A new Bristol Press?

I've heard an awful lot in recent weeks from people who know something about newspapers and people who are interested in learning a lot more.

I'm beginning to get a glimmer of what the Press might be like if it comes through this crisis.

I suspect that if it is purchased, it will probably pare back to publishing perhaps three or four times a week, with the focus almost exclusively on Bristol, Plymouth, Burlington and probably Plainville.

It will have a more robust and continuously updated website where the news almost always appears first and breaking news can be updated all day. There will also be more pictures, videos, sound bites and such on there.

I suspect the printed editions will still bring in most of the revenue, but the website will be the paper's future, assuming anyone ever figures out how to make it pay for itself. Early on, perhaps, the full edition of the printed paper will be online for a fee.

There will be more citizen input into the paper, with areas for groups to upload press releases about events and fundraisers. It will have a discussion board that will, with luck, offer a robust debate about the community.

I wouldn't be surprised if the printed issues are either delivered free to everyone or else turned back into an afternoon paper. It might well return to a broadsheet format.

I'm genuinely excited about the possibilities, especially if there is local ownership again instead of businessmen from faraway locales. And in case any potential buyers are reading, you should know that most of the employees are as eager to make this work as I am. We can make the Press thrive.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Budget snapshot for the downtown corp.

The Bristol Downtown Development Corp, established almost two years ago, spent a little less than $33,000 of its $178,500 annual budget through mid-November.

Most of the spending was for the executive director, Dick Harrall, whose firm gets $85,000 annually for handling the position..

The BDDC has also spent $5,000 on legal fees, $4,000 on environmenal and engineering services and $3,000 on advertising and marketing.

All told, it has spent about half the $361,712 the city has allocated for it since its creation, leaving $178,200 to spend before it has to return to the Board of Finance for more money. Finance commissioners are eager to see a detailed plan for its spending.

The BDDC was set up to oversee the redevelopment of the city-owned, 17-acre former downtown mall site.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

The city needs its newspaper, community leaders say

The city would lose its identity without its daily newspaper, community leaders said, voicing support for saving The Bristol Press.

It’s “virtually impossible” to imagine Bristol without a daily paper, said Frank Johnson, chairman of the Bristol Downtown Development Corp. and the Bristol Zoning Commission.

“Everything that goes on in Bristol is community oriented,” said Johnson. For the community to lose its newspaper, said Johnson, is “beyond my imagination.”

But the Journal Register Co., the Pennsylvania-based newspaper chain that owns the Press, said it would close the Bristol paper and a dozen other papers in Connecticut – including The Herald, a daily in New Britain – if they are not sold by January 12.

“I don’t think anybody here has thought about what it would be like without a newspaper,” said Tom Cosgrove, a member of the downtown development board.

City Planner Alan Weiner said local papers help towns maintain individuality.

“Whether it’s The Bristol Press or any newspaper, it gives the community an identity,” said Weiner. “It provides a voice to the community.”

The newspaper’s role in getting information to citizens is crucial, according to Weiner, who said he hopes the Press will continue under new ownership.

“It’s a sad day when any community loses such an important institution as its newspaper,” Weiner said.

The closing of a newspaper is different than the loss of another business, according to Weiner.

“It’s not just another commodity,” said Weiner. “It’s not as if Bradlees is closing its doors, so I can go buy my curtains at Wal-Mart.”

John Leone, president of the Greater Bristol Chamber of Commerce, said the daily paper is an important way of getting news about the community.

“When and if it goes, people will miss it,” said Leone.

Weiner said, “If it’s gone, there’s going to be people in for a rude surprise.”

Leone said he's sure that the Journal Register Co. would rather sell the Press than close it.

But Leone said the company's self-imposed deadline is looming.

“There isn't a lot of time,” said Leone.

Leone said city residents won't have anywhere to turn for local news, since it won't be covered on television, The Hartford Courant has downsized and the Bristol Observer, owned by The Republican-American of Waterbury, only comes out once a week.

Leone remained hopeful the newspaper would be saved.

“There might be somebody out there,” said Leone. “I would love to see somebody give the city a Christmas present and buy the Press.”

Newspapers are part of the quality of life in a town, and like a sports team, hospital or collection of specialty shops, help define a place.

When a local paper dies, said Weiner, “another small part of that community’s soul is disappearing.”

As communities become more homogenous and lose what makes them unique, they lose their identity, said Weiner, and become interchangeable.

