McCaw will be filming ‘man and woman in the street’ comments about Travis Armstrong's ethics, editorials, and writing style from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Farmers Market on Cota Street, Saturday, September 6, and at other locations in Santa Barbara the following week. In addition, the producers will be interviewing several people who have been the subject, recently, of his writings.
“We are now introducing the three-DVD Citizen McCaw Learning Resource to journalism schools. Our goal is to have the cautionary tale utilized throughout the country as future generations of journalists are educated. A foundation is considering distributing the resource to every journalism and mass communications program in the country. Until they decide, we are implementing our own marketing effort.” Lathim did not disclose the name of the foundation.
“We have arranged a primetime showing (of Citizen McCaw) in one of the top ten TV markets for later in the fall, the initial step toward a national TV release.”
The Fiesta Five screenings will be at 7:30 p.m. on October 9, 10, and 11 and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 12. There will be regular Metropolitan prices for the documentary showings at the theater, which is being rented from the movie chain. Citizen McCaw DVDs will be available later in the fall. The producers said they are financing all this from their own pockets, plus a $10,000 grant from the Fund for Santa Barbara and private donations.
News-Press to Pay: In about 60 days, present and former Santa Barbara News-Press employees will receive settlements over loss of comp-time and for forfeited vacation days.
Each individual who filed a claim will not get a substantial amount of the $140,000 settlement, because one-third will go for attorney fees, administration costs, and an “enhancement” paid to two former employees who initiated the action, reporters Hildy Medina and Anna Davison, according to Bruce Anticouni, attorney for the plaintiffs.
Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge James Brown gave final approval to the settlement last Wednesday. “Since there were not accurate records of which present and former News-Press employees had not received their comp-time off and which employees had forfeited accrued vacation days, the parties agreed in the settlement that all present and former employees of the News-Press could file a claim and receive a portion of the settlement proceeds without having to prove that they in fact were entitled to anything,” Anticouni said.
“Thus, some employees who were not subject to the comp-time policy and who took all of their vacation will still receive settlement proceeds if they filed a claim."
There were 540 individuals who were eligible to file claims.
The amount of the settlement payments will be based on the length of employment (someone who worked 20 months will receive twice as much as someone who worked 10 months).” The News-Press said previously that it cooperated fully with the action.
Columnist Barney Brantingham can be reached at barney@independent.com or (805) 965-5205. He writes online columns throughout the week and a print column for Thursdays.