Rumors that Charles and David Koch, industrial titans and patrons of conservative political causes, could buy what is left of the dwindling Tribune Company empire have galvanized liberal activists.
This morning there was a protest against the possibility of the brothers' ownership in front of the Los Angeles Times building on Spring Street. It's just one of many protests that have been going on nationally. This morning protesters in Manhattan also rallied in front of the headquarters of Angelo, Gordon Co., an investment firm with a 9.4 percent stake in Tribune Company. There have been previous protests in front of the Times' building and even in Beverly Hills in the front of Oaktree Capital Management, a local investment firm that owns nearly 23 percent of the stock.
Opponents say that the Kochs' conservative interests and political activism would (further) tarnish the Los Angeles Times' brand of journalism. Opponents include labor, some local politicians and liberal advocacy groups. At a previous rally, Roxana Tynan, executive director of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, told the crowd: "These are the folks who underwrite the Tea Party ... who think that the gap between the rich and the poor is a good thing … who deny climate change."
Documentary filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal—whose documentary Citizen Koch was spiked for fear of alienating the public TV trustee David Koch— were at the protest in Manhattan today. Lessin told the crowd: "They killed our public broadcast. They killed the funding for our film. And we’re here to tell you the Kochs and media are not a good mix."
The brothers themselves haven't confirmed but they also haven't really denied the rumors.
