Los Angeles Times: One of Big Dogs in Newspapers May Be Put Down
April 17, 2020
I won’t use the phrases “dead tree”, “begging for dollars”, or “online subscriptions”. I promise. I read “L.A. Times to Furlough Workers as Ad Revenue Nearly Eliminated.” The governors of California emphasized the size of the state’s economy. At times, when I rented an apartment in Berkeley, I heard:
- California will leave the United States
- California will split into two states: The Northern part which is a money maker and the losers in LA which drain tax revenues
- California is the innovation center of America.
Did I believe these assertions? Well, it depended on whether someone with an opinion was buying me lunch or whether I was paying.
Now LA, where trends begin, may be playing that fashion forward role in the “Drama of Big Dog News.” I learned:
The Los Angeles Times announced on Tuesday that it will furlough some business-side employees and that senior managers will take pay cuts, as advertising revenue has been “nearly eliminated” due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company will also suspend its 401(k) match for non-union workers, according to a company memo sent by Chris Argentieri, president of the California Times.
One sensitive commenter using the handle matismf offered, “Learn to code, mofos.”
Another added, “A little ray of sunshine in our bleak police state.”
And a final quote: “I bet Salesforce Founder Marc Benioff will buy/bailout the LA Times like he did Time Magazine in September 2018.”
To sum up: Wait for the motion picture?
Stephen E Arnold, April 17, 2020
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