This has been a rough week in journalism, thanks in no small part to our main man Dean Singleton, who owns the Press-Telegram, and the Daily Breeze in Torrance.

The head of the somewhat redundantly-named MediaNews Group kicked Monday’s Southern Newspaper Publishers Association conference into non-synchromesh high gear by threatening to off-shore every news desk job at every paper he owns. Boo-yaaah!

“One thing we’re exploring is having one news desk for all of our newspapers in MediaNews … maybe even offshore,” he told the audience of mostly mini-moguls, adding, “If you need to offshore it, offshore it.” Wow–chilling.

Afterwards, the hatchet-sharpening continued, in remarks made in a Gothic font to USA Today.

“In today’s world, whether your desk is down the hall or around the world, from a computer standpoint, it doesn’t matter,” Singleton told USA Today.

Over at the P-T, veteran reporter and union stalwart Joe Segura says the paper’s shrinking staff has a new word for fear: “offshore,” a concept they worry can’t be that far off, since news last year that website Pasadena Now had actually hired reporters based in … wait for it … India. If it can happen to a website in Pasadena … .

“We’re talking about undermining the scope of journalism in the whole country, not just Long Beach,” Segura said of Singleton, who owns 54 daily papers in 11 states–and a correspondingly tremendous amount of debt–but has been said to be ogling the San Diego Union-Tribune, and whoever prints those rubber squeaky-toy newspapers for dogs. (Not really.)

“I think he needs to be put on notice that what he’s doing is un-American,” Segura said. “It’s counter to everything that we’ve been taught–that the press is an important institution and it needs to become more vigorous and protected in terms of becoming a force in society. Instead he’s weakening it, he’s kicking the chair from under it. Somebody needs to wake him up.”

That would be nice–but how? The P-T’s small staff makes even informational pickets difficult, Segura said.

“We’ve been trying to get the word out but the newsroom’s nearly empty,” he said. Help, or at least a good place to vent, is on the way–in the form of the League of Women Voters.

That august organization plans to hold a discussion about the future of journalism in about three weeks–so mark your calendar.

And bring your A-game; the group’s notice of the discussion ends with the sentence “Written questions from the audience are encouraged.”

PRESS IN TRANSITION PANEL DISCUSSION | LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS | AUDITORUM | MAIN LIBRARY | 101 PACIFIC AVE | LONG BEACH 90822 | NOV 15 | 10 AM

Tags: California, Daily Breeze, dean singleton, freedom of the press, india, Joe Segura, journalism jobs, League of Women Voters, Long Beach, Main Library, medianews group, off-shore, Pasadena, Pasadena Now, press telegram, San Diego Union-Tribune, Southern California, Southern Newspaper Publishers Association, squeaky toy, The District Weekly, Theo Douglas, Torrance, USA Today