While Bakotopia and Noveltown head toward print, Fresno Famous loses a mural and Modesto Famous stands up to the Modesto Bee - By N.L. Belardes

Was this mural destroyed by users of Fresno Famous?
Image from Fresno Famous

The alternative print scene in Bakersfield has been unsteady with local underground papers closing shop, declaring open season on the Bakersfield Californian, and offering to re-open defunct papers. In some ways, it’s been a mess.

Online has been a different story altogether. Bakotopia traffic and readership has been gaining steady ground as has Noveltown’s official blog, Paperback Writer. Where Bakotopia averages thousands of unique hits per day, Paperback Writer has gone up from approximately 27,000 unique visitors in January 2006, to around 66,000 unique visitors in January of 2007.

Now the Bakersfield music, art, literary, and alternative news scene is heading toward new print publications spawning from two of the largest blog sites Bakersfield has to offer. Bakotopia is looking into providing a free publication to an alternative audience in Bakersfield, while Noveltown is hitting not only Bakersfield, but L.A., Atlanta, Philadelphia, Clovis, Fresno and more...


Possible Noveltown Review cover art

The Noveltown Review is a literary magazine with short stories, essays and articles mostly by published authors from around the United States. That means The Noveltown Review won’t be covering all the underground news found on the Paperback Writer blog. Bakotopia is an all-encompassing underground magazine promising to give the people of Bakersfield a voice that isn’t covered in the Bakersfield Californian.

Yet Bakersfield isn’t alone in social networking websites that could eventually go to print in California’s Central Valley. There are also large online social networking sites in Fresno and Modesto that have print potential.


The creepy skyline of downtown Fresno

Both Fresno Famous and Modesto Famous have recently been bought by media giant The McClatchy Company. Jarah Euston built Fresno Famous out of her home using Druple software in 2004. It was later decided that Modesto could use such an online franchise.

But what about a Fresno Famous alternative newspaper or magazine?

I’m not sure. Recently I wondered if the online central valley social networking sites Fresno Famous and Modesto Famous franchise were in a bit of trouble with disgruntled users, and even one disgruntled content manager. Ruben Porras, better known as Motown Mojo is the editor and chief of modestofamous.com and isn’t getting paid for his work to build a big online community in Modesto. “Problem is they said they would pay me something to do this. I’m not going to do charity work for a billion dollar company,” Ruben said in a phone interview.


Ruben Porras A.K.A. Motown Mojo of Modesto Famous
Image provided by Ruben Porras

Ruben adds:

Jarah had a meeting with art people in Modesto. She needed someone to head it up. So Jarah put Motown Mojo up. It went from there. I single handedly built the readership. The Modesto Bee doesn’t want the damn thing. It was just dropped on the desk of Eric Johnston.

Ruben went so far recently as to send a call out via a myspace link titled "Save me Modesto!" asking for user feedback on a Modesto Bee letter:

I am writing this message because ModestoFamous.com seriously needs your help. As you may know, we were purchased by the Modesto Bee and ever since then, the site has suffered. Currently it is not updated and I am sorry about that but I have been unable to reach an agreement with the Bee that will allow me to properly manage the site.

So many of you have been with us from the start and we want to always be the one place that you go to promote your band, speak your mind and share event listings. We honestly love this community and really want to make this work for you! …Are we going to let another big corporation steal what we love? I don’t plan on going down without a fight. Please help us fight!

Users are calling foul for the site not being maintained, including, indicating Eric Johnston, Vice President of Interactive Media at the Modesto Bee, has left them out in the cold. And the only offer of payment for Porras who used his notoriety to build a strong user community in Modesto? Looks like Porras is expected to pound the pavement on top of his hard work maintaining modestofamous.com. “Last week Eric Johnston approached me. He said, ‘If you want to try to sell advertising to people you befriended in the community, we can give you a cut of the revenue.’”

A cut? That’s too much work, and a little too much work pressure if you ask me.

I tried to leave a comment on his post but couldn’t, though I’ve never had a problem leaving comments on fresnofamous.com. Some of the comments appeared blocked on that particular entry when I tried to register and access that page.


Having fun in Modesto. This pic is from the Modesto Famous image gallery

Part of the Eric Johnston letter to users reads:

Without airing too much dirty laundry, the acquisition came as a bit of a surprise to us in Modesto, and at a pretty challenging time. A strategic internal reorganization The Bee has limited the immediate resources I have to attend to ModestoFamous.com.

In some of the comment feedback, Porras goes so far to report, “It's not looking too good for you here Eric,” as he links to a slew of negative comments. One user writes, "Letting Modesto Famous wither on the vine while the Modesto Bee sits in the bureaucratic duldrums is a piss poor use of company resources. Weak Eric. Very weak."

Since I couldn’t comment on that particular blog, I asked Porras about the blocked comments. He mentioned that Johnston may have painted him as being uncooperative to Modesto Famous users:

People thought he locked the comment on purpose. It’s kind of in the air. I kind of believe he didn’t know what he was doing. So I fixed it for him, and made it allowable because I administrate the site. Then he posted a comment and said he figured it out, not that Motown Mojo fixed it. Does he want the community think I’m just some uncooperative asshole. I didn’t get into it for the corporate bureaucracy. It was to promote bands and have some fun in what I might have left of this pretty life…

Work pressure? How’s this for an unpaid blog moderator of a major community hub: Ruben Porras is a terminally ill patient waiting for a liver transplant. He has the same condition that Walter Payton died from. He has recently survived neck cancer, and has an outlook on life that he wants to celebrate more than get into shouting matches over Modesto Famous. Yet Ruben is willing to speak out for the people of Modesto who regularly use the website and who want to sometimes anonymously make a difference.

He added in our phone interview:

The site could be so much more. The community wants it to work…People have a hunger and desire to speak their minds and support what they believe in. The Bee made it where you have to register. People don’t want to do that unless they can hide behind things. One guy came in and dropped an envelope… there was a few hundred dollars in it and he wouldn’t give his name. People want to feel like they help, but they often want to do so anonymously…

Is there further bad blood between Porras of Modesto Famous and the Modesto Bee?

Ruben writes in his Motown Mojo blog on February 4th in a blog titled, “Oh the drama!!!”:

Well, it sure has been an interesting past couple of weeks! I have been interviewed, offered speaking gigs and some guy wants to create "Viva Mojo!" T-shirts! …This site is not about me. This site is about you… This site is about teaching my little girls that the little guy can still have a big voice even in the midst of a giant corporate shadow.

…I should really stop writing here based on the fact that I am pretty much being put through the ringer and treated like hell by a billion dollar company that expects me to do charity work for them. That may be true, but someone needs to lead this thing that knows a little bit more about the city that we live in, than the fact that Scott Peterson and Gary Condit can sell more than just a few newspapers.

My psychic senses tell me that someday soon all my access will be taken away and Mojo will just be silenced. But I want to go down fighting and speaking so here I am. Just know that if I ever just totally disappear from here it is because Eric Johnston pulled my plug. If my column header is taken down, it was probably the result of some corporate meeting about synergy and teamwork over at the Bee.

For now Porras is going to keep writing, administrating the site and expressing his opinion. He wants users to keep pouring their words onto Modesto Famous as well. “The powers that "bee" will have a tougher time stopping a speeding truck than a sputtering wreck,” he writes on February 5th. Besides, as he said to me in our interview, “Johnston still has me linked as the number one thing on that site…”

Seems there are other growing pains with the Fresno Famous franchise other than in Modesto that reflect disgruntled users.


Notice the Arts Council takes second banana to Bail Bonds

I went to Fresno on Friday, February 1, partially in hopes of finding what was left of the destroyed Fresno Famous mural that’s infamous and synonymous with their Marilyn Monroe logo. Destroyed? Yes. Possibly by a disgruntled user of the social networking site. I called Mike Seay, master of Dorktown disasta in the Big No (Fresno) and asked him where I could find the residue of the Fresno Famous mural.

“It’s somewhere near the 1700 block of either Van Ness or Fulton. There’s an African-American museum next door.” I asked him if he wanted to meet up. He mentioned he was headed to Madera.


The African-American museum that we eventually found

As I rode in a big white Ford truck with a few other culprits, we headed into downtown Fresno and spied a “NITE CLUB”, an Irish pub, a thrift store, and a lot of people hustling their way to who knows where. After a few blocks we entered a cultural arts district where we got thoroughly lost on Van Ness. No mural, no Fresno Famous offices. Nothing. We even asked people in a city building. They never even heard of Fresno Famous. Were we even close? I tried to call Mike again… voicemail.


Downtown in the Big No

Chingpea was along for the ride. We stopped and got out. “I bet someone at that restaurant knows where Fresno Famous is. I bet they eat there all the time.” She walked into a corner Mexican restaurant and asked a lady at a counter, “Do you know where Fresno Famous is located? I’m supposed to meet with somebody. I’m lost.” Chingpea is always good for some dramatics.



The lady at the counter replied, “The one with the Fresno Bee? They eat here all the time.” She gave directions to drive over a bridge to the local newspaper.

We got back in the truck, drove up and down Fulton St and found nothing. Then we headed over the bridge near the Fresno Bee.

Suddenly Mike called: “…If you see Tokyo Garden, you know you’re getting close. Try Broadway near Sacramento Street.”

“And the Fresno Famous offices?”

“There are none there. That’s just near where Jarah lived.”


We saw the Bee but drove away from the swarm...

What? No offices by the mural? Uh oh. So the now dead Fresno Famous wall isn’t where their offices are? It was just the location of the mural where an unknown artist painted an image of Marilyn Monroe (Read this strange interview with the mystery artist). Fresno Famous used the mural as their site mascot. The problem is, after Fresno Famous was bought by the Fresno Bee, a disgruntled somebody painted over the mural, dripping paint on more than just the wall. Supposedly there was other vandalism nearby. One Fresno Famous user reported that words were scribbled about “secrets”. And the offices were somewhere else altogether.

I asked Mike if he was still into posting blogs on Fresno Famous. “Not anymore. Before, I used the site because I thought Jarah needed the help. Now they don’t really need my help. I still upload Dorktown podcast announcements though.”



So Mike has partially given up on Fresno Famous? We then spoke about alternative newspapers and magazines. I asked what there was in Fresno. Mike talked about The Undercurrent. He mentioned that was more of a liberal newspaper. I met one of their members at the Yosemite Writers Conference. They weren’t too into networking with a Bakersfield blogger, so we quickly lost touch. Mike mentioned another alternative paper/magazine that was part of the Fresno Bee called Get Out! That was very recently killed off by the Bee.

Finally we drove back over the bridge, saw the hipster hangout, Tokyo Garden and knew we were close. We then began inspecting walls along Broadway. Eventually we found the painted-over remains of the Fresno Famous wall near Broadway and Sacramento in the parking lot next to an African-American museum. We parked in an alley and I started taking photos. And then I saw it, a new slogan on the wall: "Art is now. This is neighborhood." Users on Fresno Famous wonder about the new wall art slogan.


The mural alley behind the Fresno Famous mural


Fresno has murals everywhere!


Cryptic message from an unknown artist? The destroyed mural is painted over...


This is behind the building where the Fresno Famous mural was located.


Strangely trashed, "Just Married" car behind the mysterious artist lair


"Hello Corpse Bride, are you home?"


Nice air conditioning

But what’s the story about the old mural? Why was the Fresno Famous mural destroyed? Disgruntled user(s) because of the corporate takeover? Possibly. Although you can find an online article and lots of comments, you can also listen to Fresno’s Mikie and Bells on Dorktown’s Podcast #38, where Jarah Euston of Fresno Famous was interviewed about the selling of Fresno Famous and the destroyed mural. I’ve included some excerpts from their dialogue as they were joined by Josh Tehee of the Fresno Bee:


Mikie and Bells of Fresno's Dorktown kill each other
Image from Dorktown

Jarah: Sometimes you have to evolve and things happen. We had some interest from some folks…

Mike asked who came to whom first…

Jarah: It didn’t happen overnight…The timing was right… I wanted to see it grow. We didn’t have the resources to push it to the next level…and now (joking) I’m rich now and that’s all that really matters (I wonder how much she was joking).

Mike: You had to know there was going to be backlash.

Jarah: I didn’t think anyone would give a shit…care or notice…

Bells: It kind of hurt.

Jarah: The insect overlords are really nice…It was kind of weird, all the sell-out comments. …It was for profit from the beginning…

Mike: Like a punk rock band selling to a major label.

Bells: How much?

Jarah: (Ignores Bells question about the selling price). I think it’s going to be good.

Josh Tehee: I think people just need to give it some time.

Bells asks Josh if he had anything to do with the transaction.

Josh: No. But it was a group of young people at the Bee to see if something like this were possible… I’ve been a fan of Fresno Famous since it started. I think it’s a wonderful thing… I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.

Mike: Is Josh going to write Sour Grapes? (main Fresno Famous blog)

Josh: I’ve been posting blogs. I will probably have a blog made at some point…

Mike: Are you behind the Marilyn being painted over…?

Jarah: That was a crappy thing. I’m pissed off…meant a lot to a lot of people. The artist doesn’t want to be named. He’s wanted it painted over for a while, so he’s OK with it. It’s so retarded because it’s so sloppily done…it spilled over… it was more vandalism than any kind of statement. Just wasn’t well done… We can name him or her who did it, fuckhead…the owner of the building painted over it that day.

So when does making a statement have to be as pretty as the art that was painted over?


The destroyed mural...
Image from Fresno Famous

With disgruntled users and even the Dorktown podcasters hesitant on the new Fresno Famous, it’s a good guess there won’t be a print version of Fresno Famous anytime soon. Although I wouldn’t rule out such future possibilities, it would be a good addition to Fresno culture.

But what about a possible Bakotopia print publication and The Noveltown Review? Online success turned into print experimentation? Can they be successful? The Noveltown Review is going a step further by including writers outside of Bakersfield, including Los Angeles Times-Bestselling author Brad Listi who runs www.thenervousbreakdown.com, Susan Henderson who runs New York’s growing LitPark.com literary blog, and Cindy Wathen, who helps run the Yosemite Writers Conference (She also moonlights for Writer’s Digest Magazine). That doesn’t mean Noveltown isn’t grounded in Bakersfield. The inaugural cover features Bakersfield poet, Tom Brill and each issue will promote the Noveltown blog and products.

Bakotopia is exploring a print publication. Bakotopia Product Manager Matt Munoz says, “Ideas that we have are a product that would be convenient enough to fold up and stick in your back pocket.” It’s going to be color and black and white. Question is, would a print version retain the quirkiness of the website that pokes fun at the idea that Bakersfield just might be the utopian society you’re looking for? Munoz promises that if Bakotopia went to print, standards would be upheld: “Bakotopia isn't hurtful or demeaning, nor a forum for hate. Controversy is welcome.”

I asked Munoz why Bakotopia would explore starting a magazine/newspaper. Bakotopia and its parent company the Bakersfield Californian found out that contrary to popular belief there is still a big demand for print:

We’re not trying to be hard news, but something fun. Besides, you can’t take a computer everywhere with you. People want something they can bust out anytime they want and re-read like a good book. And as a marketing tool, it’s important to take Bakotopia to a wider audience. Bakersfield is a one-newspaper town. It’s a wide open market.

What would Bakotopia hope to accomplish by going to print? Munoz and I sat eating a fine meal at Santiago’s restaurant. “To provide another outlet, a reliable outlet on the fun things about Bakersfield—everything the Bakersfield Californian doesn’t talk about.”

Noveltown won’t be paying writers anytime soon because of a lack of budget. So of course I wondered if Bakotopia writers would get paid for their print stories. Then I discovered they would be doing the citizen journalism method. There's no money for contributors, but there is resume-building and self-promotion. “We’re doing the citizen journalism approach. Our lifeblood is the users. They have the freedom to write whatever they want and not be censored—within moral boundaries of course.” Yet Munoz himself would be contributing columns. Could he justify himself getting paid? “I’ll be the one handling the headaches. Writers will be able to create without worries. I’ll be their promoter.”

And Munoz does get a paycheck. I asked Munoz about Motown Mojo, his north valley counterpart in online social networking management not getting paid. He mentioned he didn’t know the whole story. But he recognizes how much work goes into maintaining a blog community. “I don’t know how that situation works and how they get paid, but if Ruben is one of the hearts of the site, it’s a shame. It seems they’re kind of brushing him to the side... There is obviously something happening and Ruben is very passionate about this,” he said.

And what about Fresno Famous and Modesto Famous? What does the Bakotopia Product Manager think of valley-wide competition?

Competition? No. Do we compliment each other? Yes. There’s the advantage of locals. I know my city inside and out. I want people to stay in Bakersfield. I want to shine it up the best I can. That’s my role as Product Manager.

And Munoz opinion of The Noveltown Review?

I think it’s a great idea. I’m like a big fan on the sidelines saying, “Yeah, yeah, go!!” I like to see new things happen in this town. I don’t see competition. Everybody compliments each other. Bakersfield is being watched by the world right now. There’s so many good ideas coming out of Bakersfield, contrary to popular belief.

This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on Thursday, February 08, 2007. You can leave your response.