Wendy P. McCaw
Born
Wendy Petrak

Palo Alto, California, United States
OccupationNewspaper publisher
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1974; div. 1997)​

Wendy McCaw (née Petrak) is a businesswoman and the owner of the Santa Barbara News-Press, a newspaper that filed for bankruptcy on July 21, 2023.

Early life and career

She was born Wendy Petrak in Palo Alto, California, in 1951. She attended Stanford University, where she majored in history and met Craig McCaw during their sophomore year. They married in 1974, a year after graduation. During their marriage, they grew McCaw Communications into McCaw Cellular, eventually selling to AT&T in 1994. They divorced in 1997 with Wendy, represented by attorney Evan Schwab, receiving a reported $460 million (U.S.) divorce settlement.

Santa Barbara News-Press

In 2000, McCaw purchased the Santa Barbara News-Press, one of California's oldest newspapers, from The New York Times for $100 million.[1]

In 2006, McCaw was accused of interfering with the newsroom editorial judgment at the News-Press.[2] Five editors and a columnist resigned over the controversy.[3] A number of other publishers and editors have resigned since she purchased the paper in 2000 over differences with McCaw.[1]

In December 2006, McCaw sued Chapman University professor Susan Paterno over her article in the American Journalism Review that had criticized her management of the paper.[4]

As of 2016, staff at the newspaper had dropped from 200, from when she purchased the newspaper, to 20.[1]

On October 7, 2016, the Santa Barbara News-Press was the first newspaper in the United States to endorse Donald Trump for president during the 2016 elections.[1] It was one of only six newspapers in the country to do so.[1][lower-alpha 1] According to biographer Sam Tyler, there was no question McCaw was "behind the endorsement.[1]

In April 2017, a federal judge ordered McCaw to offer reinstatement and around $2 million in back pay to former columnist Richard Mineards.[5]

In July 2018, after several administrative and court decisions against McCaw and the News-Press, the National Labor Relations Board announced it would seek $2.2 million on behalf of dozens of newsroom employees who were mistreated by McCaw. McCaw would be ordered to pay $936,000 to “make employees whole” for illegally hiring nonunion temporary workers, $705,000 in back pay for two employees whom she illegally laid off or fired, and $222,000 for employees whose merit pay she illegally suspended.[6]

On Friday, July 21, 2023, the News-Press filed for bankruptcy, bringing an end to nearly 150 years of publication. Local news website Noozhawk reported that an email was sent by managing editor Dave Mason telling the staff: “I have some bad news. Wendy filed for bankruptcy on Friday. All of our jobs are eliminated, and the News-Press has stopped publishing. They ran out of money to pay us. They will issue final paychecks to us when the bankruptcy is approved in court."

Personal

McCaw currently resides in Santa Barbara with her fiancé, Arthur von Wiesenberger.

McCaw has called herself a defender of animal rights.[7] McCaw and her ex-husband Craig McCaw said they gave $3.1 million in donations in the 1990s to help return Keiko, the orca star of "Free Willy," to the wild. Keiko died shortly after.[8]

Film

Citizen McCaw is a 2008 documentary by Sam Tyler that presents both the relationships with McCaw and her former editor, Jerry Roberts, and five other employees since July 2006 when they quit her staff at Santa Barbara News-Press and the direction the newspaper and her ethics has taken the newspaper since her ownership began.[9][10][11][12][13] On March 7, 2008, it premiered in Santa Barbara's Arlington Theatre, was released on DVD, and has been shown at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism and other journalism schools as well.[11][12][14][15]

Notes

  1. ↑ Only four newspapers endorsed Donald Trump during the 2016 Republican primary for President of the United States: Santa Barbara News-Press, the Jared Kushner-owned New York Observer, the New York Post, and the longtime supporter of Donald Trump the National Enquirer.[1] The six newspapers in the United States that endorsed Donald Trump during the 2016 United States elections for President are the Santa Barbara News-Press on October 7, 2016, St. Joseph News-Press of St. Joseph, Missouri, on October 20, 2016, Waxahachie Daily Light from a Dallas suburb, the Times-Gazette of Hillsboro, Ohio, Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Review-Journal, and the Antelope Valley Press from Palmdale, California, on October 23, 2016.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "These Are the Only 6 Newspapers in the Country to Endorse Donald Trump". Politico Magazine. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  2. ↑ Paterno, Susan (2006-12-01). "Santa Barbara Smackdown: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Turmoil That Engulfed the Santa Barbara News-Press after Owner Wendy McCaw and Her Top Lieutenants Flattened the Wall Separating the Executive Suite from the Newsroom". American Journalism Review.
  3. ↑ Burns, Melinda; Hobbs, Dawn (July 6, 2016). "News-Press Mess: The 10th Anniversary. A Black Day for Santa Barbara". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  4. ↑ Mehta, Seema (2006-12-19). "Santa Barbara newspaper owner sues over critical article". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  5. ↑ Brantingham, Barney (April 26, 2017). "Wendy Won't Appeal". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  6. ↑ Burns, Melinda; Hobbs, Dawn (July 24, 2018). "It's About Time: National Labor Board Wants Wendy McCaw to Pay $2.2 Million". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Wendy McCaw Official Site". wendy-mccaw.com. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  8. ↑ "Interviews - Craig McCaw | A Whale Of A Business". PBS. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  9. ↑ "Citizen McCaw". IMDb. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Citizen McCaw". Amazon. March 7, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  11. 1 2 Palladino, D.J. (February 28, 2008). "The Wendy Chronicles: Documentary Citizen McCaw Reports on the Trials and Tribulations of the News-Press". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  12. 1 2 Diaz, John (April 20, 2008). "A Fight for Journalism Values in Santa Barbara". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 22, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Citizen McCaw: About the Filmmakers". Citizen McCaw website. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Citizen McCaw". Citizen McCaw website. Archived from the original on March 1, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Citizen McCaw". Citizen McCaw website. Archived from the original on November 2, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
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