Portland newspaper shut down by competitor
Dig Portland, an alternative weekly newspaper in Portland that started in November, has been purchased and shut down by its direct competitor following a short legal battle.
The Portland Press Herald reported that Portland News Club, the owner of the Portland Phoenix, purchased the newspaper in exchange for dropping a lawsuit against Dig Portland’s owner and two employees who formerly worked for the Phoenix.
The lawsuit — which had accused John Marshall and Marc Shepherd of violating contractual obligations and stealing trade secrets, among other things — sought financial damages and to halt the publication of Dig Portland. Marshall and Shepherd had denied the charges.
Mark Guerringue, publisher of the Phoenix, told the Press Herald that when his company bought the Phoenix in November, right around when Dig Portland started, it was clear that both publications could not survive in the Portland market.
Dig Portland publisher and co-owner Jeff Lawrence told the newspaper that it was a hard decision to sell and shut down Dig Portland. He added that “it takes a lot of resources to provide that kind of [quality] journalism [Dig Portland was seeking to provide], and this buyout will allow the Phoenix to invest more than we can in the market.”
Dig Portland’s employees have lost their jobs as a result. But Guerringue said they are welcome to apply to the Phoenix, though there are no current openings.
Nick Schroeder, Dig Portland’s editor, told the Bangor Daily News that he thought the two newspapers could have co-existed if both were given more time to develop their own niches. He said it was unfortunate that the competition “came down to who had the benefactors with the deeper pockets,” and not to the quality of each publication.
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