John Geluardi moved to the San Francisco Weekly earlier this year, where he does investigative journalism. MediaNews CEO Dean Singleton had recently gained unprecedented influence in Northern California by purchasing every major Bay Area daily newspaper except the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner. MediaNews owns the Oakland Tribune and Contra Costa Times.

See http://www.sfweekly.com/2007-12-19/news/paper-chase for an in-depth examination of organizational and management changes at the Contra Costa Times and related newspapers that may adversely affect local coverage. There's a comment section at the end of the story where readers can sound off about the quality of local coverage.

Take a look at the dozens of comments for an inside peek a politics inside a newsroom and the pro and con union arguments.