Los Angeles Times publisher Jeffery M. Johnson was booted out this AM by Tribune Publishing President Scott C. Smith due to Johnson’s defiance of the Tribune management edict for the LA Times to trim staff. Chicago Tribune publisher David Hiller will immediately take over the same duties at the LAT.

“I believe in the future of newspapers as the most trusted source of news and information in the communities we serve. To achieve that future we have to continue to change because our readers, online users and advertising customers continue to change.”

“I believe in the future of newspapers as the most trusted source of news and information …” — that statement is delusional!

The turmoil at Tribune’s largest property comes at a time of marked uncertainty for many media companies, which have seen their audiences and advertising revenues declining with competition from the Internet and other news outlets.

No kidding! In the last year, the LA Times has gone from a massive tree killer of a rag to a mere wisp of its former self. I think that on most days, the Tulsa World would give it a run for its money, poundage wise. Guess we’ll see where this goes over the next few weeks. For my money, I think it’s time for Tribune Co. to sell the LAT to some locals that want to lose their money. What I don’t think will change, regardless of which ownership, is its bend-over-leftward-to-the-ground focus.

But, if Mr. Hiller wants some advice on who else to left the door slam on, I can give him a short list, or maybe even a long one . . . nah, he’d never listen to this ol’ Okie. (db)

Technorati Tags: Los Angeles Times, Tribune Co., LA Times Publisher Fired, Jeffery M. Johnson, David Hiller, Scott C. Smith

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 5th, 2006 at 12:27 pm and is filed under Media Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.  |   Print This Post  |   Email This Post

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