New eruption in LAT, Staples Center deal

By: Lucia Moses Strongest statements yet by

Some of the strongest statements yet by Los Angeles Times editors over the controversial Staples Center deal came out in a San Francisco Examiner story Nov. 28.
L.A. Times Sunday magazine Editor Alice Short and Sports Editor Bill Dwyre told the Examiner they learned the week of Sept. 20 about the paper's deal to share revenues with the Staples sports center from an Oct. 10 magazine issue devoted to the arena ? after the issue was printed but before it was distributed.
"There's a lot of anger and sadness that we worked very hard on a magazine we didn't want to do," said Short, who wishes the L.A. Times had disclosed the deal in the newspaper the day the magazine came out. "We did a good job, and the most we can do now is put it in a big pile and burn it."
Dwyre said he complained about the deal to Editor Michael Parks, whose reaction led Dwyre to believe Parks also knew of the arrangement.
"He just discussed some ongoing problems we'd had with the Staples Center deal from the start. He didn't address my objection directly," Dwyre said.
"I really don't know when he knew," he added, speaking of Parks.
Parks has said he didn't find out about the deal until after the issue was printed. L.A. Times Publisher Kathryn M. Downing has said she kept the agreement secret from editorial to avoid compromising the news side.
That's inexcusable, and wouldn't have happened in the newsroom of 10 years ago, said William F. Thomas, who retired in 1989 after 18 years as editor of the L.A. Times.
"He should have known about it right from the beginning," Thomas said. "What's changed is the corporate people have now taken an operative role in the newspaper."
Downing has apologized for the deal, chalking it up to her lack of prior newspaper industry experience. An L.A. Times spokesman said neither Parks nor Downing were giving interviews, citing the paper's ongoing investigation by its own media writer, David Shaw.
Shaw, a Pulitzer Prize-winner known for spending months on in-depth opuses, said he's stepped up his pace this time, with a goal of finishing before Christmas.
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(copyright: Editor & Publisher December 4, 1999) [Caption]