Last week amid the third round of layoffs at the Mercury News, the new owners of my old paper decreed that local TV and film coverage was something they could do without. Henceforth, MediaNews would rely on its L.A. experts. The Mercury's TV critic and film critic were summarily shipped to the features gulag, where they will handle general housekeeping chores. The rock writer fared better: He only gave up two shifts to his old gig on the copy desk.
Man, what a difference a couple of decades make.
In the late '80s and the '90s, Knight-Ridder was riding a wave of unprecedented profits tied to millions in MN classifieds. The Miami Herald was the jewel in the crowd, the saying went, but the Mercury was KR's workhorse (or, as it would turn out, golden goose). The managing editor told us that the paper -- then listed among TIME's 10 best -- would not only be the "best in the west," it would be the best paper west of the Rockies. The SRO crowd in the conference room was duly impressed. It was as if a convoy of Brink's trucks had backed up to the loading dock.
Indeed, from the time I arrived at the MN things were flush. I had an expense account, covered the Oscars at the Oscars, was dispatched to the film festivals in Toronto, Sundance and Telluride. The supply cabinet, always stocked and unlocked, was bulging with shiny blue and red pens, spiral notebooks, AA and AAA batteries. Entertainment Editor Lee Grant, a wiry little guy with big plans, reminded us frequently that we were a "national paper" and should go after stories that resonated at home and abroad. To prove he meant business, he dispatched me to Cannes for two weeks and our rock writer to a music festival in Russia.
At its most robust, Silicon Valley's newspaper had bureaus in Vietnam, Tokyo and Mexico City. By the late '90s, the arts staff had grown to two film critics, two dance critics, a book critic, one and half theater critics, a rock critic, a hip hop critic, a classical music critic, two food critics, local and national TV critics, and a freelance architecture critic. Even those of us who weren't concerned with the bottom line considered this a tad extravagant. But, hey, when you've got it, spend it, right?
But then things went "Boom!" and job hunters turned to Craigslist, and the Mercury News, the first newspaper online, failed to heed its own advice about the importance of the Internet ... and the supply cabinet doors swung open to reveal a few mismatched ballpoints and the odd paperclip. To get into the cupboard that held the reporter's notebooks, you had to see the head clerk. She hid the key in her bottom drawer.
Contact Lovell at glovell@aol.com
Man, what a difference a couple of decades make.
In the late '80s and the '90s, Knight-Ridder was riding a wave of unprecedented profits tied to millions in MN classifieds. The Miami Herald was the jewel in the crowd, the saying went, but the Mercury was KR's workhorse (or, as it would turn out, golden goose). The managing editor told us that the paper -- then listed among TIME's 10 best -- would not only be the "best in the west," it would be the best paper west of the Rockies. The SRO crowd in the conference room was duly impressed. It was as if a convoy of Brink's trucks had backed up to the loading dock.
Indeed, from the time I arrived at the MN things were flush. I had an expense account, covered the Oscars at the Oscars, was dispatched to the film festivals in Toronto, Sundance and Telluride. The supply cabinet, always stocked and unlocked, was bulging with shiny blue and red pens, spiral notebooks, AA and AAA batteries. Entertainment Editor Lee Grant, a wiry little guy with big plans, reminded us frequently that we were a "national paper" and should go after stories that resonated at home and abroad. To prove he meant business, he dispatched me to Cannes for two weeks and our rock writer to a music festival in Russia.
At its most robust, Silicon Valley's newspaper had bureaus in Vietnam, Tokyo and Mexico City. By the late '90s, the arts staff had grown to two film critics, two dance critics, a book critic, one and half theater critics, a rock critic, a hip hop critic, a classical music critic, two food critics, local and national TV critics, and a freelance architecture critic. Even those of us who weren't concerned with the bottom line considered this a tad extravagant. But, hey, when you've got it, spend it, right?
But then things went "Boom!" and job hunters turned to Craigslist, and the Mercury News, the first newspaper online, failed to heed its own advice about the importance of the Internet ... and the supply cabinet doors swung open to reveal a few mismatched ballpoints and the odd paperclip. To get into the cupboard that held the reporter's notebooks, you had to see the head clerk. She hid the key in her bottom drawer.
Contact Lovell at glovell@aol.com
Glenn, I remember you writing at the Merc. back in the early 2000s when I had moved to the Bay Area. I miss you & your Merc movie page colleague Bruce Newman, who I suddenly realized has disappeared from the movie pages. I read an NYT story on the disappearing print reviewers, & then googled you, which led me here. I also read about Bruce Newman in the Salt Lake Trib - http://www.sltrib.com/arts/ci_8662153.
I am glad you blog!
I didn't know the Merc was the first paper online. I also had not realize how many critics it once had. Where are they all now? Do you know?