Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Thank You, Otis Chandler

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

()

He may not be as widely known to current Angelenos as recently-departed Chris Penn, but Los Angeles lost one of the people that lifted the city beyond tinsel to the relative esteem it now holds as cultural mecca.

Otis Chandler, former publisher of the Los Angeles Times, died at age 78 this morning.

To truly appreciate Chandler's importance, reread The Powers That Be by David Halberstam.

Support for LAist comes from

Not surprisingly, the LA Times was the first on the story, putting up a full obit 1 hour and forty minutes after the time of death (at least that's when we first noticed it). Also interestingly, the rush job left at least one newspaper faux pas live on the site...at least 20 grafs into the piece, reporter Mitchell Landsberg left a CQ. In journalism, that's a fact he wanted his editor to check. And in this case, Landsberg wondered if Chandler still read the newspaper:

To the surprise of many, Chandler praised the deal, saying it offered the best chance for The Times to return to the excellence he had long demanded. And well into the illness that claimed his life (CQ?), he continued to be a devoted reader of the newspaper that had been his birthright and his legacy.

RIP, Otis Chandler.

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist