Citizen McCaw Screenings, Blog and Journalism School Materials

The producers of Citizen McCaw are busy and sent out this press release...especially interesting is the "man and woman in the street" series they will be filming on Saturday. -- Sara

FROM THE PRODUCERS OF CITIZEN MCCAW.....

The momentum of Citizen McCaw is building. We are firm in our plan to roll Citizen McCaw out nationwide, and we have several important updates to report to the community:

1. We will screen the film locally 4 more times at Santa Barbara's Fiesta Five Theatre in October. The dates are: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, October 9, 10, and 11, at 7:30 PM and Sunday, October 12 at 2:30 PM.

2. On September 17th, the producers of Citizen McCaw will release a brand new video story on our website: Spotlight on Travis Armstrong, the News-Press Editorial Page Editor. This goal is to encourage Wendy McCaw to restore a constructive civic and civil dialogue, with room for opposing points of view, to her paper.

This is the first in a series of filmed critiques of Mr. Armstrong’s writings by citizens. Spotlight will be updated at least twice a month for the rest of the year to give the people he has demeaned a forum to respond. It will also let local citizens give voice to the need for the paper to eliminate permanently Armstrong’s innuendo-laced vendettas.

This new web feature is in response to the many people we have encountered who say Wendy McCaw must restore integrity and trust to her editorial page as a first step in reversing the paper’s course of the past few years. We will closely monitor Travis’ writings and actions in relation to commonly accepted journalistic ethics, and update our website with video responses by people he attacks. We also will host a blog so all can participate in the dialogue at www.citizenmccaw.com

3. The producers of Citizen McCaw will be filming "man and woman in the street" comments about Travis Armstrong's ethics, editorials and writing style from 9:00am to 10:00am at the Farmer's Market – on Cota Street this Saturday, September 6th and at other locations in Santa Barbara the following week. In addition, the producers will be interviewing several people who have been the subject, recently, of his writings.

4. We are now introducing The 3 DVD “Citizen McCaw” Learning Resource to journalism schools. Our goal is to have the cautionary tale utilized throughout the country as future generations of journalists are educated. A foundation is considering distributing the resource to every journalism and mass communications program in the country. Until they decide, we are implementing our own marketing effort.

5. We have arranged a prime time showing in one of the top 10 TV markets for later if the fall (the initial step toward a national TV release).

Cease and Desist to Citizen McCaw

Continuing their scorched earth policy when it comes to criticism of the Santa Barbara News-Press, it seems the producers of Citizen McCaw are the most recent target. This from one of their producers, Sam Tyler:

Wendy McCaw, through her attorney Barry Cappello, recently sent us two "cease and desist" letters regarding future showings of our film Citizen McCaw. Our attorneys, John Keker (Keker & Van Nest in San Francisco, CA) and David Greene (The First Amendment Project in Oakland, CA) sent Mr. Cappello a written response.

We are now actively moving forward with plans to show Citizen McCaw again, several times in local theaters in October, after which we will release the film to television.

We will have no further comment on legal matters at this time.

The Producers of Citizen McCaw

Pandering supplicants? What exactly did you mean, Barry?

Craig Smith reports that the federal court hearing which could possibly reinstate the fired News-Press workers has been delayed again -- this time due to the judge being ill. A new hearing should be scheduled in the next week. How long must we sing this song?

In related news, the Citizen McCaw producers are planning a sequel as the News-Press saga seems far from over. In a PacBiz Times article, über-lawyer Barry Cappello calls many of us who saw the movie "willing supplicants":

“It was written to pander to willing supplicants,” Cappello wrote in an e-mail. “Many facts were twisted, ignoring the truth, beginning with the assertion that the owner [or someone at her behest] instituted a gag order which forced the so-called ‘brave’ reporters to organize a union and act to protect themselves. The entire film’s credibility is destroyed by this flaw.”

I have to admit that I needed to look up this big brain word that Cappello bandied about so easily as I only know of it in the religious sense. Merriam-Webster online says one who supplicates does so "to make a humble entreaty; especially : to pray to God". Wiktionary says the etymological base is in the Latin supplico which is to "kneel, bow down, request"...one has to assume that Cappello means that the producers of Citizen McCaw are pandering for money, no?

