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Topic: Letters Sent to Romenesko
Date/Time: 4/10/2008 12:20:26 PM
Title: When did LAT fall out of "the big three"?
Posted By: Jim Romenesko
 
From PETER SPIEGEL, Pentagon correspondent, Los Angeles Times: Frank Ahrens is an old friend of mine, so I hate to disagree with him in public, but I feel the need to defend my employer's honor. I'm not sure where he gets the idea that the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are "the big three" of American newspaper journalism.

According to a story in Feburary by our mutual competitor on Manhattan's 8th Ave., the Los Angeles Times has the second largest newsroom in the country (870), followed by the Post (800) and the Wall Street Journal (750). Granted, the L.A. Times staffing is headed in the wrong direction, but so is the Post's (and the NY Times too, for that matter). And I'm pretty sure we still have more foreign correspondents than the Post does, too. So there.

Just because we're on a different coast doesn't mean we're not a serious
player in national and international reporting. It was just four years ago that the L.A. Times won what was then the second-largest haul in Pulitzer history: 5 (only to be surpassed by the fine performance by Frank's colleagues this year). The year before that, we took 3; the year after we took 2.

Granted, we've hit a bit of a cold streak. It's probably my fault, since
it seems to have coincided with my employment here at the L.A. Times. But I seem to remember the Post getting blanked last year...while we, burdened by our all our crippling debt, were able to hobble our way to a Pulitzer for explanatory reporting. As the great Pulitzer winner Cicero once said: Cum hoc ergo propter hoc.

> FRANK AHRENS RESPONDS: Peter is right. I absolutely blame him for the decline of the L.A. Times.He is a one-man newspaper wrecking crew. But that's another thread.

Of course, he is correct in his assertion. The L.A. Times is bigger than
The Post in most respects. It is a major, substantial and serious paper, on any coast.

What may be worrisome for Tribune's two flagship papers, the Times and the Tribune, is that the substantial debt the company has incurred, combined with declining company revenues, may lead to cuts that would take them to mid-size status. And possibly harm their Pulitzer chances.

It should go without saying that this is not an outcome any of us want to
see. Now, let's all quit reading Jim's excellent blog and get back to work! [Permalink]

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