AAN News
Reaction Pours in to Verdict in Bay Guardian/VVM Trial
A number of stories and blog posts have come out since a jury ruled in favor of the Bay Guardian in its predatory pricing suit against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media yesterday. Here are some:
- The Associated Press via the San Jose Mercury News: "SF Weekly Ordered to Pay Rival $15M for Predatory Pricing Ads"
- East Bay Express: "Guardian Wins $15 Million, Express Not Affected"
- Editor & Publisher: "Bay Guardian Awarded $15.6 Million In Lawsuit"
- The Georgia Straight: "SF Guardian Wins 'David and Goliath' Suit Over Village Voice Media's SF Weekly"
- San Francisco Chronicle: "Bay Guardian Wins Suit with SF Weekly"
- SF Weekly: "Ka-Ching!"
- SF Weekly: "Who You Callin' Guilty?"
AAN |
03-06-2008 9:47 am |
Industry News
Jury Rules in Favor of Bay Guardian in Suit Against VVM
The jurors handed down their decision in the Guardian's predatory pricing suit against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media today, awarding the Guardian more than $6.39 million in damages. Under California law, part of that verdict is subject to treble damages, bringing the total award to $15.6 million. The Weekly has indicated that it will appeal the decision. Read VVM's statement on the verdict here. The Guardian has a story on the verdict here.
SF Weekly | San Francisco Bay Guardian |
03-05-2008 5:30 pm |
Industry News
Jury Still Deliberating in Bay Guardian/VVM Trial
The 12 jurors will reconvene to consider the case this morning. For more, check the most recent blog posts from the SF Weekly and the Bay Guardian.
SF Weekly | San Francisco Bay Guardian |
03-04-2008 8:28 am |
Industry News
Bay Guardian/VVM Trial Goes to the Jurynew
The jury began deliberations on Friday and will resume this morning. Both the SF Weekly and the San Francisco Bay Guardian need nine of the 12 jurors to take their side in order to win the case. "Much like two candidates in the final days before an election, attacks from both sides are getting increasingly personal as a verdict nears," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The daily says the trial has brought to light financial data that call into question whether the city can support two alt-weeklies at "a time when newspapers are consolidating to stay alive." Local blogger Randy Shaw agrees.
"Maybe the San Francisco market can't support two alternative weeklies," he says. "It's likely, after the outcome of this court case, there might only be one left standing." For the most recent coverage, check out the trial blogs from the Guardian and the Weekly.
San Francisco Chronicle | SF Bay Guardian | SF Weekly |
03-03-2008 8:26 am |
Industry News
Closing Arguments in Bay Guardian/VVM Trial Set for Thursday
The last three witnesses took the stand yesterday in the Guardian's predatory pricing trial against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media. Guardian publisher and editor Bruce Brugmann and associate publisher Jean Dibble were brought back to the stand, this time by the Weekly's attorneys; they were followed by Bay Area publisher Bill Johnson, whose papers include AAN members the Palo Alto Weekly and Pacific Sun. The trial takes a day off today, and closing arguments begin Thursday morning. For more details, read the latest from the Weekly and the Bay Guardian.
SF Weekly | San Francisco Bay Guardian |
02-27-2008 9:05 am |
Industry News
Bay Guardian/VVM Trial Will Likely Go to the Jury This Week
The predatory pricing trial is winding down and it is now expected that the case will go to the jury either Tuesday or Wednesday (the trial takes a day off today). On Friday, the SF Weekly's expert CPA, Everett P. Harry, continued his testimony and Jeff Mars, Village Voice Media's vice president for financial operations, also took the stand. The Guardian says the Weekly's witnesses "make the Guardian's case," while the Weekly says the Guardian's lawyers were focusing on "imaginary evidence." Meanwhile, Editor & Publisher columnist Mark Fitzgerald checks in on the trial, and on the daily blog dispatches from each side, and finds that "the Guardian and SF Weekly are covering the trial with reports that are gleefully unconcerned about appearing objective, and recall the great newspaper feuds of yesteryear."
San Francisco Bay Guardian | SF Weekly | Editor & Publisher |
02-25-2008 9:33 am |
Industry News
Dueling CPAs Take the Stand at the Bay Guardian/VVM Trial
Bay Guardian expert CPA Clifford Kupperberg continued his testimony yesterday in the paper's predatory pricing trial against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media. The next witness was the Weekly's expert CPA, Everett P. Harry, who argued that Kupperberg's testimony was flawed. For more on the trial, check out these blog posts from the Weekly and the Bay Guardian and this week's editor's note from the Guardian. The trial resumes today.
SF Weekly | San Francisco Bay Guardian |
02-22-2008 2:27 pm |
Industry News
Bay Guardian Expert Testifies in VVM Trial
Damages expert Clifford Kupperberg continued his testimony on Wednesday in the Guardian's predatory pricing trial against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media. He put forth six "damage models," which estimated the financial toll on the Guardian by the Weekly's alleged below-cost sales at anywhere between $4 million to $11.8 million. For more details, check out the reports from the Bay Guardian and from the Weekly. The trial resumes today with continued cross-examination of Kupperberg.
San Francisco Bay Guardian | SF Weekly |
02-21-2008 12:14 pm |
Industry News
Two More Witnesses Testify in Bay Guardian/VVM Trial
SF Weekly publisher Josh Fromson took the stand on Friday and remained there until Tuesday (there was a day off on Monday for President's Day), and Bay Guardian expert witness Clifford Kupperberg also appeared before the court Tuesday. For more details, check out the reports from the Weekly, which says Kupperberg talked about "imaginary profits and damages," and the Guardian, which says Fromson "dodge[d] the facts."
SF Weekly | San Francisco Bay Guardian |
02-20-2008 1:55 pm |
Industry News
SF Weekly Expert Witnesses Testify in Bay Guardian/VVM Trial
Harvard Univ. economics professor Dr. Joseph Kalt and newspaper analyst John Morton testified on Village Voice Media's behalf on Thursday. Former SF Weekly publisher Troy Larkin also took the stand. SF Weekly reports on the testimony of Kalt, Morton and Larkin, while SFBG sticks with Kalt and Morton for now. The trial resumes today with the cross-examination of Larkin.
San Francisco Bay Guardian | SF Weekly |
02-15-2008 1:31 pm |
Industry News
Witnesses Continue Testimony in Bay Guardian/VVM Trial
The predatory pricing trial resumed yesterday after taking Tuesday off. Village Voice Media chief financial officer Keating finished his testimony, and three more witnesses were called: Jennifer Vernon from Live Nation (formerly Clear Channel Concerts); James Higginbotham of International Demographics, the company that runs Media Audit; and the SF Weekly's expert witness, economics professor Joseph P. Kalt. For more details, check out reports from the Guardian and the Weekly.
San Francisco Bay Guardian | SF Weekly |
02-14-2008 2:00 pm |
Industry News
Testimony Continues in Bay Guardian/VVM Trial
Village Voice Media chief financial officer Jed Brunst and former SF Weekly publisher Chris Keating took the stand yesterday in the predatory-pricing trial. In its wrap-up, the SF Weekly focuses on the part of Brunst's testimony that offered "evidence that Weekly rates have been going up over time," not down. The Bay Guardian, on the other hand, focuses on the "huge amounts of cash" the Weekly and the East Bay Express had lost under New Times/VVM control. The trial takes a day off today for Lincoln's Birthday, and will resume on Wednesday.
SF Weekly | San Francisco Bay Guardian |
02-12-2008 12:07 pm |
Industry News
VVM Witnesses Begin Taking the Stand in Bay Guardian Suit
On Friday, Village Voice Media executive editor Michael Lacey testified in the predatory pricing trial. The Guardian says Lacey "had some trouble answering some key questions" about SF Weekly's ad sales and a 1995 meeting where he met the Weekly staff shortly after purchasing the paper. The Weekly says Lacey's testimony illustrated that his and Bruce Brugmann's "editorial philosophies were worlds apart," and notes that Lacey's testimony showed he is not involved in the business side of VVM's affairs. This is key because of comments he made about being "the only game in town," which the Guardian is using as evidence he wanted to drive them out of business. Patricia Calhoun, editor of Denver's Westword, which New Times bought in 1983, also testified on Friday, and according to the Weekly, she "got on and off the stand in only about twenty minutes, a timely performance that drew appreciative nods from jurors." The trial resumes today.
San Francisco Bay Guardian | SF Weekly |
02-11-2008 12:21 pm |
Industry News
Bay Guardian Controller Testifies in SFBG-VVM Trial
The Bay Guardian says Sandy Lange provided the jury with a primer on "how predatory pricing by a big chain works." SF Weekly says she crumbled under cross-examination.
SF Weekly | San Francisco Bay Guardian |
02-08-2008 11:59 am |
Industry News
A Relatively Quiet Day at the SFBG-VVM Trial
With the testimony of San Francisco Bay Guardian editor and publisher Bruce Brugmann concluded, drama in the courtroom subsided on Wednesday as Guardian attorneys read depositions from VVM chief financial officer Jed Brunst and former SF Weekly publisher Chris Keating. The SF Weekly's dispatch is here, and the Bay Guardian's take is here.
San Francisco Bay Guardian | SF Weekly |
02-07-2008 1:40 pm |
Industry News
