LA OBSERVED on changes in THE LOS ANGELES TIMES.

Starting next week, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES will be altered in response to less advertising revenue and pressure to keep cutting costs.

For more complete information, including the paper's spin on the forthcoming changes:
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2009/02/how_the_californialess_la.php

A column T.J. Sullivan wrote for LA OBSERVED about the importance of print newspapers:
http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2009/02/are_newspaper_journalists_to_b.php
[UPDATE 2/26/09: The Denver, Colorado ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS will cease publication as of tomorrow: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/feb/26/rocky-mountain-news-closes-friday-final-edition/]

Allegedly, Rupert Murdoch is showing some interest in buying THE LOS ANGELES TIMES.

At this point, you, the reader, can insert a punchline about tabloid journalism, the potential for uncritical reviews of Fox Network programming and/or 20th Century Fox movies, or the possibility of Los Angeles mainstream journalism standards being lowered to those of THE NEW YORK POST (remembering the racist editorial cartoon implying a connection between President Obama and a murdered chimpanzee).

Repurposing film critics' reviews: not just for alternaweeklies.

Kevin Roderick of the site LA OBSERVED makes a note of Carina Chocano's recent departure from THE LOS ANGELES TIMES in favor of Tribune majordomos using reviews from THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE's Michael Phillips [who departed with Richard Roeper from Disney's AT THE MOVIES a few months back]: http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2008/11/carina_chocanos_replaceme.php

Of course, this isn't a brand-new phenomenon. Since Michael Lacey swallowed up a lot of alternaweeklies into his empire, readers of the not-what-it-once-was LA WEEKLY can occasionally read reviews from J. Hoberman (THE VILLAGE VOICE) and Robert Wilonsky (DALLAS OBSERVER).

Way cheaper than hiring new critics or even free-lancers who don't qualify for benefits.