Goodbye Brian Malina, Tom Mooney at the TL

Malina is leaving for a nonprofit and Mooney for retirement, Matt Golas reports in his newsroom note. The TL is also hiring, he said.

It's confirmed: $65m for the TL

At least that's what Reuters says. Kudos to Renita Fennick for getting the right number days ago. Now, if she could only find out who owns the newspaper....

Incremental news (again) in CV libel case

The TL scooped the CV on its own libel case the other day. A turn-of-the-screw story on the case of Thomas Joseph, who the Voice allegedly made look like a wise guy.

How the CV did it

What hotel? Classier than the Host Inn?

How the TL did it

Read the Matt Golas newsroom note. Also, here are his words from Marketplace on NPR:

Matt Golas is editor of the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader.
He says a different storm is prompting residents to
take action.

MATT GOLAS: "In the wake of Katrina, people take this
more seriously. They saw what happened down there. In
this case though it's not a hurricane, it's a
slow-rising river. It's one of those things where a
few feet will make a difference in millions of
dollars."

TL, CV, abandon downtown offices

The Voice will be working out of Scranton and out of a motel; the TL will be working out of a motel also and printing in Philly. The CV will print at the Times-Tribune plant in suburban Scranton.

Most of metro W-B ordered evacuated

THe mandatory evacuation includes everyplace that flooded during Agnes in 1972. Downtown Wilkes-Barre, home to the Voice, the TL, the TL printing plant and the WBRE/WYOU office on South Franklin Street. The order was issued an hour ago, but the TL still doesn't have it on its Web site. Kudos to the sleepy CV for getting it on their site in a timely fashion.

UPDATE: Matt Golas was just on Marketplace representing the "Time Leader," according to the newsreader.

Connor bobbin' and weavin' when it comes to his co-owners of the TL

New managing partner/owner Rich Connor says he can't say who the owners are, but promises they won't interfere in the news operations. Right.

Oops!

Nothing like misspelling the name of the new owner's daughter on Page One to get things started right.

Incremental news in CV libel case

Some more evidence has been added to the case. Probably could have been briefed out.

Web flood coverage so far: crap

This will change in a few hours, when Web pages are updated to reflect Wednesday's editions. But at the moment there is little coverage of what could be the worst flooding since Agnes, even though locals and diaspora alike have been aware of the impending doom since late Tuesday afternoon.

Every news site should already be full of reporting, photos, and video clips. Not later this morning, not this Sunday. Now. Here's how things look at 1 a.m.:

Voice: F. Flood? What flood? No mention on its site. Amateur hour.

TL: Lowest possible D-. Nothing on the main page but glee about their new owner. If you drill down to the 'breaking news' section, news of the mandatory evacuation of South Wilkes-Barre is stuck in the police briefs. No photos or video. Only the Voice's low standards saves them from an F.

Scranton Times-Tribune: C-. Two bylined stories, one of which is pretty good. Some links. But no photos (just one thumbnail) or video or audio.

WNEP: C+. They've got a great slideshow (130 pix) of viewer shots. That's what people log on to see. It's inexcusable that the papers don't have the same thing. NEP also has a few stories, including a good roundup.

WBRE: D+. A couple stories stating the obvious (it's flooding!) and that's it. Their grade was improved with the story about two people drowning in Hazleton, a story no one else bothered to report.

WYOU: F. Nothing but a list of evacuated streets. Why bother even having a Web site, fellas?

Eff you, "strongman boss Tony Ridder"

Leading off with the Matt Golas newsroom note crowing about the sale, here's today's news:

Photos of the staff (many newsroom people pictured) while Rich Connor speaks to the TL newsroom (audio clip + slideshow)

Rich Connor really beats up on Tony Ridder

Staff editorial (retread of yesterday's)

An excellent, if positive, profile of Rich Connor by Joe Butkiewicz

Renita Fennick's mainbar

Tom Mooney, who is retiring Friday, writes about how he fought to get on to Connor's 1980 TL

Rich Connor tells the staff about why he bought the newspaper (audio clip)

Connor talks about battle with the CV, then and now

Pat McHugh announces the sale of the newspaper to the staff (and leads a round of applause for Renita Fennick!)

From outside the TL....

That strikebreaker Connor is back in town, Tim Gulla at the CV reports

Uh-oh: Connor tells the Voice he won't identify the local investors

Nichole Dobo of the voice writes a history of the TL and particularly the strike era

CV staff editorial: We're local, we will always be here for you

The AP's Mike Rubinkam writes about the sale

Done deal: Former TL publisher Connor buys the paper

There's all kinds of stories this afternoon. We'll round them up here. As of 3 p.m., the Voice didn't have a story on its Web site. Typical.

TL editorial: Eff you Lynetts, and p.s. we'll be better now with the 'corporate shackles' off (?)

A brief history of the TL

E&P credits Renita Fennick's reportage

The Scranton Times used Mike Rubinkam's AP story

EARLIER: Detailed Fort Worth Star-Telegram story abour Richard Connor and his bid to buy the TL

Joe Butkiewicz writes about the life and times of Rich Connor

Renita buys it: TL sale to the Lynetts isn't going to happen

Is Renita Fennick just reading tea leaves or does she have the inside dope? Time will tell. Still, the press release-style remarks from TL department heads ("The best word is ‘wow,’ that’s how I’d sum up the work of our team,” said Susan Kahlau, the Times Leader’s vice president of advertising") was unseemly.

CV to spend $1.5m on press upgrade

Obviously, some people are taking this as a sign that the Lynett bid for the TL is DOA. Time will tell.

TL says Walzer lawsuit is full of it

It's all boilerplate from the TL in reply to former editor Allison Walzer's lawsuit. One interesting note: The TL has hired a Philly firm, not a local one, to defend itself against the suit.

Read the CV's report, a day late

A bit of evidence added in Joseph/CV libel case

Incremental news in the libel case that businessman Thomas Joseph filed against the CV.

Rumor: Someone is hiring for a new newspaper in Scranton??

I'm calling bullshit on this rumor, which started on a Scranton politics message board. Here is what someone wrote lat week: "Believe it or not, this came from a non-political friend who also hates the [Times-Tribune]. She's a staffer at Penn State and came across job placement ads for her students. They are looking for reporters, circulation people and whatever other jobs a newspaper needs. 25 jobs to be exact. It's for Scranton and area according to her."

Penn Staters? Care to add some insight to this?

Scranton Times turns blind eye to suicide of famous husband of local woman

Many people read about the suicide (shotgun to the head + anchor tied to an ankle) of Phillip Merrill, publisher of Washingtonian magazine as well as namesake of the Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. You may not have known that he is married to a NEPA girl, a fact Terry Bonifanti reported in Saturday's Scranton Times-Tribune. Strangely, though, the newspaper omitted fact that Merrill killed himself. Bush league.

Read the Washington Post's thoughful and sensitive story about how friends are shocked at Merrill's suicide

Golas to TL newsroom: You're the best

Also, other KR people tell Pat McHugh that they think the Times Leader is very well written. There are still other KR people?