If the owners of the Examiner end up buying the Bay Guardian, there’s no reason to believe the Guardian’s left-leaning politics are going to suddenly change, says East Bay Express co-editor Robert Gammon. He says the Examiner’s new owners, who bought the free tabloid from right-wing billionaire Philip Anschutz last year, “have already shown that they’re comfortable with having a paper whose politics are left of center.”Add: Gammon says the Guardian’s joining the Examiner fold also makes economic sense:
The sale, for example, will allow the Guardian to achieve cost savings, because the two papers will be able to eliminate redundancies. The papers won’t need two circulation departments, and they’ll be able to share production, advertising, and editorial costs. The Guardian’s arts and culture coverage could be a boon for the Examiner. And the Examiner’s hard-news coverage could sharpen the Guardian’s news pages. The Examiner also brings printing expertise to the deal; in fact, the Examiner’s printing press in San Francisco prints numerous Bay Area publications, including the Express.