“Over time, what’s going to distinguish Bristol from any other place?” said Weiner.

Chris Bailey, curator of the American Clock and Watch Museum in Bristol, wondered what will fill the void in the city if the Press disappears after almost 140 years.

“Its day to day history will no longer be recorded,” said Bailey. “Bristol's history will pretty much be forgotten because it won't be recorded.”

Bailey said a town without a newspaper is “definitely” the poorer for it. While national and international news is available from many sources, Bailey said, a hometown paper is the only place to get the local scoop.

“It's the local items that are really of importance as to what was going on in the town,” said Bailey. “A town will lose a lot of its unique identity if there's no newspaper about the town.”

When the Press first began publishing in 1871, Bailey said, it was a “bright spot” in Bristol.

“There was news to be found that was important,” said Bailey, who said he wished the Press had been around decades earlier, at the height of the clock industry.

Bailey, a recognized expert in American clockmaking history, said if the paper had been around during the heyday of the clock industry, researchers would have had a much better idea of what exactly was going on then.

“The local history is important in the newspaper,” said Bailey.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

The Advocate blows it

In a story that appears this week in the Hartford and New Haven Advocates, along with the Fairfield County Weekly, Andy Bromage miscasts what the entire effort to preserve 13 Central Connecticut newspapers is all about.

The story claims that the papers are "busy drumming up support for some kind of government-backed bailout plan."

But that's not at all what the employees of the papers are asking for and it's not what politicians are proposing.

Nobody at all -- and certainly nobody who has worked for the Journal Register Co. -- wants to see a penny of taxpayer money spent to bail out a JRC newspaper. That would be a travesty and a waste.

What we want is much less: that the state help find a buyer for The Bristol Press, the New Britain Herald and 11 crucial weeklies and to make sure that any potential buyers know about any existing government programs that might provide tax breaks or grants to help preserve these longstanding businesses.

That's it. It's exactly the same thing the state would do for most any significant enterprise in Connecticut, particularly at a time when saving every possible business is critical.

Newspapers, though, are not a typical business. They are the glue that holds communities together and a crucial cog in local economies. Lose them and you lose much more than an employer. These towns face a loss of identityand cohesion.

Professor Rich Hanley of Quinnipiac University points out in the Advocate's story that the news stories that have run about the papers are "geared toward self-preservation and their self-interest is totally clear in all this."

No duh.

Of course there's self-interest in saying that the papers shouldn't be allowed to die, just as it's self-interest for a patient to seek a doctor's help in cutting out a cancer. But so what? There's no bigger story in Bristol these days than the possible closure in a little more than a month of its 137-year-old community newspaper.

What's more, if it shuts down, that will be the last story the town ever gets. All the other news now  pales by comparison.

Hanley complains that the stories fail to address "whether the paper has been performing its watchdog function" and whether the JRC has provided it with sufficient funding to do its job.

I'll answer both points.

Of course we've had too little money and too few resources. We work for a company that is legendary for scraping every penny it can from its newspapers.

But if he'd read this paper over the years, Hanley would know that we nonetheless do the job the First Amendment and our community expect from us.

I could point to all sorts of examples, but our readers already know that we're watchdogs who are perfectly capable of doing more than an occasional growl. Can we cover everything we'd like? Nope. But what paper can?

Bromage gripes that "an average reader" of the stories about the need to save the Press "might conclude that JRC is using its news pages to drive a story about rescuing a failing property while avoiding full-throated coverage that might expose some ugly company truths."

Perhaps he concluded that, but I don't think an average Press reader would agree.

To begin with, I really doubt that the JRC likes these stories appearing at all. It would almost certainly prefer to have nothing much appear about the possible closure, as evidenced by its own decision at the very start to try to say nothing whatsoever about the news. (Even so, I broke the story on this blog because I'm a reporter and it was news.)

Despite the company's stance, we're writing stories anyway because this is the biggest thing going in Bristol. That's what we do. Every time.

As for avoiding coverage that "might expose some ugly company truths," well, that's probably fair. I'd like to keep getting my paycheck, thank you very much.

I don't care to test how far we can go in telling the truth about a company whose mismanagement is renowned throughout the newspaper business. At one point, for example, we had a JRC publisher who wanted to charge employees for the water they drank at the office. Really.

At this point, though, the JRC is leaving the picture, dumping these papers and moving on at long last.

