Patterico's Pontifications

11/12/2008

L.A. Times Spams Readers with E-Mails About Foreclosures

Filed under: Dog Trainer,General — Patterico @ 10:19 pm



James Surowiecki:

I got an e-mail last night from the L.A. Times with the subject line: “New Home Foreclosures—Northern California,” which contained a solicitation from something called Zetabid, which is running a Northern California foreclosed home auction on November 20th, 22nd, and 23rd. (Zetabid appears to be part-owned by the L.A. Times.) Spamming for foreclosure sales: now that’s a sign of the times (and, yes, of the Times, too).

He’s mostly right about Zetabid. The Times web site describes it as a “venture of the Los Angeles Times Media Group, GoIndustry-DoveBid and CataList Homes.”

Well, they have to cover Sam Zell’s debt service somehow. They’re sure not doing it with their ever-declining circulation.

P.S. When this venture launched, the editor claimed the paper was not connected to Zetabid:

The Los Angeles Times is part of Times Media Group but has no connection to the new venture, said Times Editor Russ Stanton.

“We will treat ZetaBid like any other real estate entity from a coverage standpoint,” Stanton said.

So far, the paper appears to be living up to the pledge of objective coverage; an October 5 story was pointedly critical of such online services.

But if the paper is really clogging readers’ inboxes with junk mail solicitations about foreclosures, it would see that there is some connection there, Mr. Stanton’s claim to the contrary notwithstanding.

14 Responses to “L.A. Times Spams Readers with E-Mails About Foreclosures”

  1. Patterico – It’s sort of off topic, but it could be spam, you never know with these things. In any event, I wanted to share my good fortune from my inbox tonight with everyone:

    In Good Faith

    Dear Beloved in Christ, I am Mrs. Rosemary Craig, suffering from cancerous
    ailment. I was married to Mr. Robert Craig, my husband worked with
    Chevron/Texaco in the United Kingdom for twenty years before he died in
    the year 2003. My late husband deposited the sum of £17.5 Million
    (Seventeen Million Five Hundred Thousand Pounds) with a Bank in United
    Kingdom. Recently,my Doctor told me that I have limited days to live due
    to the stroke and cancerous problems I am suffering from.

    I have decided to donate this funds to you and want you to use my husbands
    effort to fund the upkeep of widows and charities worldwide. I took this
    decision because I do not have any child that will inherit this money and
    my husband relatives are bourgeois and very wealthy persons and I do not
    want my husband hard earned money to be misused.

    Awaiting your urgent reply via my email address: r.craig001@rocketmail.com

    With God all things are possible.

    Your Sister in Christ,
    Mrs. Rosemary Craig.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  2. ^ I would email Obama’s web address right away. Rosemary should hear about his plans for excess wealth.

    Vermont Neighbor (5ea336)

  3. VN – Rosemary is in the U.K. She does sound like a very nice and generous woman. I think Lovey should contact her.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  4. OT, Sorry guys but have no clue how else….

    OIDO, read what Shimon Peres said just the other? Is he the AS bogeyman too?

    Robert Rodriguez (54247e)

  5. … the other day. Sorry

    Robert Rodriguez (54247e)

  6. I really can’t believe a word this paper prints. It is an insane asylum run by pathological liars.

    PCD (7fe637)

  7. It is hypocrisy when my neighbor changes his mind and does something I don’t like. It is adjusting to life’s realities when I do the same.

    We hate SPAM when we get get it ….. SPAM is great. Pays our salary in spite our our incompetance at the paper.

    Goes to the old saying, no atheists in foxholes.

    Robert Rodriguez (54247e)

  8. They need to start selling Obama coins and merchandise. The subscriber base will go nuts.

    Vermont Neighbor (5ea336)

  9. Robert, at least the LA Times didn’t hire Chris Knap from the OC Register.

    PCD (7fe637)

  10. Nothing the leftist illuminati-run LA Times does should surprise us. They are a joke of “fair and balanced” Journalism. They print the truth as they see it, plain and simple.

    Jeff (3cb047)

  11. Jeff–simple yes: plain not so much.

    Barsinister (a2cff1)

  12. “Nothing the leftist…LA Times does should surprise us.”
    Comment by Jeff — 11/13/2008 @ 10

    No it shouldn’t, not even the sub-prime housing bubble of the last 10 years or the foreclosure bubble now. The “Times” is an information broker and will attempt to make money on both the upside – which it did in the papers Real Estate section – and on the downside – which it will in the papers Real Estate section. Again.

    One must always remember that the Great Depression was ably facilitated by the New York Times financial section and the revenue it received from Wall St. advertising. So it is with the LA Times and the sub-prime-SoCal-housing bubble. In an open society, if the citizens don’t watch their own chicken coop, the fox’s will. The media, in whatever form, always has a bushy tail. Expecting an uncanny fox is a wishful thinking.

    C. Norris (96db7e)

  13. I guess the “we’ll pay you if you would just please subscribe to our freaking crappy newspaper” emails weren’t working.

    Patricia (ee5c9d)

  14. I always love your blog. I think you really get a strong perspective of what is really going on.

    I have content on my site and wanted to show you it! We have alot of information on Foreclosure and any news around it!

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    http://www.homelandassistance.com

    Homeland Assistance (da74c0)


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