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Prime space in the Travel area of LATimes.com announces "Postcards from Paris," which is supposed to be staff travel writer Susan Spano's journal of living the next seven months in Paris (while she continues writing other pieces for the print Travel section). The site calls it a weekly blog, which I believe would be the LAT's first -- but if so it's off to a slow start. There's been just one posting, back on March 4. She explained the personal reasons for her move in a Travel column last week.
Though the Times has been loath to embrace blogs, not so its sister Chicago Tribune. Print columnist Eric Zorn has been writing a blog -- posted by him but previewed by editors -- on the Tribune site for awhile now. (LAT registration works there.)
Meanwhile, Cecilia Rasmussen's "L.A. Then and Now" column on the Fine Arts Building downtown in the Times' California section Sunday was a good piece -- but probaby not as readable as the original that was killed. The column that didn't run was about colorful retired L.A. newspaper photog Lou Mack. He apparently talks in the story about the old Hearst-owned L.A. Examiner faking photos and the Press Club having slot machines in its offices near the Ex. After the Herald-Examiner staff went on strike in 1967, Mack left to take photos for Mayor Sam Yorty, then joined the Times. Seems the column was too colorful, or too insider, or something. The tip sources weren't sure.
Mack is the model for the Harry Jack character in the Eve Diamond mystery novels by former LAT reporter Denise Hamilton.