There are two major publications in Russia. One is called PRAVDA (truth) and the other IZVESTIA (news).

Under the old communist system the cliché was: "There is no NEWS in the TRUTH and no TRUTH in the NEWS."

Now the cliché is expendable to all USA publications as well, and the replacing bloggers are ran by Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels a.k.a. Pedroza, Chmielewski and Gordon.

The spirit of the first amendment going to hell in a handbasket fast.

jeez, instead of the snarky "yeah, good luck with that" how about giving it a chance to get off the ground before you trash it. Good for Bill and Tom for at least TRYING to keep print alive in some form or another. Its always easy to stand on the sidelines and throw barbs.

Biff: Sorry, but it's already doomed to failure. It will fail bigger than Squeeze OC, bigger than the OC Post, bigger than the Orange County Newschannel, bigger than the Times Orange County Edition, bigger than DayBreak OC . . . and the long, sad funeral procession marches on. Trying a completely new media venture in this economy is a waste -- hell, even if the economy were great, they'd still have problems; finding a staff willing to work for the beer nuts J&L will surely be paying them will be the least of them.

Geez, Rich, I have to agree a bit about the doom and gloom. I started The Capistrano Dispatch six years ago, we're still plugging away.

We've got the San Clemente Times and Dana Point Times now, too. All weeklies.

You have to remember two key points:

Smaller papers with limited circulation have a much lower bar on profitability. You can print 10,000 copies of a 20-page paper for just over $2,000. And you can get it delivered to doorsteps for about $70 per thousand.

Also, folks in cities like Newport and Costa Mesa have a great sense of community, and they're hungry for a good local paper to call their own. Lobdell and Johnson have good names in the community, so getting the dollars to start shouldn't be impossible.

And there are journalists out there willing to work for beer nuts, too: They believe in the craft and are hungry to start somewhere and move up the ladder.

Newspapers aren't dead. Bad newspapers are dead, just like bad businesses. The best of both can still live on and play important roles in the community.

It should be mentioned that OC is home to about a dozen independent papers, too.

Everything from political hardnosed publications like the OC Voice in Huntington Beach to the non-profit Fullerton Observer. The Garden Grove Journal is great ... heck, they're all great just for being out there and slugging it out.

I have a list if anyone is interested.

jvolzke@thecapistranodispatch.com

Jonathan: I admit it. I'm a negative creep. Sometimes.

Thing is, Lobdell and Johnson's paper is being planned as a daily, not a weekly, according to the Cauldron. That's their first problem, one I hope they seriously think about. Weekly community papers like yours are definitely the better way to go about it for us ink junkies who don't want to see print die. (Up here in Seal Beach, I need my weekly dose of both the Grunion Gazette and the SB Sun, as cheesy and poorly-written as they can be.) And you're certainly to be praised for your success in those South County burgs.

I hope their new venture works, but I'm not entirely sure about how community-oriented Costa Mesa and Newport really are. I see it working more in pedestrian-friendly 'hoods like Balboa and Balboa Island, as opposed to the whole of Newport Beach. Both towns sure have advertisers, too -- but the trick will be in getting them to part with their cash.

We'll see what happens...

Rich, as I understand the plan, Lobdell and Johnson plan a daily presentation on the internet, with a weekly print edition to supplement their online presence. It's similar to Jonathan Volzke's efforts in South County, or so it seems. My personal preference - probably too expensive - would for them to find a way to acquire the Daily Pilot for it's name and archives and morph it into the online model. Both have excellent reputations in the Newport-Mesa area and lots of contacts with big bucks folks... How the launch of Lobdell's book early next year will affect this plan is an open question...

Meh. Despite its long history, I think the Pilot is a dead brand. If they were to buy the beast, they should change the name.

I'm with ya' Rich. You're not negative, you're realistic. It's DOOMED to failure. Too small a coverage area, too much competition, and HELLO! The economy! Good luck getting ANY new biz off the ground right now.

The funny thing is, if you wrote a POSITIVE article about what a great idea it was, everyone would be commenting on how it will never work. People just like to argue on the internet....

I have to agree with Jonathan 100 percent. My paper, the "hardnosed" OC Voice, has been kept alive by reporters and columnists working for beer nutz (actually, our freelance wages are probably usually a lot higher than any other community paper in Orange County, but still not enough to pay the rent, I admit). It's a hard road to travel at times; some good writers have been swept up by the Register or other papers--even the Nation, but the Voice also provides an opportunity for good journalists to improve and prove themselves while working hard and doing something they can actually believe in. We've had some of the best coverage of local issues there is, if I do say so myself, thanks to those writers and columnists. We've been at it 2 1/2 years now-- it's been a learning experience, for sure, but we're planning and expecting to grow and be around until the last drop of sweat is squeezed from my body. So, if there are any interested journalists out there with that kind of dedication, please give me a call: 714 656-3607 and let's talk.

Rich, how much do you actually know about The Daily Pilot? It is hardly a dead brand. It still has a core group of advertisers, and the classifieds still serve a purpose. It has good, relevant reporting and coverage of local sports.

The Pilot has been around for 100 years - hardly a dead brand. Newport-Mesa is full of viable businesses that can and will advertise in their local paper. If Tribune nurtured the business, it would remain strong and viable. I doubt that will happen, but the name and brand will lend success to whoever has the stones to keep it going. I'm afraid that a new, internet only presence will get lost in the mix. Drawing a distracted and fragmented readership to a new brand will be extremely difficult - why abandon a well-respected name with a long history in the community? Sorry, Rich, but that sounds pretty stupid.

Rob: I've been reading the Pilot off and on since the mid-1970s, when my dad used to bring it home after finishing his late shifts at the LA Times' Costa Mesa plant. It was old, stale and tired then, and much more so now. Sure, a long history in the community. But well-respected? Ummm...

Any new reporting venture in Newport-Mesa has got to be just that: NEW. And part of that would be to ditch the name. Sorry, but I can't see anyone under 35 (who, let's be real, is the market anyone will need to go after to make a new pub a success; nobody seriously wants to placate the get-off-my-lawn crowd that frequents the Balboa Bay Club, do they?) anxiously popping up their laptops to see what the "Daily Pilot" is writing about.