No News Is News
In yesterday's Sunday edition Eric Pryne dropped his first article on the Joint Operating Agreement between the Seattle Times and the (more youthful and urban, apparently) P-I since he took over the beat from the independent contractor Bill Richards.
The big news in the legal case that could potentially turn Seattle into a one paper town is.... (can I get a funky drumroll) ....there is no news.
Or rather, the case has been idle for so long that people are speculating that Hearst Corp, owner of the Post Intelligencer, and Seattle Times Co are attempting to reach an agreement outside of the courtroom, but since no one's talking no one really knows. Hearst claims the P-I can't operate without the JOA and the Times says it can't make money under the JOA so we're not sure exactly what kind of deal is possible, but we should be expecting something nonetheless.
What's going on? Hearst and The Times have been deflecting inquiries for months. But when students of the newspaper industry and followers of the dispute speculate about what the inactivity may signify, they reach the same conclusion:The two sides probably are talking settlement.
"Any time there's silence like this in a case, the parties have got to be talking," said Seattle attorney Anne Bremner, co-chair of the Committee for a Two-Newspaper Town, a citizens group that has intervened in the case. "Cases don't just languish unless there's something else going on," Bremner said.
