Rupert Murdoch tweeted that Eli Broad would be buying the Los Angeles Times. The billionaire media moguls keep watch on one another.
Among the organizations that seek Broad funding, it is widely understood that he exercises near total control over how his money is spent. Is that OCD?
He already funds the education coverage of the L.A. Times. Now he apparently wants it all. Maybe they printed a story or an editorial he disagreed with. People with billions have a hard time believing that they are ever wrong.
This is bad news for Los Angeles and for the free press. It is not healthy when a journalist cannot write freely, without regard for the views of the publisher.
The ownership of so much of the media–print and television, networks and cable stations–by a handful of moguls is not good for our democracy.
All that remains free is social media, and all too often social media is unsourced, gossip, rumor, and innuendo.
We need a free press. I don’t know how we will get one back once it has been bought up by a few billionaires.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Maybe this is in response to the Times printing the letters to the editors that harshly criticized this ridiculous editorial:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-school-board-20151110-story.html
The Times, according to Broad, cannot possibly let anyone know that there is wide opposition to charter schools or to the plan to make half of LAUSD into charter schools – or even a suggested plan by the Board of Education to make LAUSD 100% charter (this is so extreme that Broad has not even endorsed it).
Actually Broad has been trying to buy the LA Times for years. It is only now that the Tribune has bifurcated this sale from the entire organization.
Broad gets exactly what he has always wanted, complete control of the one print media that is read by not only LA folks, but nationwide, and worldwide.
It is beyond dangerous…it is the end of any chance for wide distribution of any kind of facts on much of anything, except what Eli thinks the public should know. It especially will control the minds of readers who are too ignorant and lazy to delve into truthful issues about LAUSD shenanigans.
Democracy is dead. Money is god.
Addendum…combine this takeover of the LA Times by Eli Broad with the new 501(c)(3) ExEd charter school group using his LAUSD charter school ‘50% takeover plan,’ but avoiding his name being on the letter head, and the ability to save public schools in LA is a goner.
Eli and the billionaires will profit from all this as never before. He is the Devil incarnate, and his followers are a disgusting lot of pirates for profit off the backs of the rest of us, to the detriment of a free society, and of free universal public education.
It’s frightening. The only real pushback in Ohio came about because newspapers (eventually) broke ranks when the big pile of ed reform disasters became impossible to ignore.
Nothing would have come to light in this state without newspapers. It was like lawmakers were contractually forbidden to criticize ed reform. Everyone was on the cheerleading squad.
The LA Times recently purchased the San Diego Union, so it is bigger than just the second largest city in the country. However, I don’t see Broad as any more odious than the present owners, the Tribune Company of Chicago. Media in this country is in bad shape.
Tuitcan…it was set up as a package deal many months ago. San Diego Union will also suffer at Eli’s hand. Orange County Register may also be part of this unholy deal.
However, Orange County Register is not owned by the Trib. But Eli wants to control them all. Imagine the damage he can do without any comments from the public.
Regarding the hyper concentration of media ownership, we can thank Bill Clinton and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which allowed cross ownership of media platforms and led to six corporations controlling the bulk of mass media in this country.
Coincidentally, Eli Broad is a supporter of and close friends with… guess who?
Social media can also be manipulated through the use of filters – you only get the news that Facebook or Google’s filters say you should see that is related to your search. It has been advanced that, that power could actually sway elections were it ever consciously used for manipulation.
Yes, Los Angeles is the place of the rich or poor and blank anyone or thing inbetween. I often used my L.A.Times as my dog’s poop spot, they really seemed to like it . Now that it is truly poopable news directed by Broad, I don’t think I’ll waste my dime.
“We need a free press.”
It’s probably impossible to have a free press when nobody wants to pay for it.
We came a lot closer before the Telecommunications Act of 1996. I should think that a free press is as important as public education. If we think the schools are worth fighting for then why not the news? We need some journalists to lead that effort although we are all part of what should be the progressive agenda. So we keep building the progressive coalition. I’m not ready to move to Canada quite yet.
Here is the latest info from our colleague re Broad and the LA Times. Pray to Oden that this is true.
Kathy Irwin posted a comment about this message on Basecamp.
Re: A frightening victory for Eli Broad in Los Angeles
Batting down rumors of an impending sale, Tribune Publishing says it is “not engaged in discussions or a process to sell the company.”
Tribune made the statement in an email to employees on Monday morning.
“Tribune Publishing remains committed to its strategy and transformation plan,” the email added.
It was meant to reassure anxious staffers at newspapers like The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, several days after Rupert Murdoch tweeted what he was hearing about a sale.
money.cnn.com
Ellen, may it be true. Tribune is anti teacher, but Broad is… I don’t know how to finish the sentence without coming off crass. You may be right. Let’s see, the last time I believed a word out of the mouths of Rupert Murdoch and his Fox etc. pals was… never.
Rupert Murdoch, Eli Broad: Pot, meet kettle.
‘Nuff said.
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