The tough truth that Tom Hennessy never told

ILLUSTRATION by JOE MCGARRY

Tom Hennessy all but retired as the Press-Telegram’s daily columnist Sunday, all but silencing the most-prominent voice in Long Beach journalism. That’s sad to consider, and it gets even sadder the longer you do. It’s true, though: The most-prominent voice in Long Beach journalism is Tom Hennessy.

It was 1980 when he arrived from Michigan, a nice guy with an infectious giggle, a swarm of mischievous hair and a Santa’s helper physique that completed the elfin package. I was a 24-year-old sportswriter at the Press-Telegram when Hennessy got there, and I witnessed, amazed, how quickly the new guy in town disarmed the neighbors with the face-value friendliness and newsletter writing style that accounts for the power of self-appointed block leaders everywhere.

It’s been 27 years, but there’s no you-shoulda-read-him-then about Tom Hennessy. He came in pretty much the way he went out Sunday in that big sendoff on the P-T’s front page—rhapsodizing about ugly dogs, World War II vets and sending kids to summer camp. I don’t recall whether the most-prominent voice in Long Beach journalism ever specifically went on the record with his feelings about cancer, but I’d bet he’s against it.

There may never be another Tom Hennessy at the Press-Telegram, and by that I mean that Long Beach’s daily paper is dying. The District has learned that ultimate authority over its news coverage has been shifted to Phillip Sanfield, the editor of the Daily Breeze—a newspaper in Torrance. Sanfield’s power now apparently overrides that of the P-T’s longtime executive editor, Rich Archbold, who at least gets to keep his title.

“I don’t want to spend much time talking with you about this, except to say that you’re not correct!” Sanfield snapped when asked about the arrangement in what, as he promised, turned out to be a very short telephone interview. “I’m working with the editors at the Press-Telegram, working with Rich [Archbold] and John [Futch], looking at how we can do things as a group, more efficiently, between our two papers. Okay? Thanks.”

Sanfield cut off a follow-up question by hanging up, but his denial was contradicted by several sources at the Press-Telegram.

“Sanfield has told us that, when push comes to shove, he has the authority to make the decisions,” said Joe Segura, one of the few veteran reporters—hell, one of the few reporters, period—on a staff that has become skeletal, not only in numbers but also in wages and benefits. “He has said it a number of times. He’s not too shy about talking to reporters who are not from The District.”

Sanfield’s new role at the P-T is the latest in a long series of consolidating moves by its corporate owner, MediaNews Group, Inc., the massive but over-leveraged outfit that operates newspapers across the country from its home base in Denver. Those tactics, which have been going on for awhile, are steadily bleeding Long Beach’s daily paper to death.

Tom Hennessy, the most-prominent journalist in the city, hasn’t mentioned a thing about any of it. Hennessy writes approximately 200 columns a year, and he is famous for rallying his readers to one cause or another, but not once has he used his podium to inform the Long Beach community that one of its most-vital pillars is disintegrating.

Of course, that’s Hennessy being same-as-he-ever-was, too. Although his high profile and wide influence make him the perfect person to explain the state and importance of journalism-under-siege to his public, when push comes to shove—to re-use a phrase—Hennessy has always been more loyal to the people who sign his paychecks.

As for his loyalty to the people in his profession? My clearest memory of that occurred in the early 1990s, when the Press-Telegram was owned by Knight-Ridder and was just beginning the downward slip that has become a landslide. The reporters’ union was stronger then, and among its tools in battles for journalistic quality—as well as wages and benefits—were byline boycotts and informational picket lines. But on the day when nearly all reporters had agreed to withhold their bylines from their stories in solidarity, Tom Hennessy’s name appeared on his column. He only rarely showed his face on the picket line, however, on one unforgettable occasion sending word to those risking their less-secure careers: “I’ll be with you in spirit.”

Contrast that with the series of courageous columns written by Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times as that crucial journalistic entity has been hammered by the forces of corporate journalism.

Not surprisingly, Hennessy fared just swimmingly in the Press-Telegram’s transition in corporate ownership while almost everybody else on the staff had to re-interview for their old jobs. Those who were rehired had to accept pay cuts of up to 50 percent. Conditions have gotten worse and worse. Staffing has been slashed, wages are so bad that some reporters can’t afford apartments and the resultant turnover in personnel prevents the paper from doing its best work.

If there are profits, they go to the corporation. Public documents reveal that MediaNews made a $16.7 million profit in 2006 when it sold the historic Press-Telegram office for $20 million—but not even one position was restored to the tiny news staff.

Further cuts appear to be on the horizon. Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that huge payments will soon be due on the debt MediaNews has taken on as it continues to expand its newspaper empire.

What happens if Long Beach eventually loses the Press-Telegram? Basically, everything gets a little bit worse. Even in its battered condition, daily journalism makes everything in the city a little better. Everybody, too. But the most-prominent journalist in town never had what it took to tell that story. That’s sad to consider, and it gets sadder the longer you do. It’s true, though.

Tags: Daily Breeze, daily papers, death of journalism, Long Beach, Los Angeles Times, medianews group, press telegram, tom hennessy