Watching the Los Angeles Times: A Retrospective
The Most Influential Newspaper in the West Continues to Suffer.
Founded in 1881 and with 37 Pulitzer Prizes under its belt, the LA Times is one of the most influential newspapers in the country. But the past few years has found the paper suffering to stay afloat, after multiple rounds of layoffs leave staff and readers baffled. The editorial staff is now 660, down from nearly 1,200 shortly after Tribune bought the paper.
The LA Times resides in a majestic building in downtown Los Angeles, a place where the streets buzz with energy and action. The halls are lined with framed issues that have been important over the years: 9/11, the Oklahoma City bombings and the lunar landing, to name a few. History is literally on display. But inside an aura of forfeit and sadness fills the halls.
Struggling times are blamed on diminishing print advertising revenue, as more people turn to the internet for their news. New ownership by the Tribune Corporation has also led to certain decisions in the past years.
Layoffs Galore
In February 2008, Tribune announced a 2 percent cut of all staff. For the L.A. Times, this meant 100 to 150 jobs would be eliminated, with about 50 of those from the newsroom. And then again, in October 2008, another round of layoffs hit the times, with 75 people being let go, about 10 percent of the editorial staff. Some of the reporters and editors who have been layed off had been with the paper for decades. In September, a class-action suit was filed by several former employees of the TImes against Sam Zell, accusing him of scamming employees out of money and conflicts of interest.
About Tribune and Sam Zell
Tribune is a Chicago-based company owned by billionaire and real estate entrepreneur Sam Zell. In June 2008, Harold Meyerson wrote in an editorial from the Washington Post titled "The L.A. Times' Human Wrecking Ball" that Zell was well on his way to destroying the Times with his extreme "bean counting." He is known for his salty language and his extravagant birthday parties. This past year, he had over 800 people bused to an undisclosed location, and a performance by The Eagles.
The Future of the LA Times
It's hard to say what the future will bring. Efforts must continue to find a symbiotic relationship between the print paper of days past and the internet of the future. Perhaps the paper can never be what it used to be, but hopefully it can continue to be a cornerstone of journalism for this country.
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