LA Times' Steve Lopez on the newspaper business

[Billy Monday]

http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-me-lopez21jun21,1,6404341.column?coll=la-news-columns

 

[tyler durden 71351]

http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-me-lopez21jun21,1,6404341.column?coll=la-news-columns

Good column and he makes some sharp points. Steve Lopez is a pro...every time I read him, I'm impressed.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

I still like to think of us as vibrant, highly profitable businesses rather than something that needs the protection of a philanthropic curator, as if we're dinosaur bones in a museum. I think it would be nice if more papers became privately owned by people who want healthy but not ridiculous profits, but I think being owned by a j-school or philanthropy would be horrible because of the ivory tower and elitist factors. I think a lot of what I read on poynter.org by the faculty is total bull**** -- dangerously naive at times -- and I think I would find it more draining to deal with those people than I would with the corporate types.

 

[cougargirl]

http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-me-lopez21jun21,1,6404341.column?coll=la-news-columns

Good column and he makes some sharp points. Steve Lopez is a pro...every time I read him, I'm impressed.

Agreed. I have one of his best philosophies tacked up on my desk at work, which forever reminds me the importance of reporting as opposed to just opining.

"Opinion is cheaper than ever and easier to come by."

 

[Lugnuts]

Publicly traded corporation is the worst kind of ownership. It's not working for anybody.

It's been stated here many times that private ownership hasn't proven to be any better. To be blunt, oftentimes you're at the whim of an eccentric or a scrooge.

That leaves nonprofit.

 

[daemon]

What we really need to do is get back to the good old days of state-controlled media.

 

[Freelance Hack]

Publicly traded corporation is the worst kind of ownership.  It's not working for anybody. 

It's been stated here many times that private ownership hasn't proven to be any better.  To be blunt, oftentimes you're at the whim of an eccentric or a scrooge.

That leaves nonprofit.

And if you're in non-profit, you're not getting paid what you're really worth.

 

[SF_Express]

And if you're in non-profit, you're not getting paid what you're really worth.

Well, St. Pete Times pays pretty well.

Forgive me if I'm missing some sarcasm font thing here.

 

[tyler durden 71351]

And if you're in non-profit, you're not getting paid what you're really worth.

Well, St. Pete Times pays pretty well.

Forgive me if I'm missing some sarcasm font thing here.

Tupelo, Miss., pays well for papers its size in Mississippi.

 

[STLIrish]

Publicly traded corporation is the worst kind of ownership.  It's not working for anybody. 

It's been stated here many times that private ownership hasn't proven to be any better.  To be blunt, oftentimes you're at the whim of an eccentric or a scrooge.

That leaves nonprofit.

And if you're in non-profit, you're not getting paid what you're really worth.

As others said, not necessarily true. Nonprofits pay fine. The top execs may not roll in the stock options, but for us peons it probably wouldn't make much difference. Might even help, if ownership believed in investing in quality reporters.
Good column. I especially liked the part about journalists being cranky types who don't take well to direction.

 

[Songbird]

What we really need to do is get back to the good old days of state-controlled media.

"Are you very well read? Or very well red?" 

 

[Freelance Hack]

And if you're in non-profit, you're not getting paid what you're really worth.

Well, St. Pete Times pays pretty well.

Forgive me if I'm missing some sarcasm font thing here.

No sarcasm intended.

In the last five years I have worked full-time in the non-profit sector (in PR, not journalism). While I make good money, I'm sure I could make at least 15-20 % more in the private sector.

Of course, I'd also have to deal with a lot of corporate bull****, and that ain't me. So, the lower pay is well worth preserving my sanity.

 

[Billy Monday]

In sequel column today, he calls Tribune Co. "hog butchers."

http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-me-lopez23jun23,0,6017985.column?coll=la-home-headlines

 

[Medial Collateral]

Worth revisiting. Two years and nobody in newspaper management still can figure it out.

 

[WriteThinking]

In sequel column today, he calls Tribune Co. "hog butchers."

http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-me-lopez23jun23,0,6017985.column?coll=la-home-headlines

The hits and subtle wit just keep on comin'.

You look at the date on that, and realize just how perceptive Steve Lopez really was, and is. He's a true treasure of the newspaper. That column could run tomorrow, and be just as accurate, relevant and impacting.

Most perceptive of all, of course, was that wonderfully irreverent opening salvo.

"**** Riordan called my house Wednesday morning to repeat that he was willing to give me a tryout as a waiter at his restaurant, even though there wasn’t much support for the idea among his staff. I showed up at the Original Pantry on Thursday and was given an apron, a bowtie and a paper hat, which could very well become my new uniform if I keep writing about the gentlemen who sign my checks."

Gotta love the truth and daring that Lopez brings to the table. But, be careful, Steve. The paper can ill afford to lose you, or your voice.

 

[Blue_Water]

There are a lot of non-profits that turn a profit and pay decent wages. The difference is, the well-run ones plow the profit back into the organization.