Press

In spite of two “cease and desist” letters from Santa Barbara News-Press owner Wendy McCaw, producers of the Citizen McCaw documentary say they plan more screenings.

Apparently the letters sent by News-Press attorney Barry Cappello regarding future showings didn’t scare off Tyler and the other producers, nor those providing the screenings.

Barney Brantingham, Santa Barbara Independent
Link: Santa Barbara Independent

In scene after scene, a new documentary, "Citizen McCaw," captures the tranquil aura and stunning beauty of Santa Barbara.

No screenwriter could conceive a more perfect setup for a horror story.

"Citizen McCaw" is the scariest film involving journalists since "Zodiac." It's also a vital primer for these times, when economic stresses are leaving the press vulnerable to hostile takeovers of our values and standards. Unlike the Zodiac case, the pall and anxiety over this horror story has not lifted.”

John Diaz, SFGate
Link: SFGate

A sequel is already in the works for a documentary about a Santa Barbara billionaire newspaper co-publisher whose former editors and reporters are lionized in the film, which draws its name from the Orson Welles movie “Citizen Kane.”

After spending what one of the filmmakers said was some $200,000 on “Citizen McCaw,” they admit they will have to update their movie, which premiered at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theater to a sold-out crowd of about 2,000 on March 7. The films’s ending, however, is still unclear because legal disputes between McCaw and her former employees are still raging.

Ray Estrada, Pacific Coast Business Times
Link: Pacific Coast Business Times

A hush fell over the audience as the film began — but the silence didn’t last. This crowd hissed when a certain crankypants editor with a poor sense of direction hulked across the screen. They laughed raucously at Nick Welsh’s candid and spot-on analysis of McCaw.

Starshine Roshell, Santa Barbara Independent
Link: Santa Barbara Independent

As a journalist, I found "Citizen McCaw" both compelling and inspiring. Reporters have an incredible power and duty to the people to report the news fairly and without bias, and it is often easy to forget what being a journalist really means.

In a time when someone like Wendy McCaw has the ability to control the news, "Citizen McCaw" is a wake-up call, reminding the audience that in this day in age money buys power.

Whitney Clark, The Channels Online
Link: The Channels Online

Wendy is dedicated to Santa Barbara, it's environment, our historic architecture, the wildlife that lives here and the open spaces we must preserve.

...the film Mr. Tyler produced is not a documentary but a clear example of propaganda.
—Arthur von Wiesenberger
Co-Publisher, The Santa Barbara News-Press

Griff, Logan, and Sophia, SBMS Teen Press
Link: SBMS Teen Press

Check out this huge site of great interviews pre and post film on Friday.

Link: SBMS Teen Press

The film, which premiered Friday before an enthusiastic, sold-out audience at Santa Barbara's venerable, 2,200-seat Arlington Theatre, is not simply a story about a strong-willed publisher at odds with her equally strong-willed staff. It is, according to its director and narrator, Sam Tyler, a cautionary tale about the 1st Amendment rights of journalists to report the news fairly and objectively, without influence from anyone -- even if that anyone also happens to be their boss.

David Freed, Los Angeles Times
Link: The Los Angeles Times

As was the case with many in Santa Barbara, I was eagerly awaiting the premiere of the sold out CITIZEN McCAW at the 2000 seat Arlington on Friday evening. Sitting in the theater amongst the many brave folks who had either quit or been fired from the Santa Barbara News-Press, I have to admit that I had a few butterflies. Would this film live up to expectations? Would the crowd leave that theater with a sense of -- if not closure -- at least satisfaction.

Link: The Average Man

Photos from the CITIZEN McCAW premiere, March 7th, 2008.

Link: EdHat.com

[TV Coverage] The controversial battle between some reporters at the Santa Barbara News-Press and Publisher Wendy McCaw hits the big screen. Reporter Joe Gehl has audience reaction to the movie.

Joe Gehl, KEYT3 Santa Barbara
Link: KEYT3 Santa Barbara [Video]

The dispute over newsroom independence and ethics has led to more resignations and firings along with lawsuits, community protests, charges of child pornography, "cancel your subscription" signs strewn around Santa Barbara, national news coverage and attempts by News-Press employees to unionize. Plenty of barbs have been thrown by both sides — in print, online and in court.

Sam Tyler, a PBS documentarian who came up with the idea for "Citizen McCaw," said he decided to make the film after "the cumulative effect" of several key incidents, including the initial resignation of five News-Press editors and a columnist in July 2006, followed by community protests and unionizing efforts.

Karen Lindell, Ventura County Star
Link: Ventura County Star

“What’s happened here in Santa Barbara is a cautionary tale for comparable issues potentially around the country,” Tyler said. “It hasn’t exploded this way anywhere else. When Rupert Murdoch bought The Wall Street Journal, there wasn’t one-hundredth of the smoke around there that there is here in this inferno around Santa Barbara. They’re comparable issues.”

While the documentarians are clearly passionate about their subject, “we don’t insert ourselves in this film. We never intended to and we didn’t,” said Lathim. “The story is told on-screen by the people involved in the story. Our role in this really is to piece the puzzle together.”

Leslie Dinaberg, Noozhawk.com
Link: Noozhawk.com

For those living in Xanadu, the NP meltdown captured in Citizen McCaw unfolded very publicly, but the in-house unrest began immediately after McCaw bought the newspaper in 2000. The noisiest period began with McCaw’s anger at her reporters for publishing actor Rob Lowe’s address and reverberated nationally when former editor Jerry Roberts led a newsroom exodus. He was later sued by McCaw, who then used the front page of her paper to suggest that Roberts had downloaded child porn. This — teamed with more firings, federal hearings, and countless McCaw-launched lawsuits — erupted while Citizen McCaw was being filmed.

D.J. Palladino, Santa Barbara Independent
Link: The Santa Barbara Independent

“It’s an important film, it’s a smart film, it’s a controversial film, and it’s right dead-on about a very important story in America today,” director Sam Tyler said. “And that is, who owns the news.”

Billed as a cautionary tale, the film delves into the contentious labor dispute between newsroom employees and News-Press owner and publisher Wendy McCaw, a dispute deeply rooted in the resignations of top editor Jerry Roberts and five others in July 2006 over ethical concerns.

For Tyler and his fellow producers — Rod Lathim, Charles Minsky and Peter Seaman — it is a critically important story to tell.

“I’ve been reading the Santa Barbara News-Press since I was old enough to read,” said Lathim, a fourth-generation Santa Barbaran heavily involved in the local arts community. “…I’m very loyal to Santa Barbara and I feel very strongly about the fact that our news here is what keeps us connected and informed. There’s so much going on in this community that without a really in-depth daily news source the way the News-Press was for a long time, the fabric of the town starts disintegrating.”

Eric Lindberg, Santa Barbara Daily Sound
Link: Santa Barbara Daily Sound