The founding editor of the OC Weekly, an alternative newspaper that tweaks a county known for conservative politics and master-planned communities, resigned Thursday, citing philosophical differences with new owners.
Will Swaim, 46, announced his resignation at the paper's weekly staff meeting. His resignation was not a surprise, employees said, because it was apparent that his autonomy to run Orange County's only alternative newspaper had eroded since it was purchased last year by the New Times publishing chain, now known as Village Voice Media.
Swaim, who led the paper for 11 years and became publisher in 2004, declined to discuss the differences that led to his departure.
"I just couldn't do the job anymore. There were philosophical differences on how to run the paper. They run a very complicated organization and want to have standardization across all 18 markets," Swaim said, referring to the areas where the owners have newspapers.
"I don't argue whether it's dumb or wrong. It's just not my way."
Village Voice Media also owns the LA Weekly, New Times and the Village Voice, the seminal alternative paper in New York City. The executive editor of Village Voice Media, Michael Lacey, did not return a call for comment.
Swaim said his differences with Village Voice Media were on the business side and did not involve editorial content. He said he would remain on the job "for a while longer" and had no immediate job prospects.
Though the OC Weekly frequently targets conservative politicians, Swaim made the paper "an equal opportunity critic," said Mark Petracca, chairman of the UCI Political Science department and occasional OC Weekly contributor.
"It's critical of the left and right, going after Robert Dornan and Loretta Sanchez with equal fervor," he said, referring to the former GOP congressman and the Democratic congresswoman.
Despite differences over how to run OC Weekly, Swaim said, the new owners praised the quality of journalism produced by a small staff of writers and editors. He supervises a total staff of 38.
Over the years, OC Weekly reporters have jabbed at the county's establishment -- judges, politicians, business and religious leaders -- aiming to expose the hypocrisy hidden under the veneer of what passes for good old American values.
One of their current targets is a Superior Court judge and landlord who has refused to recuse himself from cases involving landlord-tenant disputes. The OC Weekly has made the case that the judge consistently rules against tenants.
