The First Newspaper Bailout of 2009?*

— Photo By TJ Sullivan —

Attention Los Angeles Times, Rocky Mountain News, and any other great American newspapers flirting with death in 2009 ... a little paper in Bristol, Connecticut, might have found a path to salvation.

The only question is whether it's ethical.

It's help from the government, an idea that's been proposed by countless reporters, politicians and pundits in the past few months, though, until now, it's yet to progress from the idea stage into any hall of power.

The Connecticut Assembly may be the first to press the issue.

Reuters is reporting that state Assemblyman Frank Nicastro wants to keep his local paper, The Bristol Press, from closing.

He also wants to help The Herald in nearby New Britain.

As Nicastro says, "the media is a vitally important part of America."

But, having just gone through a historic presidential election during which one side repeatedly tried to bash and blame the media for its failings, this idea appears doomed, as it very well should be.

From the Reuters story:

Relying on government help raises ethical questions for the press, whose traditional role has been to operate free from government influence as it tries to hold politicians accountable to the people who elected them. Even some publishers desperate for help are wary of this route.

Providing government support can muddy that mission, said Paul Janensch, a journalism professor at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, and a former reporter and editor.

"You can't expect a watchdog to bite the hand that feeds it," he said.

As a reporter who turned down even the offer of coffee from any elected official I ever covered, it's impossible to fathom how newspapers can embrace government subsidies and still adhere to the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics. Nonetheless, there it is.

— TJ Sullivan in LA


*UPDATE 04:20 p.m. 01/01/2009: The accuracy of the Reuters story is being disputed by a single source, although there is no indication that any correction has been requested of Reuters, nor that the news service has even been contacted. Absent that, it might just be a non-denial denial.

Beyond Baroque Gets a New Lease!

Photo from Beyond Baroque at flickr

A notice has been posted at the Beyond Baroque Web site that says the arts organization has finally completed negotiations (make that nearly 10 full months of negotiations) and signed a dollar-a-year, quarter-century lease with the City of Los Angeles for its home in Venice Beach.

Here's the notice posted by Beyond Baroque President Fred Dewey:

"On Monday Dec. 22, 2008, Beyond Baroque signed a lease with the city assuring its home at 681 Venice Blvd for the next 25 years. We are grateful to the City, 11th District Councilman Bill Rosendahl and his staff, and to all the many, many people who helped make this historic day possible. -- Fred Dewey."

You might recall that the Los Angeles City Council gave the deal its blessing way back in late February.

— TJ Sullivan in LA


* Cross posted at LA Observed.

Say Nice Things About Detroit

— Photo By TJ Sullivan —

Many efforts have been launched in the past 30 years or so to improve the image of Detroit, including that silly "Say Nice Things About Detroit" campaign, and the ridiculous "Do It In Detroit" slogan.

Both efforts failed and, well, I left a long time ago, so I'm hardly a spokesperson.

Nonetheless, in tribute to my friends in Detroit, I snapped this shot of Detroit Street the other day here in Los Angeles.

Here's hoping 2009 in Motown is better than 2008.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Another Fake 'True Story' Exploits Tragedy

— Photo by TJ Sullivan —

Another hoax disguised as a memoir sinks to new lows by fabricating a tale of love in ... a Nazi concentration camp.

I've yet to read any account that explains why this premise didn't strike anyone as too weird to be true: A Jewish girl disguised as a Christian repeatedly returns to a fence at a concentration camp and tosses food over it to an imprisoned Jewish boy. At the first meeting it was, supposedly, an apple that the girl shared. This was supposed to have gone on for about seven months, until the boy was transferred. Then, years later, in New York, the boy, by then a man, goes on a blind date at Coney Island and discovers that his date is ... the girl at the fence!

Yep. I know. Doesn't sound like the severe SS security at any concentration camp I've ever read about. Apples over the fence? Why not a hacksaw? A gun? A shovel? Yet, there it was, the basis of the title and subtitle -- "Angel at the Fence: The True Story of a Love That Survived."

The guy got on Oprah, TWICE! News stories were written about him and his book. He did the TV tour — CBS, Lifetime, etc...

And, although the author was in fact a prisoner in a concentration camp, the apple story was a fake.

The New Republic makes the whole publication process for this particular book sound a bit strange.

TNR says the hoax was revealed after a reporter (buoyed by interviews with top scholars) repeatedly confronted publishers, who defended the book until mounting evidence made defending it impossible.

This from the TNR post:

The day after [Gabriel] Sherman’s second article appeared, Rosenblat confessed to his agent, Andrea Hurst, that he had fabricated the love story, and Berkley announced that they are canceling the publication of the book. Following the announcement, Kenneth Waltzer, the Michigan State professor who originally questioned the story’s veracity, spoke to Sherman about the danger of Rosenblat’s fabrication. Hurst emailed a statement to say that she is “stunned and disappointed” by the lie. [Harris] Salamon says that he will still be making the movie as a “fictionalized adaptation of his story,” but that he "may rewrite elements of the script to reflect recent revelations.” Sherman also spoke with Rosenblat's son after the revelation, who described the episode as "always hurtful."

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: A Photo of Griffith Observatory

— Photo By TJ Sullivan —

The usual curtain of smog in Los Angeles makes it easy to forget there are mountains just beyond Griffith Observatory. So, I took advantage of the clear winter weather today [12/28/2008] and snapped this shot from Mulholland Drive.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

The End of 25-Cent Parking in LA

— Photo by TJ Sullivan —

The City of Los Angeles is in the process of making you pay more at the curb.

And, in case you haven't noticed, you're already paying more at The Los Angeles Public Library.

The old fee structure that allowed visitors to the central library downtown to pay a mere $6.50 for three hours of parking during library use has been increased to a charge of $9. The maximum rate is still $36.50 a day, which adds up quite quickly after the third hour so don't dawdle in the stacks.

As for those meters, the city plans to reset those that charge 25-cents-an-hour to return no more than 15 minutes per quarter. The most expensive city meters will top out at $4 per hour.

Of course, this does not affect non-city meters. You could pay more or less in other municipalities such as West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, or Santa Monica.

Earlier this month, I noticed that the city meters outside my Westside post office ceased to provide an hour for 50 cents, so it seems some have already gone through the change. Makes me wonder how many people will end up paying a parking ticket in the next few weeks for failing to look at the minutes provided per quarter.

Some of the new meters are supposed take credit cards, though I haven't seen any of those yet.

Perhaps the bigger issue for curb-side parkers will be the end of free-after-6 p.m. parking. Come 2009, LA parking meters won't go dark until 8 p.m., at least. Some meters will go later, so check those signs.

Remember the lesson of the 9-minute meter.

— TJ Sullivan in LA