 FOG
Under Full Sail with the Winds of Change
The print version of Fair
Oaks Guardian underwent change on March 6, 1997, when it ceased its
print publication and became available exclusively on the internet. In
yet another change, the community newspaper of Fair Oaks has changed ownership
and is headed by a new editor. Gabe Banffy, owner of Capitola Works in
Fair Oaks, has taken over FOG as the publisher and editor. Banffy was responsible
for putting the newspaper on the internet in August, shortly after the
first print edition appeared.
Mike and Theresa McLaren, the former publishers of
Fair Oaks Guardian, are headed for the California Northcoast to
continue their journalism profession.
"My first real job was with a newspaper, in
1972," said McLaren. "Since then, my dream was to sit behind
the backstop at Yankee Stadium writing sports for the New York Times, or
to own a newspaper."
The first dream has been cast aside. McLaren said
that he no longer has dreams
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to live in new York. "Heck, I'm moving
to Eureka to get away from the city. Why would I want to dog it in the
Big Apple? But don't get me wrong. I'm still the biggest Yankee fan this
side of the Bronx."
McLaren said that he was sad to see the print version
shut down, but he is excited about the new opportunity recently offered
to him along the California Northcoast. "Fair Oaks needs a newspaper,"
said McLaren. "The folks in this community need to know how poorly
the Parks Board operates, and how sad the cemetery has become.
Without a community newspaper, it's hard to keep
tabs on the likes of Gerald Young, Jim Racy, Dave Cox and Jim Purcell.
Journalists love to cover crooked politics, and Fair Oaks is a hot-bed
of political shenanigans. I will miss that part of the Guardian, but I
don't think that I will miss anything else."
Mike McLaren will take over as the Special Sections
Editor for the Times-Standard, the daily newspaper that covers all
of Humboldt County and parts of Oregon. He also plans to complete his doctorate
in English at Humboldt State University.
Theresa McLaren has yet to decide what she will do.
"I'm debating on getting back into newspaper," she said, "The
Times is a daily, and it was difficult enough when Mike and I were
putting out the Guardian every other week."
"Journalism is a tough job, anymore," said
Mike McLaren. "It doesn't matter whether it's print or internet. It
still requires a lot of hard work." McLaren and his wife were responsible
for the print version of FOG, and Banffy was responsible for getting
the paper on the web. McLaren said that he and his wife worked 21 hours
a day just to keep the print version going for ten months. "I think
Gabe was putting almost as much, because he also had other projects to
handle.
"Gabe sent an e-mail one night and offered to
put the paper on the web," said McLaren. "Several companies contacted
me, but I was impressed with Gabe's work, and his dedication to detail.
We used a lot of his suggestions for the internet version in the print
version of the paper. Right now, the version of FOG that he has
posted on the internet is the best version of the paper so far. He's done
a beautiful job with the paper."
Banffy hopes to keep the internet version Fair Oaks
Guardian much like the print version. "We'll have a lot of the same
sections, and the same kinds of material," said Banffy. "I'm
just hoping that we can get some writers who want to continue Mike's tradition
of keeping an eye on local politics."
Banffy will keep the FOG website posted at http://www.cwww.com/FOG/.
He offers classifieds that are paid for only if they work. Display ads
will also be available soon.
The paper will depend heavily on material submitted
by readers. Readers are strongly encouraged to
submit articles, photos, cartoons and Letter-to-the Editor!
"I'm glad to see that FOG will continue,"
said Theresa McLaren. "I know that Mike was approached with two other
offers for the paper, but we knew that the web version should belong to
Gabe."
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