Then I had to admit that it was because, from my perspective, the real Oakland Tribune died a long time ago. It passed on the moment we lost people like Chauncey Bailey, my friend who was always on top of what was going on in the Oakland flatlands, and who was wrongly, awfully, gunned down.
The Oakland Tribune passed when my good friends Monte Poole and Dave Newhouse's work started showing up in the Mercury News. It was no more when legendary Columnist Peggy Stinnett, who really took time to sit down over lunch with me and just talk about Oakland, passed away. Really miss her, I do.
The Oakland Tribune was gone when it left the Tribune Tower at 13th and Broadway in Downtown Oakland.
The Oakland Tribune I knew had a "pro-Oakland" sprit. It was the paper that was brought back to life by the late Bob Maynard, who worked to make it The Soul Of Oakland.
For me, the Oakland Tribune was people like Chris Lavin, who probably thinks no one remembers that she was a kick-ass editor. In fact, my "Yipee!!" came right from the headline she used to celebrate the return of the Raiders to Oakland in 1995. That was classic Chris. I know you're still around, and you may not believe it, but your work still matters.
The Oakland Tribune that I read was torn away, slowly. Page, after page. Dean Singleton and his Bay Area News Group that is "BANG" in name only, sucked the life out of the Oakland Tribune, and now, fittingly, took it's name away.
What I'm happy about is that the soul of the Oakland Tribune is finally, totally, free to be resurrected in some way. And in a digital media World, that "way" can take on a lot of forms.
Like, say, the OaklandTribuneblog.com
Or Oakland Tribune Blog on Twitter.
It's easy to do - so much so in fact, that I just did it and own both the domain and Twitter account shown above - but sadly shows just how BANG doesn't care enough about Oakland to preserve The Oakland Tribune.
The Oakland Tribune is gone and out of the clutches of BANG? In the words of Chris Lavin, YIPEE!!!!
Stay tuned.
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