Austin Beutner is out as L.A. Times publisher

...no, I didn't come up with that somewhat aggressive-sounding headline; his own paper did.


Austin Beutner is out as L.A. Times publisher

Too bad, as he seemed to be pushing the LAT in the right direction.

But apparently that direction is too far away from Chicago.

Austin Beutner out as LA Times publisher in Chicago power play*

 

Here are Beutner's parting thoughts, in their entirety, as he posted on Facebook.

It's a really good, surprisingly open and heartfelt farewell, and I'm saddened by this firing. It seems he was a good one for the paper.

 

Damn. Never heard of this guy until now, but it sounds like quite a mess. Wish Tim Ryan luck, I suppose. Sounds like he's going to need it.

 

Austin Beutner, the former publisher of the Los Angeles Times who was recently ousted by Tribune Company, is now free to speak his mind about the future of newspapers and journalism. He remains hopeful and positive about it, with the right approach, which he believed he was implementing with his former employer.

Does local journalism have a future? (Opinion) - CNN.com

 

Read his farewell note there and you'll see this person did indeed have a clue. Hmmm, engaging the advertisers and making progress?? Progress with advertisers? Hmmm. I thought that couldn't be done. Some of his other programs he implemented sounded workable and positive as well.

 

Ryan came up inside Trib, right? They won't go with an independent thinker for that job now.

 

That book "The Deal from Hell" that James O'Shea, the former Times and Tribune editor, wrote had a telling line. The publisher James worked under at the Times said "the future is in cutting back."

And they wonder why newspapers are in the shape they are now.

 

Tribune Company is in danger of becoming a rich man's toy. The stock price since the IPO has gone from 25 to eight. The company has a market cap about 215M. Long-term debt is 300M. If someone offered $15 a share they could buy the company. That would be a total cost of about 700M. Which would be affordable to Eli Broad, who is worth seven billion, especially if, as rumored, he partnered with someone like David Geffen, who is also worth seven billion.

 

At this point, it wouldn't be such a bad thing.

 

Yeah, I'd say it's affordable, seeing as Tribune turned down a $2 billion all-cash offer for the L.A. Times ALONE from Geffen nine years ago.

 

I think that's when we all knew things were really going to go downhill. There had been some excitement at the prospect of that possible deal, and when it didn't happen, there was a tangible mood shift to real discouragement.