Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles CA 90053.
On the East Coast they believe that important news starts with them
and travels to the West, and they nodded knowingly when told that Otis
Chandler would rather be surfing than presiding over an editorial meeting.
Then a funny thing happened while they weren't looking -- the LAT evolved
into one of America's best, largest, and most successful newspapers. It
turned out that sportsman Chandler had some management skills; after the
family dynasty anointed him publisher in 1960 he started turning a
provincial newspaper into a major winner. He bought the best reporters
and was able to modernize easily because Los Angeles isn't a union town.
By 1991 the Times Mirror Company was 135 on the Fortune 500, ahead of the
New York Times at 234 and the Washington Post at 271.
The Washington bureau is headed by ace reporter Jack Nelson, and the
LAT has more foreign bureaus than the Washington Post. The editorial
coverage is a bit strange (they endorsed Nixon in 1968 and 1972), but
probably better than the NYT or the Post. Cartoonist Paul Conrad is so
embarrassingly on target that in 1973 they moved him from the editorial
page across to the op-ed page with the "other opinions." The Chandlers,
who still own 51 percent voting interest, should consider blessing New York
City and Washington DC with home delivery. There are newspaper readers in both
cities who hold their noses every morning and would welcome an alternative.
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