So we could spend time examining how badly it botched the ownership of the papers it now plans to close - and perhaps get fired for it -- or we could focus on the opportunity that now exists to restore these papers to their communities. This is the time for looking ahead to a brighter future, not expressing the anguish we have felt under an oppressive management for far too long.

Personally, I'm disappointed the Advocate would print a story so fundamentally misguided.

Take the JRC to pieces if you like -- I'll talk to you, Andy, for that story -- but don't portray what we're doing as serving the needs of this company. That's an ugly untruth. What we're actually doing is trying to make sure these great old papers can continue to serve the needs of their readers and communties for generations to come.

If we sit back and let them die, what kind of journalists would we be?

By the way, Andy, you might have picked up a phone and called me. I'd have been happy to explain what we were doing and why. It would have saved you from putting your name to a piece that's glaringly, obviously off the mark.

We're not "Pressing for a Bailout." We're just trying to tell the whole damn world that The Bristol Press is a newspaper with good prospects in a community that cares about its survival. If that's a sin, I plead guilty.

*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Union pact approved for City Hall workers

City councilors approved a new two-year contract for the union that represents most City Hall workers that provides 3 percent annual raises and introduces employee cost-sharing on health insurance for the first time.

The council voted 6-1 in favor of the deal with Local 233 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, with the sole opposition coming from freshman Republican Ken Cockayne.

The pact, which is retroactive to July 2007, requires workers to pay 4 percent of their health insurance premiums until next July, when they’ll be required to cover 5 percent of the tab.

That’s less than the police union agreed to pay in a deal approved a year ago that hiked the percentage officers have to pay to 8.5 percent of the total by 2010, the highest figure that any city union outside the school system has to shell out.

Cockayne said that he couldn’t support the new agreement with City Hall workers because they got a better deal than the police, a pact he also opposed because he wanted officers to pay at least 10 percent of their health care tab.

The city’s police and firefighters should have best contracts “since they’re putting their lives on the line,” Cockayne said, but instead the city’s office workers are making out best.

The head of Local 233, Mayra Sampson, is a former city Democratic Party chair and a longtime supporter of Mayor Art Ward.

Ward said that he’s pleased that the union is going to pay a portion of its health care bill for the first time.

The mayor said, too, that the deal amounts to about $300 to $400 extra a year for the average employee. He said it represents “no great gains on either side” when compared to what government employees in neighboring towns are getting.

“It’s within reason,” said Ward.

Cockayne said, however, that Bristol’s health care costs haring for employees “is way under our neighboring towns and it’s my duty as a councilman to do the best that I can for the taxpayers of this city” so he voted against the pact.

Cockayne said supporters of the contract terms said the city made inroads by getting the union to pay anything for health care. He said that it should have been more and that it’s not his fault that earlier deals were so generous to the union.

 “Past administrations have not given away the kitchen sink. They’ve given away the whole kitchen,” Cockayne said.

He said that in today’s struggling economy, when so many families in Bristol are living paycheck to paycheck at best, it’s not fair to ask them for more tax money to provide such generous contracts.

 “How can we expect them to keep picking up the tab?” Cockayne asked.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Joe Zerbey, former publisher, calls possible Press closure 'sad' and 'dangerous'

Story by reporter Jackie Majerus:

The former longtime publisher of The Bristol Press said it will be not only sad, but dangerous for the city if the newspaper closes next month.

"I invested 25 years of my life and my family's life in that paper," said Joe Zerbey. "To see it thrown aside like a used Burger King wrapper is disgusting and it's sad."

The owner of the Press, the Journal Register Co., has said it will close the Bristol paper as well as The Herald, a daily in New Britain, and 11 community weekly papers in Connecticut if a buyer or buyers aren't found by January 12. The papers employ about 100 people.

Beyond the initial grief and loss of a daily community newspaper and the jobs and services it provides, Zerbey said he sees trouble in town if the Press closes.

"It's a sad thing, but it's also a dangerous thing," said Zerbey, who said there wouldn't be anyone filling the important role of government watchdog if the Press vanishes.

A community has very few institutions with the job of "governing the powerful," said Zerbey, now the vice president and general manager of the Toledo Blade in Toledo, Ohio. "In my world, that's what good newspapers do."

Without a vigilant press watching what they do, Zerbey said, government officials can "run amok."

"There'd be nobody on their coattails, checking what they do," said Zerbey.

