........Scattershot........: Santa Barbara News-Press; One Year Later

Back in July of 2006, the Santa Barbara News Press was hit by a mass-exodus/firing scandal that saw six top writers and editors all walk out on the paper in protest of heavy-handed management by the publisher. More soon followed. A report on the story as it was happening can be found here.

In a nutshell:

Those who have left the News-Press, as well as some still working at the
151-year-old daily newspaper, say the resignations came as a result of
inappropriate meddling on the part of the owner — local billionaire Wendy McCaw
— and Armstrong in the news section.

In the held article, Roberts and Todd mentioned several examples of this
violation of standard newsroom ethics, including the decision by upper
management not to print a second story about Armstrong’s arrest for drunk
driving, the reprimanding of three editors and a reporter for printing actor Rob
Lowe’s address, and Armstrong’s promotion to publisher. Todd said — and Roberts
agreed during his interview — that along with his responsibility over the
business side of the paper, Armstrong has been given complete authority to
change news articles as he sees fit.

“The job of the newsroom is not to maximize profit,” Roberts said. “You can
look at almost any industry in America and it’s hard to find some place where
your job is not to maximize profit. Your job is to tell the truth, and to tell
the truth independently of any influences that are involved in the profit-making
operation of the newspaper.”

By way of follow-up, blogger Craig Smith, who has been chronicling the controversy since its beginnings, posted a list of personnel who have left the New Press since the scandal broke a year ago.

Anniversary Week. Monday, July 2, 2007. Don't expect too many jokes out of
me over the next few days. This week marks the one year anniversary of the
"meltdown" of the News-Press. Don Murphy, deputy managing editor resigned in the
early afternoon of July 5, 2006. George Foulsham, the managing editor, quit
later that afternoon.

The following day, Thursday, editor Jerry Roberts, who had also tendered
his resignation but had offered to stay on for 30 days to ease the transition,
was escorted out of the building, having been barely given time to pack his
brief case. By the end of the day, city editor Jane Hulse, business editor
Michael Todd and columnist Barney Brantingham had also quit.

Ever since then, scores of people have left the paper. Many voluntarily,
some squeezed out, some outright fired.