Results tagged “Jim Newton” from Ron Kaye L.A.

You got to feel for Russ Stanton. He comes from nowhere to land one of the plum jobs in American journalism as editor of the Los Angeles Times just as the bottom falls out of the industry.

So he's facing round after round of staff cuts and worsening morale and the challenge of reinventing the newspaper in the Internet age and then BANG -- the Times' shoddy journalistic practices blow up in his face.

First, there was the Chuck Philips fiasco. Philips is a reporter who has been repeatedly accused of carrying the water for the such questionable characters as Suge Knight in the rap music scene wars that led to the murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls among others,

Yet, the Times apparently did nothing to investigate allegations Philips breached industry ethical standards. I say apparently because when Philips earlier this year wrote a story accusing Sean "Puffy" Combs of complicity in a criminal attack on Shakur, only one senior editor vetted it for content and it went up online and ultimately into the paper.

It didn't take long before the blogosphere exposed several fatal problems: The story was based on falsified documents and anonymous sources, and was so badly reported that the Times had to run a front-page retraction. It now faces enormous costs to settle the matter.

And now accusations that are potentially even more serious have surfaced that grow out of the Anthony Pellicano case, the Hollywood private eye who ran roughshod over the law and common decency in numerous cases involving celebrity clients.

The probe of Pellicano began after then Times reporter Anita Busch was threatened to scare her off a story. With Pellicano's conviction last week, Busch went public with her experiences in an interview with blogger Patrick Frey at Patterico.com. She called for an investigation into Pellicano's relationships with Philips, Editorial Page Editor Jim Newton, Newton's wife Karlene Goller who is the Times' in-house lawyer and other journalists.

In a series of posts in recent days at Patterico.com, Frey, a Los Angeles County prosecutor, has questioned Philips' relationship with Pellicano and why he wrote stories challenging the government's case against him; why after Pellicano was indicted for the threat against Busch, Goller suggested the private eye be hired to investigate the threat against Busch, and why Newton kept a gift of a paperweight from Pellicano on his desk long after he was suspected in the Busch threat.

Walter Moore vs. Jim Newton

 

This email exchange between mayoral candidate Walter Moore and Los Angeles Times Editorial Page Editor Jim Newton may not be the fight of the century but it is amusing and a window into the mindsets of each.

 

That's a non-judgmental statement, I'm leaving it to you all to score the match as you see fit, in comments: 

 

Round One: Moore attacks

 

Sun 4/20/2008 9:18 PM

To: jim.newton@latimes.com

 

Why is the L.A. Times coverage of Jamiel's Law biased? In a word, 

"money."

 

Jamiel's Law would apply only to illegal aliens in gangs. However, 

the L.A. Times has confused its readers by publishing a raft of 

articles about the supposed disadvantages of ending "sanctuary 

city" protection for all illegal aliens (e.g., day laborers), 

rather than focusing on those in gangs.

Want to know why? The company that owns the L.A. Times also owns a 

Spanish-language newspaper called "Hoy." Sales at Hoy would plummet 

if L.A.'s "sanctuary city" status ended.

During the past four years, the L.A. Times has lost 20% of its 

daily circulation. Hoy, by contrast, is bullish about the growth of 

"Spanish Speaking Hispanics" in Los Angeles: the publisher expects 

a 42% increase by the year 2525, for a total of 7.3 million.

"Hoy publications," the company recently reported, "have a gross 

weekly distribution of more than 1,375,000 copies nationwide."

So when you wonder why the L.A. Times hires reporters and editors 

who never seem to "get it," just remember: the newspaper is a 

business. Unfortunately, it's a business that puts its own profits 

ahead of the lives of the people of L.A.

The publishers are not going to entrust their English-language 

subsidiary to managers who might cut sales at their Spanish-

language subsidiary. Instead, the publishers hire reporters and 

editors willing to adhere to the "party line," namely, "there are 

no illegal people."

The L.A. Times should, at a minimum, disclose its conflict of 

interest. After all, whenever ABC news reports on the Disney 

company, the newscasters always disclose that Disney is ABC's 

parent company. Shouldn't the Times disclose, when it reports on 

illegal immigration, that it is owned by the same company that owns 

a Spanish-language newspaper?

 

ROUND TWO: Newton brushes off the punches, hits back

 

Apr 21, 2008, at 6:14 AM

Dear Walter,

This is absurd, and I think you know it.

Jim Newton

Editor of the Editorial Pages

Los Angeles Times

 

ROUND THREE: Moore counterpunches

 

Mon Apr 21 07:09:05 2008

Your "coverage" of this issue is absurd.

You go out of your way to attack straw men, distort the facts, 

mislead the public about the provisions of Jamiel's Law.

You're not running a newspaper; you're running a propaganda machine.

 

ROUND FOUR:  Newton goes for the jugular

 

Apr 21, 2008, at 7:18 AM:

 

First, I run our opinion coverage, not our news coverage. And we can have whatever opinion we want on this. If you're concerned with our news coverage, take it up with those editors.

Second, however: whatever you think of the coverage, to blame it on Tribune's ownership of Hoy is ridiculous. I don't give a damn about the effect of this issue on Hoy. I have no idea whether they've taken a position. I don't even know who runs Hoy or how it's doing -- any more than I do about Newsday or the Baltimore Sun.

Criticize all you want. But this argument is just nuts.

 

ROUND FIVE: Moore moves in for the kill

 

April 21, 2008 7:30:05 AM

 

Why do you think YOU have the job?

Why do you think the Tribune hired and keeps you instead of someone able to acknowledge that importing gang members from abroad might not be the greatest idea in the world?

And why don't you let readers decide whether it's "nuts" by disclosing your conflict of interest?  ABC discloses its financial relationship when it reports on Disney.  You should likewise disclose your paper's stake in illegal immigration. Your paper has a vested financial interest in maximizing the number of Spanish-speaking people in America.

Your editorials, moreover, ARE slanted.  The argument that Jamiel's Law wouldn't have saved Jamiel Shaw, II is -- to use your word -- absurd.  You claim that because Espinoza's most recent arrest was by Culver City, the policy would not have saved his life.  How about the preceding five years?  He was a known gang member.  What if he had been deported for violating our immigration laws five years earlier?

You're not a journalist.  You're part of big business's propaganda program to boost profits.  Maybe you don't realize it.  I don't really care if you do or not. But for you to claim that the Tribune's multi-million dollar conflict of interest isn't relevant, well, good luck with that one!