Zerbey said he didn't have any particular official or leader in mind, but said that after awhile, without anyone paying attention, officials could take advantage of the opportunity.

"You can do things you don't have to answer for," said Zerbey.

Zerbey still considers Bristol home. He said he and his wife raised their children here and continue to maintain their house in town, he said.  But he dismissed rumors of a return, saying he has no immediate plans to move back to Bristol to run the Press.

Zerbey, who comes from a newspaper family, worked his way up the ranks at the Press, learning from the late Bart Barnes, whose family owned The Bristol Press for generations.

Barnes taught him what a newspaper should do, said Zerbey.

As publisher in Bristol, Zerbey promoted the Press, giving it a presence in town.

He was active in local organizations, including the Greater Bristol Chamber of Commerce. He wrote a column for the Press that often provoked readers. He was quick to criticize and point out problems, but also praised ideas and championed projects in the community.

He said he learned from Barnes to wear many hats as publisher.

"You always did what was ethically right from a journalistic perspective," said Zerbey.

Zerbey had been publisher of the Press for years when the former owner, Media News Group, sold the paper to the Journal Register Co. in 1994. He left when the JRC took over.

Zerbey blamed the paper's downfall on "the inattention to circulation" and lack of investment in customer service.

The JRC blew a golden opportunity, said Zerbey, because it owned so many papers in the central part of the state, including The Herald in New Britain.

The company had "a powerhouse of growing circulation" that it could have leveraged in a head-to-head battle with the Hartford Courant, according to Zerbey.

He'd wanted to try that under MediaNews Group, the former owner of The Bristol Press, Zerbey said, but that company couldn't convince the family owners of The Herald to sell the New Britain paper.

"They were turned off by a large newspaper chain," said Zerbey. But then the price of newsprint shot through the roof, he said, and the family sold to the JRC.

Zerbey said the JRC didn't care about the role of a newspaper.

"They cared about the bottom line," Zerbey said, "to make the people in New York smile, not the people in Bristol, Conn. The people of Central Connecticut deserve better than that."

Local news is what's important, said Zerbey, and it's expensive to do.

Now, the papers like the Press have lost circulation, according to Zerbey, falling sharply from the 22,000 daily he left in 1994. 

"It's a sad, sad statement," said Zerbey. "There was a proud tradition there."

*******

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Special City Council session today re a major union contract

NOTICE OF SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING

There will be a Special Meeting of the Bristol City Council to be held on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, 111 North Main Street, Bristol, Connecticut.

AGENDA

1. To convene into Executive Session to discuss the tentative agreement between the City of Bristol and Local #233.

2. To reconvene into Public Session to discuss and take any action as necessary regarding the tentative agreement between the City of Bristol and Local #233 and referral to Board of Finance for any necessary action.

3. To adjourn.

Per Mayor Arthur J. Ward, Chairman

DATED this 2nd day of December, 2008.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Razing the old theater next for mall site

A former movie theater at the corner of Riverside Avenue and Main Street may be razed soon.

“It looks like hell,” said John Lodovico, one of seven members of the nonprofit Bristol Downtown Development Corp.

The 40-year-old structure most recently housed a paint store and a rental center, but it’s been empty for a year.

When the building is demolished in the new year, the 17-acre mall site will have only two structures left – the Discount Food Outlet grocery store and the McDonald’s, which actually owns its property.

A Dunkin’ Donuts on the north end of the site is likely to be included in any plan to overhaul the key downtown parcel.

The city bought the mall in 2005 for $5.3 million and hopes to see it developed for stores, offices and housing. But the BDDC’s effort to find a developer last summer led to only a single bidder that fell quickly by the wayside.

Dick Harrall, executive director of the downtown agency, said that an environmental review of the former theater found “nothing unusual.”

One hitch is that the building “serves almost as a retaining wall” at the corner because the land is lower at the corner than it is on most of the site.

It’s possible, though, that the building could be removed and the walls along the sidewalk could remain, officials said.

City Councilor Ken Cockayne said it’s possible that leaving the building standing might be the best option for now.

But John Leone, the president of the Greater Bristol Chamber of Commerce, said it would be best to take it down.

“It continues to send the message that we’re preparing the land for use,” Leone said.

“I’d rather see the building kaput,” said Dick Kallenbach, another member of the BDDC.

Jennifer Janelle, who also serves on the agency, said that the landscaping could also be left along the street when the building is knocked down.

For now, downtown officials said, they would like the city to pay more attention to the empty building.

Lodovico said that it looks abandoned.
Harrall said the city’s public works department is responsible for maintaining the property.

He said that maybe the BDDC should ask the city for an interim plan for using and caring for the structure.

It doesn’t appear the city has any immediate need to use the building, but it has in recent years. The police used it for many months as a kind of substation during the renovations of the police department.

But since the paint store moved out shortly after Ocean State Job Lot left the mall, there has been nothing there. The mall itself was knocked down last winter.

*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

New Tattoo issue features Mumbai, Black Friday and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade

We have a new issue online at www.ReadTheTattoo.com that I know you'll want to check out soon.

Two of Youth Journalism International's teen journalists in India, Hashra Mishra and Janina Ramachandran, detail the terror of watching Mumba, the city of dreams, locked in battle with terrorists for three days last week.

Back in the U.S., three teen writers - Brice Birdsall in Oregon and two Connecticut reporters, Leah Igdalsky and Kiernan Majerus-Collins -- weighed in on Black Friday in the wake of the trampling death of a Wal-Mart worker in New York.

Speaking of New York, don't miss a brother and sister take on the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan. Kathryn and Matt Middleton, who live in Pennsylvania,tell what it's like to see the famous parade up close and personal instead of on television.

Birdsall also has a review of Twilight, the hit new vampire movie.

I failed to send out a notice about our last issue -- sorry for that oversight! -- but let's catch up now.

Genoa, Italy's Eugenia Durante wrote about a student protest against planned education cuts by the government while Mishra had a piece about Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

Australia's Rebecca Baylis wrote her take on the election of Barack Obama, whose acceptance speech moved her to tears. And Connecticut's Justin Skaradosky had another of his great cartoons, too.

We're working on an election reaction package featuring the thoughts of more than two dozen young people in eight countries on five continents. It's an ambitious effort for Youth Journalism International, but we're getting there. You wouldn't believe how much material there is to try to organize coherently. When it's done soon, you'll appreciate the work that went into it.

As always, we're grateful for your support and any help that you can offer. We're eager for constructive criticism, tips, advice and any talented teens you may have in your life.

As the recent carnage in Mumbai makes clear once again, learning together about our world and the ties that bind us all, young and old, is an endeavor that's not merely nice, but perhaps the most important thing we can do. We're lucky to have so many wonderful young people in our broad Yoouth Journalism International family and so glad that their work is seen and appreciated by so many.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Stortz weighs in on budget and the economy

Former Mayor Bill Stortz posted this comment on a thread that many might miss so I'm reposting it here:

It is somewhat surprising AND disappointing that it has taken this long for the city to point out that we are in a tough economic situation here in Bristol. Also, it is disappointing that we are not given a clearer picture of where we are and what potentially lies ahead. 

The city was given an early on warning that the economic situation was at best questionable and should be monitored.

In October 2007 (yes, over a year ago), after getting feedback that I requested from several department heads, as Mayor, I sent a memo to the Board of 
Finance and the then City Council, suggesting that things did not look good, and steps should be considered that would hopefully minimize the need for more drastic steps at a later date.

Her is a copy of that letter.

To: Board of Finance
From: William T. Stortz
Date: October 23, 2007

Sub: Budget concerns

As you are aware, there has been some interesting activity in the economy in recent weeks.

The issue of sub prime mortgages, and resulting foreclosures, the acting of the Federal Reserve Board and interest rate changes, the rising price of oil, all can affect our budget, the current one and next year’s also. 

With that in mind, I have asked some departments to document their thoughts in this regard. Granted theses are somewhat subjective, and they were not asked to do extensive research, but only to provide some basic thoughts and awareness. 

I have included these reports for your review and consideration.

Keep in mind that some costs have increased, and we will be over budget because of that. Fuel oil and heating oil are good examples. This could cut into our contingency account, or at least affect these departments that budget for fuel and./or heating fuel.

While the conveyance tax make still make budget, keep in mind that the past years showed a surplus in this account, which affects other items that were over budget.

Also, last years interest income exceeded budget. This was taken into consideration in developing the budget, but with interest rate changes, this account could be affected even more. This account also was over budget last year and provided us with a buffer also; we may draw down money short term to meet Mall needs which could reduce interest even more.

Tax collection also might be affected.

