OC Weekly

An Orange County Register spokesperson confirms a report in the OC Weekly that the news organization will no longer accept adult ads.

The Weekly's Gustavo Arellano quoted a letter from Michael H. Burns, The Orange County Register's senior vice president for sales and marketing:

"While we wish you much success in your business, we believe the decision to not accept advertising of this category serves in the best interest of our audience."

Register spokesperson Eric Morgan tells Poynter in an email that the letter went out in late April and was "sent to select businesses who operate gentleman's clubs and massage parlors that include suggestive language such as 'fully nude club,' 'private rooms' and 'sexy girls' to advertise their services." (more...)

Orange County Register | Nieman Journalism Lab | Los Angeles Times | SoCal Connected
The launch on Tuesday of the Orange County Register's online paywall is only the latest in a string of changes brought on by publisher and CEO Aaron Kushner. The business practices and philosophy he and Freedom Communications President Eric Spitz are bringing to the newsroom have garnered plenty of attention from the industry.

Most recently, Kushner and Spitz told readers the implementation of the paywall is proof "we are dedicated to ensuring the satisfaction of our loyal customers, and we understand how frustrating it can be to know that others are getting for free the same value you are paying for."  Ken Doctor wrote about the move for Nieman Journalism Lab, noting that Spitz said there were "four things that are totally unique" about the way the Register is restricting access. (more...)

Voice of OC
The Orange County Register banned "ads that challenge politicians by name" following complaints from local politicos, Adam Elmahrek reports. Anaheim city councilmembers Kris Murray and Gail Eastman were "infuriated" by ads local activist and blogger Jason Young placed in the paper, Elmahrek writes, "and according to multiple sources, the two made their feelings clear during a meet-and-greet session with Eric Spitz, who along with Aaron Kushner, purchased the newspaper last year."

Kushner told Elmahrek the politicians' dismay didn't affect the paper's policy, writing in an email:

“We don't like negative political advertisements and believe that if we are doing our job, they should undergo a greater level of systematic scrutiny. We take our responsibilities to Orange County seriously so when we see opportunities to improve, we accept that responsibility and strive to do so,” Kushner wrote.

Young shares an email chain he says is with a Register ad rep who tells him "the last ad that ran created some heat" and that "I got an email just saying that political ads must be reviewed before they get released." Young submitted the text of a proposed ad to the rep, who told him s/he had "submitted the copy that you sent me to management and I am very sorry but it was not approved." (more...)

News & Tech | Nieman
The Orange County Register is preparing to launch a metered paywall this year, News & Tech reports. New Register owner Aaron Kushner has made no secret of his plans to charge for online access to the paper, but stories about his stewardship so far have focused mostly on his "print-first" strategy -- adding journalists, print editions and forging closer ties between community organizations and the printed newspaper.

To make money on those investments in an age of declining print advertising, Kushner needs to bring in more money from circulation, Ken Doctor wrote last week. The Register, he said, has to install a gate to retain readers who may balk at increased subscription prices:

Once [the price of a print sub] goes up, the Register’s subscribers will no longer have the choice of dropping their subscriptions in favor of free digital. That loophole will be closed — and that supports the higher prices.

Other newspapers are readying paywalls, using the same company as the Register, News & Tech reports, including The (Norfolk, Va.) Virginian-Pilot and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Related: The case for paywalls: Gannett gains while Digital First experiments (Poynter) | "I can’t work on theory alone. I have to try paywalls," Digital First CEO John Paton writes (Digital First) | Orange County Register launches "We Are Here in the Service of Orange County" brand campaign

The Wrap | The Associated Press
U-T San Diego's leadership now says it "is not interested in entering an auction for the L.A. Times," company CEO John Lynch told The Wrap's Alexander C. Kaufman.

"The Times is a great asset, everyone related to the newspaper or media business is rumored to be interested in buying, including William Randolph Hearst and Horace Greely," he said in an email to TheWrap.

Hearst and Greeley (correct spelling) have been dead for a combined total of about 201 years, so perhaps Lynch was referencing modern-day media baron Rupert Murdoch, who is reportedly interested in the Times, as is new Orange County Register owner Aaron Kushner. (more...)

NetNewsCheck Doug Bennett, head of Freedom Interactive, tells Michael Depp that the most popular feature in The Orange County Register's iPad app, which is published in the evening, is an interactive, magazine-like feature story that is focused on entertainment rather than news. To build on that interest, the company is developing a series of two-to-three-minute videos that focus on high school football, tech and extreme sports. "The one thing that we’ve found is we like this whole ‘show’ mentality. In fact, our marketing is now going in that direction, too. We now market it more like television because that’s how the expectations are around the content," Bennett says. As he expected, the iPad app is reaching a younger audience that isn't already a customer of the newspaper. The current app will be rebranded as "The Peel," and a news-oriented app is in the works. || Related: Orange County Register reinvents evening news cycle with curated iPad app