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Trick or treat: Flamethrower Armstrong out at troubled Santa Barbara News-Press
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Will justice return to Santa Barbara now that Travis Armstrong is gone? SB Courthouse photo by William Etling
Travis Armstrong, 44, editorial mouthpiece for the mean-spirited Santa Barbara News-Press, has resigned, effective immediately. The news broke late in the day on October 30, just in time for Halloween. The timing seemed appropriate, as Armstrong’s signature work tricked and treated locals with a mix of vitriol and spite rare in a modern newspaper. Armstrong’s brand of venom recalled the heyday of yellow journalism, when papers were pulpits for openly biased publishers, and editors routinely duelled with their readers. He began his tirades in January of 2002.
In the summer of 2006, revered former editor Jerry Roberts' refusal to bury Armstrong’s arrest for drunk driving somewhere in the want ads was part of a chain of events inspiring those with integrity to quit or be canned. Former columnist Barney Brantingham, who left behind a 46-year career, details the saga here. Eventually around a hundred editors, reporters, columnists, correspondents and staff walked the plank or were thrown overboard, inspiring articles, lawsuits, a popular documentary film titled Citizen McCaw, blogs , a union drive, national discussions on the nature of ethics and ownership, and awards for the first to fall. There's even a Wikipedia entry.
After an emotional hallelujah moment, Santa Barbarans are left wondering if it will make any difference. Owner Wendy McCaw, the Eurocentric animal rights recluse at the helm of the sinking ship (it's lost a third of its readers since she took an active management role) will undoubtedly install another puppet to parrot her eccentric opinions, and continue to intimidate critics with an army of attorneys. How much of the horror Armstrong was really responsible for remains to be seen. "The News-Press will remain a petty, vindictive, irresponsible vanity press as long as you-know-who is in charge," predicted one citizen. At a screening of the film about the fiasco, Wendy's own sister stood up and anounced, "I don't like her either."
The makers of Citizen McCaw put it this way: "Armstrong recently wrote that we want to 'silence' his editorial page. To the contrary, Travis, our goal is to see fairness, integrity, and open dialogue restored to the editorial page of The Santa Barbara News-Press with adherence to commonly accepted journalistic ethics."
For more info: The Subpoena Man Always Rings Twice - A Personal History of the News-Press Mess
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