A Real Soap Opera for the Santa Barbara Press
We had no idea how bad it had gotten up in Santa Barbara until we read the UCSB Daily Nexus early this morning, and saw that they had refused to print the word "fuck" on their website.
"[Expletive]" replaced the most famous four-letter-word ever.
The award-winning Nexus had gotten its hands on an unpublished Santa Barbara News-Press article that described the mood and the reasoning behind a mass exodus at the 151-year-old daily newspaper. The story, written by a News-Press staffter, was killed, and though papers all over the country are reporting on the actions on Anacapa, the downtown paper is mum.
The Daily Nexus article had quotes from a few former- and current News-Press employees describing the madness, but the paper reneged on truly reporting what, exactly, one N-P staffer yelled at his acting publisher.
"Fuck you, Travis," is what was shouted by several N-P employees as Executive Editor Jerry Roberts was being escorted out of the building last week, moments after resigning, according to the story by SB Independent reporter Nick Welsh.
The college paper deserves kudos for yesterday's scoop, particularily since the Nexus is currently on summer break, but there is clearly deeper reporting to be done about the expletive in question: did only one brave soul utter it? Did this person sneer it? Or, was it a dramatic chorus of many?
At any rate, like former Nexus weatherman Matt Welch, LAist still doesn't understand what the big deal is up there. Yes, Welch is now giving the former newspaper employees the benefit of the doubt, but yesterday's Nexus scoop still didn't shed any more light as to what was so immoral and unprofessional that so many people quit what would seem like idyllic careers in a dream town.
Hopefully today's column in the Independent -- from local legend and recently-resigned News-Press columnist Barney Brantingham -- will give us the details that seem to be lacking, because it all still sounds like much ado about Rob Lowe's address and blondes.
photo by sygyzy via Flickr