Patterico's Pontifications

7/2/2007

Has Jill Stewart Ruined the L.A. Weekly — Or Made It Better?

Filed under: Dog Trainer,General — Patterico @ 6:12 am



The Nation doesn’t like the L.A. Weekly under Jill Stewart. Quoted as agreeing are Tim Rutten and a cast of other holier-than-thou types. I say she has improved it — and so do Matt Welch and Kate at Fishbowl L.A.

You can see what I think of the Weekly‘s relevance by comparing how often I used to link it (basically never) with how often I link it now. Whether it’s coverage of Tennie Pierce, Hector Marroquin, or the Stephen Yagman trial, the L.A. Weekly has been kicking the L.A. Times‘s behind all over the room on local stories for months now.

I freely admit that I have a bias. I am friendly with Jill and see her at the Yamashiro gatherings almost every month. But I praised Jill long before I ever met her; I seek out her company because I admire her, not the other way around. Scroll down this link and you’ll see the proof in several posts dating back to as early as 2003. She’s a fearless journalist who calls ’em the way she sees ’em, and she recognizes a good story when she sees it.

I think the Weekly is lucky to have her.

2/21/2005

Interview with L.A. Times Editor Bob Sipchen — Part One: The “Outside the Tent” Feature

Filed under: Dog Trainer,General — Patterico @ 10:16 am



L.A. Times Sunday Opinion editor Bob Sipchen spoke with me recently about the newspaper’s admirable “Outside the Tent” feature, in which the L.A. Times provides space for its critics to take their best shot at the newspaper — as long as they abide by certain guidelines. (As some of you are aware, I contributed to this feature a couple of weeks ago.) I’d like to thank Sipchen for being willing to speak on the record about this feature. I think you’ll find his comments interesting and revealing.

A quick note about the structure of the interview: I have split this interview into three shorter posts, all of which I have posted at the same time. Part One (this post) relates specifically to the “Outside the Tent” feature. Part Two is a broader discussion of objectivity and transparency in journalism. Part Three is Sipchen’s e-mail to me in reaction to the interview (he says I “got it right” but has a couple of clarifications).

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