Keith Kelly reports in today's New York Post that Russ Smith discussed selling his paper to Taki Theodoracopulos, one of its well-heeled columnists, for $5 million. (In a letter to Jim Romanesko's Media News, Smith said Kelly's story is "wrong.")
The Sacramento News & Review published a thorough examination of the murder of Myrna Opsahl a week before Sacramento DA Jan Scully made four arrests nearly 27 years after the fact. Opsahl was shot in a 1975 bank robbery in Carmichael, Calif., linked to the Symbionese Liberation Army -- they of the Patty Hearst kidnapping fame. For years, Opsahl's son has called the evidence against the leaders of the SLA overwhelming. Yesterday, DA Scully announced the arrest of Sarah Jane Olsen, Emily Harris, Richard Harris and Michael Bortin. Police have a warrant to arrest a fifth suspect, James Gilgore. While the murder has received considerable media attention over the years, the N&R's story was the last major examination of the case before the arrests.
The 1963 murder of 15-year-old Patricia Ann Rebholz has haunted residents of an experimental suburb called Greenhills for nearly 40 years. At last it seemed justice and closure might come with the trial of the girl's boyfriend. But the trial ended last month with an acquittal. Jeffrey Hillard of Cincinnati City Beat unravels the tangled story and its long-lasting consequences.
Seven Days has joined a lawsuit over Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's refusal last fall to release his daily schedule. The suit was originally filed by the Rutland Herald/Times Argus. David Rocchio, counsel for the governor, says “legal exceptions” in the state’s public records law exempt the governor’s schedule from disclosure, to protect his security or his ability to obtain frank policy advice. "Baloney," writes Seven Days columnist Peter Freyne. "We say there aren’t any “legal exceptions” in state statute allowing Vermont’s chief executive to operate in such secrecy. It’s against the law."
Philadelphia City Paper's serialized novel, Transit of Venus, is cutting close to the bone of Philly's Fox affiliate, says Philadelphia City News columnist Stu Bykofsky. The novel began running early this month and details the perils of blow-dried anchors and stacked interns. "It’s clearly written by someone familiar with local TV in general and Fox in particular, someone who disdains the pretty on-air types — and someone who can write," Bykofsky says. Reminding readers that it didn't take too long for Joe Klein to be outed as "Anonymous," the author of Primary Colors, Bykofsky says thinks he may know who "Anonymous D" is and expects his guess to be validated.
