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Just A Normal Tuesday
The LA Times' current news headlines: Everyone at home and abroad is dead. (Click to enlarge)
la times
The future of newspapers? It's like a trippy mural on the side of a VW bus in a bad movie about the '60s. But with a couple more buzzwords and nonsensical statements of purpose! The LA Times, stiff suffering from every single problem a daily newspaper can suffer from, even under new, Sam Zell-approved management, took 25 editors on a staff retreat this weekend "to figure out how to stop the bleeding and regroup as a newsroom for the digital future." When they came back, they had an inspiring memo from editor Russ Stanton and the graphic you see above. Click to enlarge.
This Van Mural Will Save Journalism
The future of newspapers? It's like a trippy mural on the side of a VW bus in a bad movie about the '60s. But with a couple more buzzwords and nonsensical statements of purpose! The LA Times, stiff suffering from every single problem a daily newspaper can suffer from, even under new, Sam Zell-approved management, took 25 editors on a staff retreat this weekend "to figure out how to stop the bleeding and regroup as a newsroom for the digital future." When they came back, they had an inspiring memo from editor Russ Stanton and the graphic you see above. Click to enlarge.
LA Times Tupac Reporter To Stay
Despite retraction: "A spokeswoman for the newspaper said [Chuck] Philips, a Pulitzer Prize winner, would remain with the newspaper as an investigative reporter. She would not comment on whether any disciplinary measures had been taken." [Times]
embarrassing
On Pulitzer Day, A Retraction For The LA Times
It had already apologized, but now the LA Times has formally retracted its story about how producer Puff Daddy knew in advance that rapper Tupac Shakur would be gunned down in 1994. The paper retracted not only the story but statements from two chats and a blog post. The article is coming off the website. Specific names are formally cleared (lawyers were obviously involved in the writing of this thing). The worst part? The retraction and publicity around it come on the day Pulitzer prizes are set to be announced at noon. Some are already predicting a shut out for the paper.
tribune co.
Looks Like Tribune Co. Has a Case of the Mondays
This weekend, L.A. Times writer Stephanie Simon, lived the Newsday dream and got Rupert Murdoch as a boss. The national reporter is leaving Sam Zell's fun factory Tribune Co. for the Wall Street Journal. Simon's decision is just one of the many depressing departures from the L.A. Times. After the jump, a few discouraging memos from her fellow ship-jumpers. [via LA Observed]More »
pair of aces
Julia Allison Meets Joel Stein
Self-referential LA Times humor person Joel Stein finally says "fuck everything" today, and writes a column about Julia Allison [LAT]. Yes. He calls her "a genius," but perhaps this was just a bit of flattery to draw some good quotes out of her. Here she is explaining the thinking behind her fake role as "editor at large" for Star, in an interview she gives via cell phone while shopping for clothes: "The people who do corporate strategy are understanding the power of three or four minutes on a cable network or a morning show. It's the best publicity you can get. Oh, that is the cutest dress I've ever seen. Oh my! Oh my God! I can't handle it. Anyway, with the advent of 24-hour news networks, you have an incredible amount of air time to fill." Shopping and building her brand at the same time! In case you're still stuck in the old, outdated journalism world, Julia breaks down how she is really just as smart as—or smarter than—any other REPORTER or whatever: More »
journalismism
LAT's Tupac Hoax Reporter Has Documented (Ha) Issues
What time is it? Time to pile on the LA Times for its fictitious Tupac shooting story! When one of the nation's top four papers (or, one that once held that position) splashes an investigative story this big that turns out to be based on forged evidence from a lifelong con man, you can expect a lot of tsk-tsking from the journalism establishment. But actually the reaction has been pretty muted. The reason: most reporters know deep down that they could be done in by fake documents just as easily. Slate's Jack Shafer has a rather gentle column today on what LAT reporter Chuck Philips could have done differently—mainly, don't trust con men, and always vet your documents. Your sympathy for Philips (those were convincing forgeries, after all) might be diminished, though, by this quote he gave in a recent web chat, defending his 2002 story that alleged that Biggie "Christopher Wallace" Smalls was involved in Tupac's murder—he sure was sensitive about forged documents back then: More »
Burn
The LA Times has now apologized for its story last week asserting that Puff Daddy knew in advance about the 1994 shooting and robbery of Tupac Shakur. It looked bad since The Smoking Gun ran its debunking of the Times' evidence yesterday, but this was a very quick collapse of a very big story. The paper's own investigation is ongoing. And one of the guys named as a conspirator in the story is promising an "epic lawsuit." [LAT]
The LA Times has now apologized for its story last week asserting that Puff Daddy knew in advance about the 1994 shooting and robbery of Tupac Shakur. It looked bad since The Smoking Gun ran its debunking of the Times' evidence yesterday, but this was a very quick collapse of a very big story. The paper's own investigation is ongoing. And one of the guys named as a conspirator in the story is promising an "epic lawsuit." [LAT]
journalismism
Wu-Tang Fan Trapped At New York Times
NYT reporter Mike Nizza was toiling away on the LA Times' fraudulent Tupac story beat yesterday, explaining to racist elderly Times readers what went wrong, and who all these hip hop people are. Then, like a ray of sunlight piercing the clouds over Shaolin, a reader made a joke about Wu-Tang in the comments. Mike was all over it! It really brightened up his day, we think, to know that somebody else out there is available to discuss how cool it is that Raekwon dropped that "I grew up on the crime side, the New York Times side" lyric on "C.R.E.A.M." Unlike the dorks in the Times cafeteria who don't appreciate it at all. Somebody rescue this man! Click to enlarge the key exchange of internet musical acknowledgments.
