Back last summer when MediaNews Group’s local executives announced that the company wasn’t torching the Oakland Tribune and Contra Costa Times mastheads after all, they coupled it with promises of a new and better product. Among the so-called enhancements were that the Trib and CoCo Times would each get their own dedicated local news sections. Turns out those sections are mostly re-jiggered containers for the same thin gruel strung together from across Bay Area News Group properties. Add: Actually, it’s worse than that: Today, among other days, for example, the CoCo Times has a four-day-old blog post running down the left side of its local section front. Nothing wrong with Josh Richman’s blog content, by the way. But if you’re MediaNews Group and the best you’ve got to offer your print readers is warmed-over online stuff from last week . . . is it any wonder you’re going under?
