The Times veterans should not be suing Zell. They should be suing themselves. Oh, I, too, am angry at the state of newspapers in America but I’m angry at the right people. The LA Times’ problems — like those of other papers — were caused by by decades of egotistical and willfully ignorant neglect by the owners, managers — and staff — at the paper.
Point your finger at the mirror
My column on Esquire's latest cover doesn't offer a counter-solution for the magazine. It's safe to say there is no silver bullet for print media, that each outlet is going to have to develop a nuanced and individual reincarnation. But Esquire is doing fine—and in the industry "fine" means "not completely tanking"—comparatively. But a newspaper like the Los Angeles Times is in bloody turmoil. Part of the Tribune Company now headed by Sam Zell, the LAT recently filed a lawsuit against Zell, “accusing him of recklessness in the takeover and management of the newspaper’s parent, the Tribune Company.” Jeff Jarvis of Buzz Machine, though, sees this lawsuit as a dagger that should be pointed the other way.
Alex Barth