Berkeley Daily Planet
| Type | weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Independent |
| Publisher | Michael O'Malley |
| Editor | Becky O'Malley |
| Founded | April 7, 1999 |
| Ceased publication | March 2010 (print) |
| Headquarters | 3023A Shattuck Ave. Berkeley, CA 94705 United States |
| Website | berkeleydailyplanet.com |
The Berkeley Daily Planet was a free weekly newspaper published in Berkeley, California, which continues today as an internet-based news publication.
The Daily Planet is politically progressive, and offers endorsements of progressive and liberal to left leaning candidates.
The Berkeley Daily Planet provides coverage of City Council meetings as well as other official city functions and commissions. The Planet distinguishes itself from other local news sources in its detailed coverage of local land use issues in the city.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Berkeley Daily Planet was founded April 7, 1999 by a group of journalists and Stanford MBAs with funding from outside investors; Dave Danforth came up with the name. The Chronicle on April 8, 1999 reported that the new paper "quickly fell under a cloud when it was discovered that the paper's classified ads were taken from other newspapers." The Chronicle quoted attorneys as saying the practice of plagiarizing ads was questionable on copyright grounds and might constitute an unfair business practice, but no legal action was taken. In September 2000, the Daily Planet's owners, venture capitalists doing business as Bigfoot Media, started a second free daily, the San Mateo Daily Journal.
On November 22, 2002, the 'Berkeley Daily Planet folded (temporarily as is turned out.) "Employees arrived at work this morning only to learn the newspaper's board of directors had decided to shutter the paper because of continuing financial losses," the Daily Californian wrote in its November 22, 2002 issue. The Daily Cal noted that the closing wasn't a surprise and that the Los Angeles Times reported in January 2002 that the Daily Planet hadn't made a profit since its inception in 1999.
On April 1, 2003, Becky and Michael O'Malley—described by the San Francisco Chronicle as a "liberal Berkeley couple who are grandparents and longtime activists"—began publishing the Berkeley Daily Planet again, but only twice a week, Tuesday and Friday. However, they kept the word "Daily" in the paper's name.
Since the O'Malleys restarted the 'Planet with Michael O'Malley as publisher, Becky O'Malley as executive editor and Michael Howerton as managing editor, it has won a number of awards from the California Newspaper Publishers' Association and other organizations, including first prizes for its opinion page, which publishes lengthy reader-written commentaries, and the editorial cartoons of Justin DeFreitas.
...
Wikipedia