Chuck Philips - FishbowlLA

Chuck Philips on Life After the LA Times

Richard Horgan — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 15:40:06 +0000

Pulitzer Prize winner Chuck Philips recently launched a personal blog called the Chuck Philips Post. Today, he shares the English-language translation of an interview he did last week with Spanish website SwaggaMusic.net.

One particular passage that caught FishbowlLA’s attention is Philips’ answer to the question – ‘In what aspects did your life change after leaving the LA Times:’

“Nobody would return my calls or emails. Nobody would give me the time of day. I lost my job, my hope, my faith. My mutherf*cking mind. Then, after about a year of unemployment, I said f*ck it, and decided to spend my savings on completing Big’s murder investigation. I solved it in 2009. Late in 2010, the money ran out.”

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Chuck Philips Calls Out the LA Times

Richard Horgan — Sun, 20 May 2012 09:30:27 +0000

A remarkable essay has been published on the Village Voice website. Under the headline “Tupac Shakur, the Los Angeles Times, and Why I’m Still Unemployed: A Personal History by Chuck Philips,” the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist details for the first time his version of the events leading up to, and following, March 26, 2008.

That’s the day The Smoking Gun exposed as fake court documents referenced in a Calendar front-page story by Philips about a 1994 assault in Queens, NY on rapper Tupac Shakur. He says it was not his idea to web-publish and liberally source the FBI-302 documents, but rather that of his LAT editor and the paper’s lawyer. Philips also accuses the paper of failing to properly support one of their own by refusing to litigate against the target of his piece (and subsequent accuser) James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond:

Lawyers and editors rejected my recommendations, arguing it would be foolhardy to fight the case. The Times refused to defend the story in court. Instead, the paper crafted a retraction that sounded as if I had made up the entire story and sneaked it into print behind management’s back, without the knowledge, consent or guidance of senior editors and lawyers directly involved in its publication.

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Chuck Philips Involved With New Suge Knight Documentary

Matthew Fleischer — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:27:58 +0000

LA’s scariest music producer Suge Knight will be the subject of a new documentary produced by Showtime. Knight and his new music company Black Kapital will be handling the film’s soundtrack, which obviously means Knight is onboard with the film.

Tentatively titled…Suge Knight…the film will be helmed by Training Day director Antoine Fuqua. Interestingly, Pulitzer Prize-winning former LA Times reporter Chuck Philips will co-produce the film. Philips, you probably remember, took a voluntary buyout from the Times shortly after his story on the death of Tupac was found to contain info from forged FBI documents. Over the summer he demanded a retraction to the Times‘ retraction of his story. He didn’t get one. Looks like he got a movie deal instead.

Press release after the jump.

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Former LA Times Reporter Wants New, Front-Page Tupac Retraction

Richard Horgan — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:00:50 +0000

It’s been a pretty sweet couple of months for the LA Times, what with Pulitzer Prizes and the mother of all Schwarzenegger tips. But the newspaper could be headed for much less hallowed journalistic ground, courtesy of an item today in the LA Weekly by Simone Wilson and Dennis Romero.

Disgraced former LA Times investigative reporter Chuck Philips (pictured), who took a buyout not long after the paper retracted his March 2008 story about Tupac Shakur because fake FBI documents were sourced, suggests that recent remarks made by his formerly anonymous story source prove that he merits not just an apology but also a new, front-page retraction of the paper’s previous retraction:

“I want them to run a front-page retraction,” Philips tells LA Weekly. “Same size, same place.”

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Former LA Times Reporter Slams Gangsta Rap Manager

Richard Horgan — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:00:27 +0000

This is definitely not your usual back-and-forth media parry.

