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David Lazarus, the consumer columnist for the Los Angeles Times and KTLA Channel 5, peppers his Twitter feed with a mix of joking observations and mild political and cultural commentary. I had noticed lately that he was getting more political and that his barbs are mainly aimed at Republicans and Fox News. He posted yesterday that he has been told by his bosses to "tone down the political snark."
I was told by higher-ups this morning to tone down the political snark. Here's a video of cats being funny https://t.co/so8toNsn3M
— David Lazarus (@Davidlaz) March 23, 2015This directly followed a series of posts about Republican Senator Ted Cruz declaring for president.
Cruz: 'God’s blessing has been on America from the very beginning of this nation, and I believe God isn’t done with America yet.' Jesus
— David Lazarus (@Davidlaz) March 23, 2015I wonder if Fox News could find a more discrete way of auditioning hosts than the Republican primary system
— David Lazarus (@Davidlaz) March 23, 2015Ted Cruz's announcement shows he'll be a president for all Americans. Just kidding. He announced at Jerry Falwell's Christian university
— David Lazarus (@Davidlaz) March 23, 2015He also had retweeted a post comparing Cruz to Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the 1950s bully who used to cynically throw the communism slur at political rivals. Times staffers have all been told to get and use Twitter accounts, which has produced some odd and awkward tweet streams as editors and reporters with no feel for Twitter or social media struggle to join in the conversation — along with a lot of free praise for colleagues and links to LAT stories. Lazarus, whose Twitter profile bills him as a Times columnist, has been at it longer and seems to enjoy tweeting. He's often quite funny. But his recent turn has definitely been noticeable.
Some other recent tweets:
It's going to be really fun watching GOP candidates compete for the next year or so to see who loves America and hates Americans most
— David Lazarus (@Davidlaz) March 22, 2015Before announcing run for presidency, Ted Cruz spent weeks with experts learning not to mutter 'my precious' under his breath
— David Lazarus (@Davidlaz) March 22, 2015Is there a pathos ratio for number of tweets you've posted relative to number of followers you've accrued?
— David Lazarus (@Davidlaz) March 22, 2015I sympathize with Monica Lewinsky, but not sure you're a cyberbullying victim after blowing the president http://t.co/lTAQeLHkNs
— David Lazarus (@Davidlaz) March 20, 2015