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University of Southern California
Gabriel Kahn is a professor of the professional practice of journalism at USC's Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism.
PROFILE
Gabriel Kahn
Guest
FROM Gabriel Kahn
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Back under local ownership, LA Times gets a new executive editor The sale of the Los Angeles Times is final today. Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong spent $500 million to buy the paper, along with the San Diego Union-Tribune and some other smaller titles. The deal brings the papers back under local ownership and away from Chicago-based Tronc. Soon-Shiong appointed a new executive editor, veteran journalist Norman Pearlstine. USC Annenberg Journalism Professor Gabriel Kahn wrote an open letter to Soon-Shiong on Sunday.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Controversial business dealings of the LA Times’ new owner Biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong is buying the LA Times for $500 million. He made his fortune by selling a cancer drug. Soon-Shiong owns a minority stake in the Lakers, and has schmoozed with politicians like Joe Biden and Donald Trump. But ethics watchdogs have pointed out red flags in his financial dealings. He’s been sued by his own brothers and other investors.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
LA Times has ‘a fire to put out in every corner,’ says USC journalism professor “The Los Angeles Times is like a Soviet circus right now” -- that’s what one current anonymous staffer told the Huffington Post. There are fears that the paper is building a shadow, non-union newsroom. Jim Kirk, the new Editor in Chief , will have to calm those fears. We find out what’s happening to this town’s storied newspaper.
To the Point
'Fake news' is everywhere. How can journalism keep up? By now we're all familiar with how deliberately wrong information can dominate social media and online searches -- when it comes to politics. But even after such tragedies as the recent hurricanes and the Las Vegas mass shooting, conspiracy theories have spread like wildfire. About 45 percent of Americans use Facebook as a primary news source or conduit. Yet, it doesn't have a traditional media operational structure -- newsrooms, fact-checkers in the traditional sense. And that's adding urgency to the question of how we can separate real news from fake. Guest host Jamil Smith asks, are Google, Facebook, and other tech companies doing enough to stop it? What about readers?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
With new leadership at the LA Times, what does it mean for journalism? Publisher and editor-in-chief Davan Maharaj is out at the LA Times. There have long been rumblings of staff being unhappy with him. The Times’ parent company, Tronc, fired other top editors too . The paper’s new interim editor is a veteran of the Chicago Sun-Times and the new publisher and CEO is a digital media executive who worked for Fox and Yahoo.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
A Conservative Billionaire’s Play for Wind Power Philip Anschutz has been called “the man who owns L.A.” The mysterious billionaire rarely gives interviews or speaks in public, yet his footprints are all over this city. Anschutz’s holdings include the Staples Center, the film company Walden Media, the Los Angeles Kings hockey team and a stake in the Lakers. In recent years, Anschutz has been pursuing a somewhat surprising new venture: the conservative climate change skeptic wants to build the world’s largest renewable energy project.
Which Way, L.A.?
More Turmoil in Local News This week, Aaron Kushner and Eric Spitz — co-owners of Freedom Communications — both resigned all their executive duties at Freedom and its subsidiary, the Orange County Register. Kushner was seen, "just a couple of years ago, as the white knight who might save all of newspapering from digital doom." That's according to Kevin Roderick of the online site LA Observed.com and a contributor to KCRW. The new man in charge at Freedom is Rich Mirman, former casino marketing executive, who's been running the Register's day-to-day operations since October.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
LA Times Gets a New Publisher & CEO The LA Times announced a new CEO & Publisher to help turn the paper’s fortunes around. It’s Austin Beutner, the former investment banker and L.A. deputy mayor, who previously tried to buy the paper with Eli Broad. He’s now an employee -- albeit at the top of the masthead.
Which Way, L.A.?
Could the Koch Brothers Buy the LA Times? The Tribune Company, which owns the Los Angeles Times, is up for sale, and rumors are flying — the latest possible buyers being the billionaire Koch brothers, who've been spending big money on right-wing political causes. Hillel Aron broke the story for the LA Weekly .
Recommended
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
California Wildfires: Learning to Live in the New Abnormal We’ve just had some terrible fires: Woolsey, Camp, Thomas. More of those fires will come again -- bigger and hotter. Californians need to figure out how to cope with this new reality, and plan ahead. We broadcast a portion of Press Play’s live event: “California Wildfires: Learning to Live in the New Abnormal.”
Design and Architecture
Metro considers “congestion pricing” to pay for mass transit Transportation officials in LA County have laid out 28 projects they want to complete before the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. To pay for it, LA Metro CEO Phil Washington last week floated a controversial approach: charging tolls on freeways during times of highest use, or what’s known as “congestion pricing.”
Bookworm
Katharine Weber: Still Life with Monkey Dramatic, emotional, and philosophical, Katherine Weber’s, Still Life with Monkey, is a profound book written in the old style, with depths orchestrated by the author.
Good Food
2018’s best cookbooks and restaurant openings Holiday gift buying is in full swing, and so we’re looking back on a year of stellar cookbooks with Celia Sack of Omnivore Books. We’re also highlighting two great indie food zines you should know about. Plus: chef Anita Lo goes “Solo” and Zach Brooks and Evan Kleiman dissect their favorite restaurants of the year.