EDITORIAL: L.A. Times owners motivated by greed

The publisher of the Los Angeles Times was fired Thursday after
he refused to make the cutbacks and staff cuts ordered by the
paper’s owner, the Tribune Company ““ a conglomerate
that also owns the Chicago Tribune, the Orlando Sentinel, the
Baltimore Sun, Newsday, baseballs’ Chicago Cubs and the
distribution rights to South Park.

Jeffrey Johnson, a 22-year veteran of the Tribune Co., was
ordered last month to increase The Times’ profit margin by 7
percent. Johnson refused on the grounds that the paper has already
been forced to eliminate 200 editorial positions in the past five
years and further cuts would be detrimental to the publication.

However, the quality of the Los Angeles Times as a newspaper
isn’t the main concern of the Tribune Co. Though it makes
billions each year in profit, they’re more than willing to
risk the reputation of The Times and its value to its readers all
for the sake of another $17 million. Some even speculate that the
company is only bringing in David Hiller of the Chicago Tribune to
bring down the Times’ costs so Tribune Co. can get more money
for it in a sale.

An era in which the owners of news media are motivated by profit
rather than a desire to fulfill the public-service role entrusted
to them is a sad time for journalists. Newspapers exist to bring
information to their readers, not profits to greedy
shareholders.