Starters
Whistleblower blames LAT editors
AT&T technician Mark Klein tried to reveal government surveillance of domestic Internet traffic to the Los Angeles Times but says that editors caved to the NSA,
ABC's Brian Ross reported last night (and blogged.) The Times gives another reason for the story not running.
After working for two months with LA Times reporter Joe Menn, Klein says he was told the story had been killed at the request of then-Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte and then-director of the NSA Gen. Michael Hayden. The...Times' decision was made by the paper's editor at the time, Dean Baquet, now the Washington bureau chief of The New York Times. Baquet confirmed to ABCNews.com he talked with Negroponte and Hayden but says "government pressure played no role in my decision not to run the story."
Baquet says he and managing editor Doug Frantz decided "we did not have a story, that we could not figure out what was going on" based on Klein's highly technical documents. The reporter, Menn, declined to comment, but Baquet says he knows "Joe disagreed and was very disappointed."
Media
Zell now 'strong contender' for Tribune
James Rainey in the LAT cites "people familiar with ongoing negotiations."
TimesLooking good
My friends at Los Angeles Magazine lead all comers with a dozen nominated finalists in the National City and Regional Magazine Association’s awards. They're up for general excellence, criticism, design and RJ Smith's media columns, among other categories. Winners will be announced May 5-7 in Denver.
Uncle Joe helps out 'La Cucaracha'
KLOS deejay Uncle Joe Benson was one of the many who besieged the Times with email protesting the cancellation of "La Cucaracha." After
yesterday's reversal, he received an email reply. Both are below:
To: readers.rep@latimes.com
Subject: La Cucaracha
Wow - cutting "La Cucaracha" out of a newspaper in Los Angeles. Just what neighborhood do you live in?
Joe Benson
KLOS, Los Angeles
http://unclejoe.com/
Thanks for your note. I'm glad to say that "La Cucaracha" will return, starting Wednesday in the daily Calendar section, and on March 25 on Sundays (because the Sunday sections are printed so far in advance). As you know, it was one of several comics recently dropped as part of a shift in the Sunday feature lineup. However, editors reevaluated when they realized that the strip has such a loyal following, and you will be seeing it again tomorrow in the Times. Thank you again for taking the time to write.
Jamie Gold
Readers' Representative
Refreshed Times blog lineup
The
blog index page gets a new look; there are now sixteen, including ten by staff writers. Apparently deleted: J.A. Adande's sports blog and Channel Island, the TV industry blog by Scott Collins.
Noted
Sold!
Dutton will publish Hilary de Vries's newest The Cooking Lessons, "about four sisters negotiating their relationships after the death of their mother."
L.A. media obituary
Alan Greenberg, 55
The former Times sports writer died of a heart attack in Sudbury, Mass. He worked for the Hartford Courant.
LAT Today
Where's Antonio?
Mayor Villaraigosa will give the keynote address at the international meeting of the Nature Conservancy. Hilton Universal Hotel, 7:15 pm.
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