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On Wednesday, Austin Beutner, the new publisher and CEO of the Los Angeles Times, will, hopefully, shed light on the future of the paper when he speaks to civic leaders at Town Hall Los Angeles.
As a Times alum and columnist for LA Observed, always on the lookout for a story, I put together a list of questions the audience could ask Beutner:
You head the Los Angeles Times Media Group, part of the Tribune Publishing Co., which also owns the Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia, the Hartford Courant, The Morning Call of Allentown, Pa., The Orlando Sentinel and the Sun Sentinel of South Florida. Will the Tribune Publishing Co. sell the Los Angeles Times or any of these other papers?
What’s the business outlook for the Los Angeles Times?
You report to Jack Griffin, CEO of Tribune Publishing Co. who oversees strategic priorities and day-to-day print and digital operations. He’s known as a hard charging boss with what the New York Times called a brusque management style. How much say will he have over the day-to-day operations of the Times?
Will the challenging financial outlook for newspapers force additional reductions in the Los Angeles Times staff? Will you make those decisions or will they be done with the advice and consent of Griffin and other Tribune Publishing Co. executives?
As co chair of the Los Angeles 2030 Commission and a candidate for mayor as well as a top mayoral advisor, you were deep into Los Angeles governance. How will that shape Times editorial policy?
And are you part of the editorial board deliberations on policy and candidates?
Can we expect more reporters covering local government?
How is the L.A. Times planning to stay relevant to a region whose population and geography are among the most diverse in the world? What is the role of a news organization in an internationally important city like Los Angeles? Will there be changes in coverage of ethnic communities?
What can we expect for sports, entertainment, cultural and business coverage?
What improvements can we expect for the digital operation, including the web site and apps for mobile devices?
