- Social:
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
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.
The Mixer
The LA Weekly's owners go public, but questions remain We are getting a clearer picture about the alt-newspaper L-A Weekly’s new direction.
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.
The Mixer
The truth is out there… but at what cost? The internet is chock-full of stories disseminated by everyone from the New York and LA Times to the Wall Street Journal… and New York Post.
Which Way, L.A.?
Austin Beutner Is Fired by the LA Times After 13 months as publisher of the Los Angeles Times, Austin Beutner announced today that he is leaving… immediately. Not, he said, by choice or mutual agreement, but because, " Tribune Publishing has decided to fire me ."
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
To the Point
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
To the Point
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?