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Metropolitan News-Enterprise

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Metropolitan News-Enterprise, also known as MetNews or Met News,[2][3] is a small daily legal newspaper published in Los Angeles, California.[4]

Metropolitan News-Enterprise
TypeDaily newspaper
Owner(s)Metropolitan News Company
PublisherRoger M. Grace and Jo-Ann W. Grace
EditorRoger M. Grace
Founded1901; 123 years ago (1901)
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters210 South Spring Street
Los Angeles, California 90012
CountryUnited States
Circulation2,500 (as of 2002[1])
ISSN0897-2281
OCLC number7024015
Websitewww.metnews.com

History

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The Enterprise newspaper was founded in 1901 and the Metropolitan News in 1945.[5] The two newspapers merged to become Metropolitan News-Enterprise in 1987.[5] The newspaper's co-publishers are lawyers Roger Grace and Jo-Ann Grace, a husband-and-wife team.[6]

Influence

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MetNews is well known for its thorough coverage of judicial campaigns in the Los Angeles area.[6][7][8] For example, in 2008 the newspaper determined that William Daniel Johnson, a candidate for Los Angeles County Superior Court, was "a white supremacist who has advocated the deportation of non-whites from the United States."[8][9]

The newspaper began honoring selected legal professionals as "Persons of the Year" in 1983.[10] Since then, honorees have included Victor E. Chavez, Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Steve Cooley, George Deukmejian, Ronald M. George, Mildred Lillie, Dan Lungren, Stanley Mosk, and Deanell Reece Tacha.[2][10]

Controversies

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In 1992, the newspaper filed a lawsuit against the presiding judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging that the judge falsely imprisoned three employees for distributing a parody memorandum supposedly signed by the judge.[11] In turn, the judge countersued the newspaper for defamation.[11][12] After appeals, the lawsuit by the judge was eventually decided in favor of the newspaper; in 1994, the newspaper received $40,000 in a settlement for its lawsuit against the judge.[12][13]

MetNews sued the Daily Journal Corporation, whose chairman is Charlie Munger, in 1997 for predatory pricing.[14] In specific, the allegation was that the Daily Journal sold legal notices by companies such as Fannie Mae at a price below cost.[14][15] In 2000, the case was resolved in favor of the Daily Journal.[15]

In 2002, Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley obtained a search warrant to locate evidence at the newspaper's offices that a law firm had paid for an advertisement concerning a recall petition.[1] The search closed the offices for three hours.[1] Experts on the First Amendment to the United States Constitution characterized the situation as "troubling" and "inappropriate."[1] Editor & Publisher magazine used terms such as "boneheaded" and "inexcusable" to describe the "newsroom raid."[16] The newspaper filed a lawsuit against Cooley, which was settled with a payment of $40,000 and an agreement that Cooley's office would take measures to comply with the Privacy Protection Act of 1980.[17]

To fill vacancies in California courts of appeal, the Governor of California submits names to the State Bar of California for confidential evaluations prior to formally nominating them. In August 2009, the newspaper reported that the State Bar had rated Chuck Poochigian "not qualified" for a state appeals court because he lacked legal experience.[18][19] The leak occurred before Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger nominated Poochigian,[19] and the State Bar was unable to determine the source of the leak.[20]

Other publications

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In addition to the Metropolitan News-Enterprise, the Metropolitan News Company publishes the:

  • Los Angeles Bulletin (weekdays)
  • North County Spectrum, Escondido (weekly)
  • Nuestra Comunidad y Lynwood Journal (weekly)
  • Jurupa Valley Times, Riverside (weekly)
  • Sacramento Bulletin (weekly)
  • San Bernardino Bulletin (weekly)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Reich, Kenneth (May 3, 2002). "D.A. Search Shuts Down Legal Newspaper in L.A." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Dean Tacha celebrated as a Metropolitan News Person of the Year". Pepperdine Law Surf Report. November 3, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2016. A tribute to Dean Tacha will appear in a special issue of the MetNews...
  3. ^ Daily Journal Corporation v. County of Los Angeles, B204630 (California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 8 2009) ("...Los Angeles County awarded the Metropolitan News Company (Met News) a contract...").
  4. ^ Boulard, Garry (July 30, 1994). "Law Journals And The O.J. Case p. 10". Editor & Publisher. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Metropolitan News-Enterprise Marks 25 Years Under Ownership of Grace Communications". Metropolitan News-Enterprise. Los Angeles. October 3, 2002. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Gerber, Marisa (June 1, 2016). "Campaigning for a judge's seat? A sexier title could get you elected — or sued". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 4, 2016. Roger and Jo-Ann Grace, who are both attorneys, laughed about... all the candidate ballot fights... that they've seen over the years. As editor of the Metropolitan News-Enterprise... Roger has written about the ins and outs of candidate ballot shenanigans for years
  7. ^ Hammock, Randolph M. (May 28, 2014). "Opinion: In defense of electing judges". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 4, 2016. newspapers such as The Times and the Metropolitan News-Enterprise interview the candidates and make endorsements
  8. ^ a b Greene, Robert (May 11, 2016). "Opinion: Trump's white separatist delegate William Johnson was once almost voted in as an L.A. judge". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 4, 2016. [William] Johnson was a candidate for Los Angeles Superior Court judge... Johnson's racial beliefs were finally exposed by the Metropolitan News-Enterprise
  9. ^ "Judicial Elections: Los Angeles Superior Court Office No. 125. White Supremacist Is in Contest With Court Commissioner". Metropolitan News-Enterprise. Los Angeles. April 29, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Matthai, Nash, Tacha Named MetNews 'Persons of the Year'". Metropolitan News-Enterprise. Los Angeles. October 3, 2002. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Mitchell, John L (October 30, 1992). "Judge Countersues in Battle With Small Legal Newspaper". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  12. ^ a b Stein, M.L. (March 12, 1994). "Judge Can Be Fair Game For Parody, Court Says". Editor & Publisher. Vol. 127, no. 11. p. 28.
  13. ^ "Paper wins award in suit against judge". Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. October 18, 1994. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  14. ^ a b Sanders, Lisa (June 22, 1997). "The Legal Woes Of A Legal Publisher". BusinessWeek. No. 3532. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  15. ^ a b Sanders, Lisa (December 11, 2000). "The Daily Defendant". Forbes. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  16. ^ "Censorship, Restrained". Editor & Publisher. Vol. 135, no. 46. December 16, 2002. p. 11.
  17. ^ "Settlement reached in 2002 newsroom search". Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. July 19, 2005. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  18. ^ Grace, Roger M. (August 17, 2009). "Would Selection of Poochigian for Court of Appeal Be a Merit Appointment?". Metropolitan News-Enterprise. Los Angeles. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  19. ^ a b Schultz, E.J. (September 22, 2009). "Panel rates Poochigian 'not qualified' for state court". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  20. ^ "State Bar Ends Investigation Into Poochigian Leak; Source Not Found". Metropolitan News-Enterprise. Los Angeles. December 30, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
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