The LA Times Isn’t Dead Yet

The Jewish Journal’s David A. Lehrer likes what he’s seen from the LA Times in the past few weeks, and pens a tribute piece saying reports of the paper’s demise are “definitely premature.”

Last month, the Times broke the story of the exorbitant salaries earned by several of the officials of Bell, California. The investigative series prompted cities across the state and the nation to examine what their local leaders earn and how transparent their salary structures are….

Only the Times had the interest and the resources to demand and legally force the release of the explosive information. That information is leading to the exposure of the corruption that existed in Bell and likely in many smaller communities across the state.

This past Saturday the Times did another Pulitzer-worthy story. In what was an exhausting culling of seven years of data, the Times, in one fell swoop, dismantled some of the mythologies that have permeated discussions of student achievement, teacher quality, and the public schools for years. Their eye-opening study uncovered some of the key reasons why some teachers are effective, others aren’t and how to assess each as to their effectiveness.

To be fair, there is another entity out there which had the resources to expose what was going on in Bell–the LA District Attorney’s office. Steve Cooley‘s office dug up what was going on in Bell and fed it to the Times. To their credit, though, the Times ran with the story and has been breaking news ever since.

Regarding the teacher story, tough to argue with a journalist sticking up for his own in the face of a boycott.

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