The former publisher of the SF Weekly admitted today to a key part of the Guardian’s lawsuit against the Weekly and its corporate parent.
Chris Keating, who was the Weekly publisher between 2004 and 2006, was on the stand for cross-examination by Guardian lawyer Ralph Alldredge. After a lengthy discussion in which he discussed numerous examples of efforts to win ads away from the Guardian by cutting rates, Alldredge asked him directly:
“You knew those [prices] were below your cost, right?”
Keating replied, “Yes.”
That’s a significant admission: The Guardian is claiming that the Weekly sold ads below cost with the intent to harm the locally owned paper. That’s a violation of California law.