PressEthic

I guess the only surprise is that LA Times editor Dean Baquet wasn’t canned sooner, although you gotta wonder why it happened on Election Day.

Publisher Jeffrey M. Johnson was axed last month after the pair openly defied demands for staff cuts by the paper’s owner.

And Tuesday, Baquet’s departure was revealed.

The Wall Street Journals appears to have scooped the rest of the flock on the story.

The LA Observer has the inside dirt, and says the LA Times posted it’s own story soon after word got out on Tuesday.

There are those who see dark motives in the date. Why did it happen on Election Day, when the public is presumably preoccupied with election results?

Jaime Court, in his blog on the Huffington Post, is skeptical:

The Tribune company has pulled a page from Karl Rove's playbook and has forced out popular Los Angeles Times editor Dean Baquet today, according to the Wall Street Journal, knowing the disturbing news will be lost in the shadow of the mid-term election.

He goes on to say:

Baquet was seen as the last line of defense for the newspaper's editorial integrity. His removal is a sign that the hog butchers from Chicago will be slashing jobs in the newsroom of Los Angeles's only remaining major newspaper.

And he issues a call to arms for subscribers.

It's time for subscribers of the Los Angeles Times to unite and take their newspaper back. Fax the Tribune company here. Demand that Baquet be reinstated with the planned editorial cuts rescinded or that the newspaper be sold to local owners before the end of the year. Warn you'll cancel your subscription.

Subscriber support may not be enough to satisfy the Tribune, but it’s a start.