The L.A. Times -- Wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Davis Campaign

Southern California residents are aware that the Los Angeles Times has a political mission that is certainly not limited to its editorial pages. (An example that springs to mind is the long-standing Times' policy never to refer to pro-life people as "pro-life". They must always be referred to as "anti-abortion". Pro-abortion people must never be referred to as "pro-abortion" but always as "pro-choice". It doesn't matter what you call yourself; that is what the Times will call you.)

This is bad enough. But in Los Angeles the Times is a de-facto monopoly. If you live in the valley you can pick up the Daily News. Long Beach has the Press-Telegram and the South Bay the Daily Breeze. There are others; Pasadena has the Star News, I think. (If there's a link there I was right!) But these are all very small operations in comparison with the Times. They specialize in local matters. The massive size and circulation of the Times overwhelms everything else in its path.

Now it seems the Times has gone too far. Nothing to make it collapse. But nothing to enhance its reputation either. According to the L.A. Weekly, the Times appears to have been sharing its hit pieces against "Arnold" with the Davis campaign far in advance of publication. Co-ordinating their efforts, as it were. The piece is here.

A sample:

Back to the blockbuster hit on Schwarzenegger in Thursday’s Times. According to a well-informed source at the paper, the story, which hit the political world with a thunderclap, never appeared on the paper’s internal or external publication schedules. Indeed, project editor Joel Sappell and the three reporters working on what the Times has described as a seven-week-long investigative project were very tight-lipped about both the scheduling of the piece and its contents. They discussed the story only with the paper’s senior editors. Although the story did not appear on the schedule, it was reportedly placed in the "write basket," in which other Times editors and reporters can look at upcoming pieces, after hours last Wednesday night, just a few hours before it appeared on the Times Web site.

Even with utmost secrecy surrounding the piece, senior Democratic strategists with long-standing ties to Davis knew not only when the story was coming but also the particulars of what was in it. These strategists felt that the story held the possibility of tipping the election away from Schwarzenegger and of defeating the governor’s recall.

And then there are Davis' attacks on women. That's "attacks" now; not just a pat on the bum. Hitting, throttling, shaking, and throwing ash trays at state employees. The Times has known about it and covered it up for years. Have a look at Jill Stewart's investigation.

No, I still wouldn't vote for Arnold. (And didn't.) But the Times needs to be called to account.