Just in: another example of how things are going these days in the daily newspaper business:

I just got off the phone with Tom Honig, the able editor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel. I had called him to see if the Sentinel was doing any special competitive coverage on the nearby Monterey Herald, one of the "jewels" that the Singleton Conglomerati is buying with the help of Hearst.

Bruce, he said, we just got word today that the Sentinel is up for sale. I said was astounded. Yeah, he said, there are already rumors about Singleton buying. We have a short story up on our website and we'll have a complete story in tomorrow's paper. Gotta go and take another call.

So note in the link below what he was talking about: the owner of the Sentinel, Dow Jones @ Co., which publishes the Wall Street Journal, is shopping six titles from its Ottaway Community Newspaper division, including the Sentinel. For more details, check the Sentinel website tomorrow morning. B3

P.S. I was surprised that, avalanched as he was, Honig answered his own phone and talked to me for a couple of minutes. The question: is there a job in the new world of the Conglomerati for an editor who answers his own phone and talks to people on deadline? Stay tuned (or should I say, stay blogged?)

Santa Cruz Sentinel - August 29, 2006