Due to the efforts of the Tax Collector, over the past few years we have realized increased results in back tax collection.

Because of this, the amount left to be collected has been reduced, and has become more difficult.

At the same time, current foreclosures might delay some collection to subsequent budget years.

We will virtually always get our money, but the back tax amount may increase for the short term.

Vehicle tax collection may also be affected. In some cases we may lose the taxes altogether, as vehicle tax collection is difficult if cars are not reregistered.

While the situation is not dire yet, it is more problematical than it was 6-8 months ago, and there is no consensus that it will recover overnight.

Now is the time to take these factors into consideration, and see what can be done to evaluate the impact, as well as to see where current expenditures can be reduced or better controlled. Small changes made early on can educe the need for drastic changes in the latter part of the budget year.

cc City council

Encl.

(End of letter)

I am aware that that some steps are now being taken. Based on what I have read, I wonder if they are/and will be enough to avoid a huge tax increase or drastic cuts in service. Certainly there are many ideas that people, including myself, have that might help, and I did offer, and it would behoove this administration to take advantage of those resources so that we experience minimal impact.

Bristol is a good city, with good people, and working together, we can and will work through this situation. But it will best done utilizing the efforts and help of many, not just a few. 

I have submitted a follow up letter to the media, but it is equally lengthy and probably will not get printed. If so, it will be submitted to this blog.

*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

'We're trying to save these newspapers'

Reporter Jackie Majerus wrote this story:

Legislators representing Bristol and New Britain will meet Friday with state economic development officials about what can be done to save the daily newspapers in those cities.

The Bristol Press and The Herald in New Britain – and 11 weekly community papers in Connecticut – will be closed January 12 if a buyer for the papers isn't found by then, the owner, Journal Register Co., has said.

All together, there are about 100 jobs at stake.

"We're trying to save these newspapers," said Rep. Frank Nicastro, a Bristol Democrat.

Lawmakers from Bristol and New Britain have a meeting scheduled on Friday with Commissioner Joan McDonald of the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

Rep. Tim O'Brien, a New Britain Democrat who brought the delegation together to ask for the meeting, said he wants to talk about how the state can help.

"The state has programs that are designed to create and preserve jobs," said O'Brien, who said he wants to bring the importance of the newspapers to McDonald's attention.

The goal, according to O'Brien, is to "keep these historic businesses and the jobs from leaving our communities."

Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat, said he would be at the meeting Friday to lend a hand.

"I don't like to see anybody lose their jobs," Colapietro said. "I'm hopeful we can do something."

Sen. Donald DeFronzo, a New Britain Democrat, said he wants to find out what, if anything, the DECD is already doing to preserve the newspapers.

"They may have something percolating already," said DeFronzo.

If not, DeFronzo said, he wants to find out what can be done.

Aiding a prospective newspaper buyer, said O'Brien, is the same as helping any other business.

Any state help would go to a new owner or operating organization, according to O'Brien, not to the Journal Register Co., which intends to sell or close the papers.

"The application for any assistance would be for the new prospective buyer," said O'Brien.

DeFronzo said the state may be able to help "if we can find a prospective buyer or successor organization."

If nothing can be done and the papers close, DeFronzo said, he wants to know what the state can offer the 100 people who stand to lose their jobs.

Both O'Brien and DeFronzo said they had been contacted by possible newspaper buyers or their representatives, but didn't provide details.

"I'm somewhat encouraged," said DeFronzo.

Nicastro, who served as Bristol's mayor for a decade, said the local paper includes everything, even notices of Cub Scout meetings and fundraising car washes.

"You lose a newspaper, you lose everything," said Nicastro. "You lose the city, and it's wrong."

Nicastro – who was instrumental in brokering a deal that saved Lake Compounce when the nation's oldest amusement park nearly closed more than a dozen years ago – said he's pleased that the New Britain and Bristol delegations are working together to save the papers.

January 12 isn't far away, Nicastro pointed out.

"Time is of the essence," said Nicastro. "We've gotta fight hard on this."

*******

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Legislators and DECD commissioner to meet Friday

Lawmakers pushing for the preservation of The Bristol Press, New Britain Herald and 11 Central Connecticut weeklies are slated to meet Friday with the commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, Joan McDonald.

I'm not sure what will happen during the expected hour-long, mid-day session. But sometime this week, I'll try to lay out what I think they ought to talk about.

*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com