jimmy sabatino
LAT's Tupac Source: Serial Con Man
The Smoking Gun has a treasure trove of incriminating information on Jimmy Sabatino, the incarcerated serial con man who the site says forged documents that the LA Times relied on in its (now doubtful) scoop associating Puff Daddy with the 1994 shooting and robbery of Tupac Shakur. Sabatino's shady and unreliable nature was well known; back in 1999, the Miami New Times published a long feature story titled "Con Kid" that detailed Sabatino's history of outrageous scams that he used to hobnob with celebrities and land free stuff. TSG also says that Sabatino's father is a restaurant manager, not a mobster as the LAT reported (and we repeated). The LAT's story today on the launch of its own internal investigations notes that the paper "has not identified the source of the purported FBI reports," but that would presumably change if it turns out Sabatino was the source, and the documents were false. After the jump, a screengrab [via TSG] of Sabatino's MySpace page—the entire "About Me" section is apparently fiction: More »
scandals
LAT's Tupac Shooting Scoop Based On A Hoax?
The Smoking Gun says that the LA Times' big investigative scoop last week implicating Bad Boy records chief Sean "Puffy" Combs in the 1994 shooting and robbery of rival rapper Tupac Shakur was based on fabricated evidence. The site says that James Sabatino (pictured)—an incarcerated con man who appeared as a player in the shooting in the LAT story—is actually a fabulist who forged the FBI reports that the paper relied on to build its investigation. More »
who shot ya?
Puff Daddy Denies Tupac Ambush Charge
Rap mogul Sean "Puff Diddy Daddy" Combs has denied yesterday's LA Times report that he had advance knowledge of a 1994 ambush on rival Tupac Shakur that left Tupac with five bullet wounds. Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond, the music manager that the Times named as the mastermind of the attack, also denied the charges. The Times is standing by its story so far. Below, Puffy's and Rosemond's statements—as well as (BONUS!) the lyrics to two verses of "Who Shot Ya?," the 1994 Biggie Smalls/ Puffy song that was widely believed to be an allusion to the Tupac shooting in question. More »
la times
Too Far, Sam Zell, Too Far
We're not sure we can forgive the crotchety old Tribune Company owner. It's one thing to curse at your staff. And making layoffs is harsh but necessary. But doing away with public tours of the L.A. Times headquarters? Sam Zell, you just crossed the line, big time. As part of a cost-saving measure, the L.A. Times is canceling tours and their resident guide Darrell Kunitom is accepting a buyout. Full buyout list, including Pulitzer Prize winners and a good chunk of the Times's Washington bureau, after the jump. [via LA Observed]More »
the internets
An Inessential Guide To Athletes In Blogland
Just what the interweb needs: More middle-aged sports bloggers! The LA Times has launched a blog by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the bald-headed intellectual responsible for the skyhook and six NBA championships. Kareem is the rare professional athlete who became an author and historian, so his blog is, frankly, better written than most metro papers. And it includes a lesson on the black history angle of the invention of the lightbulb! So that's useful. But is this whole athlete/ blogger thing really a road we want to trod? Because Mr. Abdul-Jabbar might be the smartest guy doing it, but he's DAMN sure not the only one. Everything you need to know and nothing more, explained right now. More »
paparazzi
Drug Videos And Paparazzi Part Of The Solution, Not The Problem
"I am convinced that if [Heath Ledger's] heart-wrenching video had aired, it would have gotten through and had a positive effect on young people in America. Perhaps it could have even saved lives." Also: "Had TMZ not videotaped [Britney Spears'] high-speed driving antics, her erratic mood swings, her British accent, those kids might still be riding around with her — and probably not in child-safety seats. And she might not be in UCLA Medical Center right now, with her parents around her, finally getting the medical help she desperately needs. [LA Times]
sam zell
Sam Zell to Remaining LAT Employees: You Are Now Free To Facebook!
Sure he'll stand idly by as the Los Angeles Times fires a succession of editors with backbone but Sam Zell, the mercurial owner of the Tribune Company, is a laissez-faire kinda guy. In a recent memo to staff he informed them now they can surf the internets completely unmonitored. " I do not see how a member of the Fourth Estate, dedicated to protecting the First Amendment, can censor what its own employees and partners can see." Is Zell truly the internet's Adam Smith or has he simply realized that if passengers on the RMS Titanic had been able to use Facebook, they would have all slid into the Atlantic pacified and peacefully? Full memo after the jump. More »
death of print
