Civic leaders protest at Los Angeles Times cuts

Can you imagine this happening in Britain? Twenty Californian civic leaders have sent a letter of protest to the owners of the Los Angeles Times saying that continued staff reductions at the paper threaten to erode the quality of its journalism. The two-page letter to Tribune Co. urges its board of directors "to resist economic pressures to make additional cuts which could remove it from the top ranks of American journalism." It adds: "All newspapers serve an important civic role, but as a community voice in the metropolitan region, the Los Angeles Times is irreplaceable." Tribune's president, Scott C. Smith, said the letter affirmed the paper's stature but pointed out that staffing levels are only one indication of a newspaper's importance. Investment in technology would make Tribune more efficient as a publisher. (Via Los Angeles Times)