After yesterday’s publicly released statement from music industry manager James “Jimmy the Henchman” Rosemond, who responded to being federally indicted on cocaine distribution charges by pointing the finger at the New York Daily News and reporter Chuck Philips, the long-time former LA Times journalist fired back via website AllHipHop.com:

“I had no idea Jimmy Henchman was such a sensitive wee man suffering from so many paranoid delusions. Nor did I realize that Tha (self-proclaimed) Gangsta Manager of Rap was in fact a persecuted civil rights martyr at the center of a government conspiracy. Poor Jimmy. Has anyone seen my tiny violin?”

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FBLA Exclusive: Industry Professionals React to LAT Changes: “It Sucks”

Greg — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:51:38 +0000

The list of veteran reporters who are leaving the L.A. Times in the latest round of buyouts and cuts has local music and industry professionals wondering who, exactly, will be reporting on them?

A few music folks have told FBLA that the personnel changes, simple, “suck.” But others have been more philosophical about it, including a publicist with deep roots in the newspaper industry.

Elizabeth Lang, whose family the Fremont News Messenger and the Port Clinton News Herald in Ohio, laments what is to become of entertainment coverage without some of the key veteran reporters this town has come to trust.

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More On LAT Departures

Greg — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:14:40 +0000

Per LA Observed: Chuck Philips has reportedly asked for a buyout, Marla Cone, Paul Brownfield, Deborah Schoch (whom this Fishy once went up against as a competitor many moons ago) are all bailing out. We wish them, and all the others, much, much luck.

[UPDATE: A reliable tipster tells us staffers have been told to expect another round of layoffs in two months -- to the tune of 100 more jobs.]

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Anita Busch: LAT’s Pellicano Ties Should Be Investigated

Greg — Fri, 16 May 2008 07:35:45 +0000

Anita Busch, the former L.A. Times reporter whose receiving of a dead fish and threatening note set off the Anthony Pellicano investigation says current L.A. Times employees remain too cozy with the investigator and should be the target of inquiry themselves. She specifically names Chuck Philips and Jim Newton, saying of Philips:

The Pellicano case coverage in the L.A. Times as reported by Chuck Philips (who told the NY Times that Pellicano was his longtime news source) should be examined. It’s a case study of how Pellicano worked his media relationships to try to destroy his adversaries.

Newton responded here.

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LAT In 90 Seconds

Greg — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:44:34 +0000

LAT’s Shiny New Blog: We don’t know anything about sports. But if you do, the LAT has a blog for you. Tournament Tracker. It tracks, um, tournaments or something. We don’t know. We tried to make sense of it, but there were a lot of number and arrows and sports info, and our eyebrows caught on fire.

Not Letting It Die: Chuck Philips continues his tireless pursuit of Tupac’s killer. We’re not entirely sure why.

Love Can’t Buy You Money: Heather Mills turns down a $50 million settlement, hoping for a $250 million judgment and is awarded $48.6 million instead. That’s kinda ironic, but somehow we can’t work up a schandenfreude boner up for this one.

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Who Wants To Be A Dead Rapper?

Greg — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:38:14 +0000

Fox Searchlight Pictures is hosting an open casting call for “the role of a lifetime” (their words), the chance to play Notorious B.I.G. Alas, the live audition is in New York, but West Coast gangstas don’t despair:

You can upload your homemade audition video (like Mr. Allsbrook here) on the studio’s Web site. We’ve been searching every day, hoping to find a Chuck Philips entry.

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LAT In 90 Seconds

Greg — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:00:05 +0000

Don’t Give Up Your Table At Starbucks Just Yet: Citywide Wi-Fi is probably not happening any time soon.

Notorious L.I.E? Rapper/prison inmate Waymond Anderson recants his earlier testimony that implicated a former LAPD officer in the shooting death of Biggie Smalls. In a new deposition, Anderson said he lied as part of a “scam” concocted by two other convicts as well as Smalls’ family and their attorney, Perry R. Sanders Jr. In another weird twist, Sanders says Anderson is lying about the scam to “please” LAT reporter, Chuck Philips.

‘War’ Is Hell: And its ratings aren’t as great as initially reported, either.

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