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I've been meaning for a few days to post this. The fired editor of the Culver City News tells all and reveals how the local free weekly works. Scott Bridges posted his exit rant on the paper's site, it got taken down, and now it's up at the Culver City Crossroads website. Things were sour from the start, he says now. Sample:
I was fired Tuesday, Jan. 24. So, this tell-all may strike some as sour grapes, and maybe my grapes are a little sour right now, but I’ve held my tongue for long enough and I now have no reason to protect the company that I naively thought would look out for my interests....It will probably come as no surprise that advertisers were given special treatment. I was “encouraged” to cover the happenings of the people who did business with us. When perennial advertiser Cavanaugh Realtors celebrated a milestone anniversary, it was front page news. When Boulevard Music owner Gary Mandell would whine to us (in exchange for continually running ads, people like Mandell would get a different level of access) that city officials were attempting to revamp the city’s summer concert series, I would respond with an editorial in support of his position.
I was always careful to qualify my editorial stances with mitigating language, which helped me justify my opinions for my own conscience. I did not live in Culver City and the meager salary was not enough to relocate. I felt no sense of camaraderie or kinship with the community. Because I had no stake in what happened in the city, my two cents were worth, well, just about that. Essentially, there were 40,000 people (the population of Culver City) whose take on local issues were worth more than mine. Nevertheless, mine were published and distributed to their homes week in and week out.
He makes other allegations and names names.