by: Alan D. Mutter | Reflections of a Newsosaur

Of all the troubled news organizations in all the land, the Ford Foundation recently gave the Los Angeles Times $1 million to hire four reporters, even though the newspaper’s parent company amassed nearly $2.4 billion in cash during its 3½-year bankruptcy.

While there can be no doubt that the foundation has the best of intentions – or that the Times will endeavor to make good journalistic use of the money – the gift raises two questions: