Hard Times at the TimesThe
L.A. Times appears to be struggling to maintain readership. In the past week the board made a
decision to fire editorialist Bob Scheer, known for his strongly liberal views;
L.A. Observed reviews some of the fallout
here. They've also fired their (conservative) editorial cartoonist,
Michael Ramirez - though he will continue to publish in the
Times till the end of the year. There was a protest at the
Times offices yesterday over the Scheer decision. Scheer himself, at last report, appears to have
flounced off to the
San Francisco Chronicle.
I quit reading the
Times years ago, myself, so I have no real opinion on these decisions, though I am sad to see a once-great paper headed down the tubes. It shifted to "soft news" years ago and simply isn't readable any more. I'm also stunned to see that there will no longer be an editorial cartoonist on staff at a paper that has won several Pulitzers for its cartoons (first Conrad, then Ramirez). I'm not sure what the administration of the
Times is thinking, but I think they need to stop worrying about the editorial page and start focusing on their news reporting.
posted by Dr. Alice at #
