Which Way, L.A.?

Should the LA Times Publish More Gossip?

Los Angeles is known for political apathy, with lousy turn-outs in election after election. This past Sunday, the LA Times published an -experimental column,- asking an outside critic to take his -best shot at California-s heaviest newspaper.- That blogger says the paper itself is part of the problem. Would Mayor Jim Hahn and his four challengers be more interesting if we knew some real dirt about them? If they seemed like real people, instead of living position papers, would voters begin to care? Would juicy gossip not only be fun, but create political interest by humanizing politicians the way the tabloids do in New York? We speak with the a former LA Times editor as well as the author of that column, and get some examples of what he means. Making News: Recapturing LA's Economic Dream Los Angeles' political leaders need some lessons in economic reality. That-s the claim of -Recapturing the Dream,- a study sponsored by a business think-tank called the LA County Economic Development Corporation. We hear more about the findings from one of the authors, economist and political analyst Joel Kotkin of the New America Foundation.