Monday, January 24, 2011
SAD BUT TRUE
Today in the NYTimes, a fair, non-gloating rundown of the problems at the LA Times.
Los Angeles Times Has Lost Its Standing at Home
For sure.
When we moved here, we became delighted subscribers to the LAT. It was much better than we were used to with the Boston Globe. It had depth, interest, personalties (star writers and columnists), a great weekly magazine and first class coverage.
Then, trouble came.
It got smaller, the magazine became a monthly, the writers we liked took off (Dan Neil to the Wall Street Journal with the same automotive column) and so on.
Finally, when it was so thin that I could get through it in ten minutes, we gave up.
Mournfully.
Economy, lost readers, a downward spiral of pissing its readers off, losing readers, having to cut more.
There is no California section, one of the best. Folded into the front fold.
Cut, cut, cut. It is all here in this article.
I usually brace myself for any NYTimes article about LA or Southern California because they are often snooty and superior acting. But, in this case, they are mournful too.
The quality of the paper is not in dispute. They have the bureaus and the writers but no muscle.
Then there is the on line version of the paper. It was terrible before the print version came down and so they were behind from the get go on their email summary and the web site. Now, it is improving but it is a shade of the other papers I look at on line.
Like I said, sad.
