After my Monday scooplet (yes I mean it ironically) about Los Angeles Times managing editor Doug Frantz giving Metro reporters pony rides at lunch hour as a staff bonding exercise, one wag emailed incredulously: "Was that true? It read like a hoax. Just curious."

Ay, it was true. Reuters followed up the LA Observed item with a story in which Frantz says he paid the $350 freight himself:

"I hope it boosted morale but it was just fun," Frantz said. "This is a very serious place. We all take our jobs very seriously and this was just an opportunity to have fun over lunch. It was a light-hearted attempt to show that even in tough times this can be a fun place to work."

Also: A film crew from PBS' Frontline is in the newsroom today to shoot B-roll of the 3:30 front-page meeting for an upcoming story on the changing news business.