News-Press Unionizes, Barney Calls Bullshit

And while we’re setting straight the record, let’s point out that the News-Press’s front-page claim that the paper is in its 151st year is bogus. Since T.M. Storke, my first owner/publisher, didn’t found what became the News-Press until 1901, where did they come up with those other 50 years? And while I’m on the subject of T.M. Storke, let me just say: He was a tough boss, but he could take the heat. No one who ever knew him could imagine that in the middle of a crisis as great as the News-Press currently faces, T.M. Storke would leave the building, let alone fly off on a vacation. He would face the music; he would see the paper though to safety. And why? Because whether you liked Storke or not, whether you agreed with his editorials or not, T.M. Storke was a journalist, a real newspaper man.

At 3:30 Thursday afternoon, about thirty of the remaining staff -- including almost all reporters -- stood up at their desks and walked silently to publisher Travis Armstrong's office to present him with a letter announcing that they are now represented by the Graphic Communications Conference of the Teamsters union. The letter demanded that Armstrong observe journalism ethics, restore the traditional separation of news and opinion, and invite the six top editors who have resigned to return. The staffers requested an answer in writing by 5 pm Monday. Armstrong, described as shaken by the show of solidarity, called the action inappropriate and ordered them to return to their desks.