Did he just call them pimps in a major newspaper? I've heard that he has sued for a lot less...perhaps a class action defamation law suit is in order. Can anyone front the producer's some cash? Pandering to the word of the day because most people won't understand what you are talking about is no excuse for attacking someone's integrity.

LA Times Covers Citizen McCaw

The LA Times story on the premiere of Citizen McCaw was an excellent synopsis of the issues surrounding the News-Press Mess but also had some of the best spin I've heard in awhile from uber-attorney Barry Cappello on McCaw's reaction to the film.

"This is, literally, like water off her back," Cappello said of the film. "Barking dogs may bark, but the caravan moves on."

As of Sunday, the News-Press had yet to report a word about "Citizen McCaw."

Additional Screenings of Citizen McCaw

Tonight's opening night is sold out as I live blog from the Arlington. Due to such high demand, the film will be showed again on Saturday and Sunday. Here's the info from the film's web site:

...after selling out the 2,000 seat Arlington Theatre for the World Premiere, two additional screenings have been added at the beautiful Marjorie Luke Theatre located at 721 E. Cota Street in Santa Barbara: Saturday, April 5th at 8PM and Sunday, April 6th at 3PM.

Tickets are on sale now at the Lobero Theatre Box Office at 33 E. Canon Perdido Street or by calling 805.963.0761 or online at Lobero.com. General Admission Tickets are $17.50 (including all box office fees) and a limited number of $100 VIP center section seats.

Citizen McCaw Friday March 7th Premiere

I wanted to give a shout out to the producers of Citizen McCaw which will hold a premiere on Friday, March 7th. It's sure to be an excellent documentary on the News-Press Mess. After you see it, report back as to what you thought!

Citizen McCaw to Premiere in March 7th

World Premiere of Documentary Film about the Santa Barbara News-Press “Meltdown” Set for Friday, March 7 at Santa Barbara's Arlington Theatre at 7:30 PM

Santa Barbara, CA, January 17, 2008 – Billed as the story of “an epic struggle for the soul of journalism,” the new feature-length documentary film CITIZEN McCAW will premiere at Santa Barbara's famed 2,000 seat Arlington Theatre on Friday night, March 7th at 7:30 PM.

ABOUT THE FILM
The film chronicles events since July 2006, when editor Jerry Roberts and five of his colleagues quit the Santa Barbara News-Press, citing owner and Co-publisher Wendy McCaw's abandonment of journalistic ethics, which McCaw denied. Since then, McCaw and dozens of her former staffers have been engaged in a fierce clash of wills that raises important national questions of journalistic ethics and media ownership.

McCaw’s attorneys assert that she alone can decide how news is covered. The other side, represented by journalists and community leaders, says that journalism is a public trust, asserting that the publisher must keep out of the news operation.

The film chronicles the twists and turns of community protests, legal maneuverings, a union vote, child pornography charges, a 25% decline in circulation, a noticeable drop in the paper's coverage of local news and issues, and numerous other events, including a surprise ruling in early January 2008, when a federal labor law judge found that McCaw's paper had violated federal law by firing six of her reporters for pro union activities. The paper is appealing the ruling.

Over 80 hours of footage were shot, including interviews with national leaders in journalism. Washington Post Executive editor Ben Bradlee and journalist Ann Louise Bardach appear, as do former NBC News reporter Sander Vanocur, Ronald Reagan’s biographer Lou Cannon, Harvard's Alex Jones, Boston University's Lou Ureneck, and USC's Diane Winston. The film was shot in high definition in Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Washington DC and at many landmark locations in Santa Barbara.

ABOUT McCAW'S ATTORNEYS
The producers have received four warning letters from various McCaw attorneys. The letters threaten legal action depending on the film's content. In 2007, her attorneys subpoenaed all of the raw footage shot for the film, as well as all of the production and interview notes. The subpoena was considered a "fishing expedition" and was immediately revoked by William Kocal, the administrative law judge who oversaw the trial of The Santa Barbara News-Press on charges of violating federal labor laws.