Bakotopia Special Delivery: The Random Times closes shop
The Random Times closes shop
By: Matt Munoz / Bakotopia
Description: Local alt-press joins ranks of print casualties. Editor James Mongold speaks...
Topics: The Random Times, Mongold, NL, Filthies, Ashley, Lysa Luna, Events, Korn, Buck Owens, Alternative, Podcast, Bakersfield, Bakotopia, Bakotopia.com, music, Bakotunes, entertainment, Mas Magazine
Posted by matt Wed Jan 17, 2007 20:22:21 PST
Viewed 943 times
0 responses 6 comments Surprising readers and fans, Bakersfield Random Times editor, James Mongold, announced Wednesday, January 17th, that the newspaper would be closing its computer screens for good before its third edition was set for publishing at the end of January.
Mongold, 30, who spearheaded the campaign to start another Bakersfield free press after the closing of longtime indie newspaper, The Blackboard, decided to close the paper after only two issues.
“There were only three of us handling production of the newspaper,” said Mongold during a phone interview with Bakotopia from his job in Bakersfield, on the evening of the announcement. “Nano Rubio, A.S. Ashley, and myself.”
On Sunday, January 13th, Mongold had made a previous statement regarding his choice to leave the Random Times; however the reason isn’t as questionable as many Bakersfield bloggers were lead to believe. In web blog statements made on both the Random Times and Bakotopia blogspots, Mongold announced that he and his fiancé were expecting their first child, making extra work for him impossible to handle right now.
“It’s true, we’re having a baby,” he said. “At first, I was shocked, but in a good way! Now it’s time to focus on being a good father and be there for them.”
Coincidentally, full-time RT staffers Ashley, and Rubio, who also managed graphic design of the monthly publication were also planning on making a similar exit from the paper.
Although both were unavailable for comment, Mongold gave this explanation.
“Nano is a full-time student, and really busy with work, and Ashley’s getting ready to move away, this time for real,” he said. “Ultimately, I can’t let it be a one man show.”
Article submissions for the Random Times were accepted freely by anyone willing to write, and similar to its predecessor, The Blackboard, paid no writers for their works.
Regular contributors to the RT’s pages included some of Bakersfield’s well-known scene writers, including Greg Goodsell, Julie Jordan-Scott, and NORML’s Doug McAfee. According to some sources, a few writers known as Roxy Buttwinkle and Bitter Barney, were the Random Times editing staff themselves, contributing as their alter-egos.
“I was not getting increased submissions as I’d hoped to,” Mongold said. “Sometimes there were only three of us writing, with a couple of outside writers.”
True to its name, the Random Times was a chaotic read. Page to page, readers were treated to an alternative outlook on everything from Marijuana reform, religion and politics, to food recipes, and theater reviews.
“This city is becoming so franchised now,” said Mongold. “We got B.J’s Brewery, P.F. Changs, we’re losing all of our local independence. We just wanted to be a voice in the choir, to let local people know they could be heard in our paper.”
Local musician, Kenny Mount of local punk rock band, The Filthies, became involved in an online debate last year after local blogger N.L. Belardes posted an e-mail from Mount criticizing the Random Times choice to print a picture of a crucified Jesus wearing a Santa Claus hat, by local “goth” artist and Bakotopian, Lysa Luna, on the cover of the paper’s second edition, the “Holiday Issue.”
Luna’s cover art work, meant to take jabs at the commercialization of Christmas, shocked more than a few people, but in the process made fans and caused enough hype to bring curious readers to its growing fanbase, including Mount himself, who admitted to starting the whole Random Times online debate to help the paper.
“I went into Downtown Records the other day and asked (owner) Jake Chavez where the new Random Times was at?” said Mount, 36, also a devout Irish-Catholic. “I did the whole Jesus thing to hype it up. Now that it’s over, it sucks because we need all the papers we can get.”
At Rockit Records, a locally owned music store located inside Bakersfield’s East Hills Mall, Mongold described how some upset patrons brought their displeasure over the “Jesus” cover directly to the store’s owner.
“One lady saw the paper, stormed into Rockit, and said she would never shop there again,” he said. “I knew we were going to have problems with the “Holiday Issue” cover, but I wanted people to know our paper had balls, and I would’ve only interfered with the cover if it was racist or something of that nature. I would never look down on people’s religious beliefs.”
Not that the controversy over the Jesus photo was a deterrent. The “Holiday” attention actually brought more requests for ads in the Random Times, a noticeable change from the first issue, when ad sales were slow.
“The first issue was tough to get going because nobody knew who we were, but it was easier to get them for the second, and especially the third issue that isn’t coming out,” said Mongold. “I told Ashley to stop all ad sales.”
In the event that someone approaches him to get rights to the paper’s name, Mongold promises to share no ill will.
“I wouldn’t care if someone wanted to keep it going, it’s not that established” he said. “But you’ll need a sales team, even just a few. Without them, you have nothing.”
Bidding farewell with a two issue archive to look back on, Mongold now looks back on why he started the Random Times.
“It was easy, and someone needed to do it,” he said. People like to talk, but I like to do things.”
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Thu Jan 18, 2007 14:38:48 PST
:(
Thu Jan 18, 2007 15:58:28 PST
Press on.
Fri Jan 19, 2007 15:05:24 PST
Too bad! I really looked forward to this magazine.Maybe Bakotopia should hook up a paper magazine. Nah! We already have Mas. Paper magazines are probably becoming obsolete, like "pagers", "home phones", and "VCR's" (except for Mas Magazine, of course). Online magazines are the way of the future.
Sat Jan 20, 2007 09:12:56 PST
Actually Likhy2, print publications are still popular, and with so much on the net right now, it's nice to sit back in silence and read paper without fear of radiation from your computer..lol!!
Sat Jan 20, 2007 12:14:24 PST
I read my internet news with a tin foil cap on while wearing rubber gloves.
Tue Feb 12, 2008 19:14:26 PST
Is it gone again? Someone please tell me?
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