Okay, I'll be the first to admit that the headline for today's post is a little bit of hype. After all, Daily Sound reporter Colby Frazier isn't leaving Santa Barbara in defeat, rather he's going home to Utah. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to use that line made so famous by Howard Cosell.
Anyway, Wednesday was Frazier's last day at the Sound, making him the second long-time reporter there to leave within the last 30 days. (Eric Lindberg, departed in July.) Frazier's wife has been accepted into the University of Utah's graduate school of ballet so they will be relocating.
Frazier has been with the Daily Sound since October of 2006. Prior to that, he had worked at the Santa Barbara News-Press, first as a stringer, then as a a full-time employee who was hired shortly after the July 2006 meltdown. That full-time gig was short-lived. He was let go in September of 2006. That firing came at a time when his wife was pregnant with their child. Many of us suspected at the time that management at the News-Press let him go because they perceived him to be a union sympathizer.
During his nearly four years with the Sound, Frazier covered a wide variety of stories including the Jesusita Fire and the DA's race.
In an e-mail to me here's what he had to say about his departure:
It's difficult to describe how special the Daily Sound is. Guys like Eric Lindberg, Victor Maccharoli, Jeramy Gordon, John Leonard and Aaron Mercer don't come around often. It would be impossible to calculate the number of unpaid hours these men put into that paper, just because they believe -- no, the know -- that newspapers are important. I'll miss having a 12-pack of Coors original and a box of pizza on my desk on election night -- courtesy of the boss. As for me, I'm looking forward to being home by dinner.
Frazier's reporting will be missed and I wish him good luck. Especially when it comes to finding a 12-pack of Coors in Utah.
Frazier represented what appears to be a vanishing species in this town: a full-time paid news reporter. All of the news outlets in this town use part-timers, interns, correspondents and stringers. And the way things seemed to be headed, the part-timers and interns will outnumber the full-timers, if they don't already. I'm sure there are many people out there who fear that news coverage may suffer as a result.
Wednesday's front page above-the-fold story in the Daily Nexus was about a third candidate entering the race for Goleta City Council. The article was accompanied by a photo of the City Council in session during a meeting.
Only problem is that the photo is of the Santa Barbara City Council.
I guess if you've seen one city council you've seen them all.
© 2010 by Craig Smith and www.craigsmithsblog.com
