LAT's declining hold now a story for wonks

I'm quoted in another out-of-town piece about the Los Angeles Times, this one a cover package by Rob Gurwitt in Governing magazine that takes on the larger issue of declining big-city newspapers. In the story, former LAT editor John Carroll complains that blogs and other online media recycle news generated by print reporters. Community leaders, including Gary Toebben of the chamber of commerce and David Abel, lay out their case that Los Angeles needs the Times to be better about its local roots. My quote is along that vein as well:

"These are people who are active on committees, who help chair the political campaigns, who are the do-gooders, and they’ve become increasingly unhappy with the quality of local reporting in the Times,” says Kevin Roderick, a former Times reporter and editor who now runs LAObserved.com, a Web site devoted to covering the local media and community affairs. “It has to do with the savviness level of reporting, a sense that local coverage has become much more surface-oriented and not grounded in expertise.”

Governing's package includes a sidebar on the rise of online alternatives and interviews Andrew Donohue, co-editor of the non-profit news operation Voiceofsandiego.org.

Speaking of blogs that recycle: Hollywood Reporter, ESQ's Leslie Simmons covers legal action against celebrity gossip Perez Hilton for running up his traffic with paparazzi photos he doesn't buy. Agency X17 sued yesterday in federal court seeking $7.5 million in damages.