Erich Burnett has been named editor of the Cleveland Scene. Burnett is a Cleveland native whose background includes 12 years as an editor of Scene and corporate editor for Scene's previous parent companies, New Times and Village Voice Media. Burnett most recently served as senior editor for Village Voice Media. Burnett took over as editor on April 13. The Scene is part of Times-Shamrock Communications.

Continue ReadingCleveland Scene Names New Editor

Publisher Matt Fabyan tells the Cleveland Plain-Dealer that his fears of newsroom tension between employees of former competitors Cleveland Free Times and Scene were unfounded. "After the first day, people have jelled really well," he says. The Plain-Dealer runs down some facts about the new paper, which debuted last week after the two papers were merged by new owners Times-Shamrock. The first issue came in at 100 pages, which was up from 72 in Free Times' last issue and 60 in Scene's last one. The new paper's circulation is 60,000, which is 10,000 more than pre-merger circulation totals for each paper, but down from a high of 100,000 a few years ago. Fabyan also tells the P-D that total staff loss was about 10 people. Each paper had about 25 staff members pre-merger, and the new paper comes in around 40, half from the old Free Times and half from the old Scene.

Continue ReadingAfter Inaugural Issue, Cleveland’s Daily Looks at the New Scene

"A month ago we were enemies, hunkered down in bunkers and trying to will each other into starvation or surrender; today, we share the same fax machine and make small talk in the elevators," Frank Lewis says of the now-merged Cleveland Free Times and Scene. "And between deadlines and the seemingly endless details inherent in merging two operations -- packing and unpacking, integrating computer systems, finding the goddamn coffee -- there's just been no time to nurse grudges." He adds: "What matters most now is figuring out what to do with this rare opportunity -- in the Rust Belt, at least -- to leave behind the hand-to-mouth, week-to-week existence, the paranoia and bitterness, and figure out how to make the most of a more stable future."

Continue ReadingCleveland Scene Editor: The War is Over, and Neither Side Won or Lost