LA Times grapples with massive layoffs, undefined identity

“As the Los Angeles Times has declined to really stake a claim to California, others have come in to pick up the slack. That includes CalMatters, which is a nonprofit newsroom based out of Sacramento, and now Politico, which is repeating their playbook from Washington in California. That leaves less space for the Los Angeles Times to reclaim that, which is a lost opportunity,” says USC Journalism Professor Gabriel Kahn.

“As the Los Angeles Times has declined to really stake a claim to California, others have come in to pick up the slack. That includes CalMatters, which is a nonprofit newsroom based out of Sacramento, and now Politico, which is repeating their playbook from Washington in California. That leaves less space for the Los Angeles Times to reclaim that, which is a lost opportunity,” says USC Journalism Professor Gabriel Kahn. Photo by Shutterstock.

​​The LA Times said today that it will lay off more than 20% of the newsroom. Owner Patrick Soon-Shiong said the paper has been losing $30 to 40 million annually. 

Top candidates to replace the late Dianne Feinstein in the U.S. Senate debated on Monday. Three Democrats largely attacked former LA Dodger Steve Garvey, who's running as a Republican. 

The genre “normporn” includes sedate, soothing family dramas that usually grapple with race and sexuality as a nonissue, and show a fantasy of what family should be. 

With state governments largely abdicating any role in getting kids back into classrooms, some schools have turned to private companies for a reimagined version of the truant officer.

From this Episode:

Credits

Host:

Madeleine Brand

Producers:

Sarah Sweeney, Angie Perrin, Michell Eloy, Amy Ta, Brian Hardzinski, Bennett Purser, Nihar Patel