Robert Scheer On Leaving the LA Times

[cal04]

On Friday I was fired as a columnist by the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, where I have worked for thirty years. The publisher, Jeff Johnson, who has offered not a word of explanation to me, has privately told people that he hated every word that I wrote. I assume that mostly refers to my exposing the lies used by President Bush to justify the invasion of Iraq.

Fortunately sixty percent of Americans now get the point, but only after tens of thousand of Americans and Iraqis have been killed and maimed as the carnage spirals out of control. My only regret is that my pen was not sharper and my words tougher.

Starting Wednesday morning, my column will be appearing here on the Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-scheer/on-leaving-the-la-tim_b_10509.html

[amitten]

1. Sue the pants off the bastard.

Seriously. If I was in that situation, I'd be talking to my lawyer. Maybe he can get him for age discrimination or something.

[susu369]

2. Looking forward to Scheer's superb writing on the Huffington Post

Scheer has my total respect. This quote by Scheer is kept on my desk:

"Love the truth; it ultimately bows to no master."

[bliss_eternal]

3. Shouldn't we be sending letters of complaint to the Times

for the fact that they would rather fire a truthful journalist than actually be accountable for telling the truth?

:shrug:

[K-W]

24. You certainly can, many have been sent, but

since it looks like a personal descision by the publisher based on his personal preferences, it probably wont do any good.

[glitch]

4. LA Times' loss is Huffington Post's gain. HP just gets better and better.

They need to come out with a print edition for the people outside the web. Maybe get something going with Harpers.

Edit: or local papers could carry HP columns. Wouldn't that be great for both of them! And us too.

[splat@14]

5. Are they trying to make room for Judith Miller? n/t

[bananas]

6. website and mailing list robertscheer.com

He has a website and mailing list at http://robertscheer.com/

At the form for joining his mailing list,
it has two checkboxes:

Just Bob's weekly column, please.
The weekly column, plus anything Bob thinks I ought to see.

[garthranzz]

14. I only saw the one for the weekly column. n/t

[bananas]

19. hmmm

On the left side of http://robertscheer.com/
underneath his photo are four links:
archive
newsletter
books
bio

The link called "newsletter" links to here:
http://lb.bcentral.com/ex/manage/subscriberprefs.aspx?customerid=25424
which has the two checkboxes.

Here's the text from that page:


Join the robertscheer.com mailing list Powered by bCentral

Please tell us
Your e-mail address (required):
Retype your e-mail address (required):

We'd like to get to know you
First Name
Last Name
We are just starting this newsletter and want to know what you want. Would you like: (required): Just Bob's weekly column, please.
The weekly column, plus anything Bob thinks I ought to see.


Instructions for removal come with every e-mail.

[garthranzz]

25. got it. thanks. n/t

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

7. The LA Times has...

...only hastened its downward spiral toward irrelevancy. You can't fire the truth---been tried, doesn't work.

[question everything]

8. And from the "libertarian" Orange County Register blog

No more reason to read the L.A. Times' opinion section

Today the LAT announced it was dumping the only two guys worth reading in their opinion section, cartoonist Michael Ramirez, a conservative, and columnist Robert Scheer, a leftist. Ramirez was just good, and it's hard to believe that the paper would fire him.

Although I usually only have agreed with Scheer on his opposition to the unconstitutional, unconservative Iraq war, on which he broke the news that the military had cooked the Jessica Lynch story, he was an interesting read quite often. Even when wrong, he was his own voice. Now, the Times apparently just wants a bland mess of moderate liberals and moderate conservatives.

Giving readers mush is not the way to slow circulation declines.
Posted by John Seiler - [e-mail] at 10:29 AM

http://www.ocregister.com/blog/commentary/

[longship]

18. An amazing post from a conservative source.

This is something that ought to figure prominently in every correspondence to the LAT about their totally irresponsible firing of Scheer.

[KoKo]

9. He was replaced with Jonah Goldberg...Can you believe.....

:eyes: It was posted on Atrios or somewhere today. Made me sick.

But, he will get a bigger audience with Huff Post. Eventually all the good reporters will end up here on the internet.

[BeHereNow]

10. CANCEL your subscriptions in protest.

We only take the Sunday edition-
but I will take care of that tomorrow and
I will let them know that I am canceling
our subscription in protest of Scheer's being
fired.
Fuck them.
BHN

[indepat]

11. Exposing this administration's lies can be hazardous to one's health,

livelihood, freedom, and liberty. Thank God for people like Scheer who put their country ahead of partisan politics/ideology and thunderous jeers to all in the MSM who don't likewise expose the lies and mendacity of this administration.

[ronnykmarshall]

12. They also fired Michael Rameriez

the right wing asshole cartoonist.

[question everything]

21. To show that they are "balanced" (nt)

[patricia92243]

13. Will he get paid at Huffington? He has lost his livelihood. n/t

[Beam Me Up]

15. We do not NEED the Corporate Owned Media any more!

Whether it is the New York Times of the Los Angeles Times, what difference does it make? They are selling only one thing: the consumer reality they want us to buy. I ain't buying it. We're all learning to create a NEW VISION of what is possible for our society. DU is one small part of that.

What we DO need are people of conscience such as Robert Shceer! Without them we are blind, deaf and dumb.

[philly_bob]

16. Credibility Self-Destructs: NYT, LAT /nt

[Nothing Without Hope]

17. Robert Scheer also co-hosts a weekly RADIO PROGRAM and we can listen:

It's called "Left, Right and Center" and you can get info and links to audio files, transcripts, podcasts, and so on here:
http://www.kcrw.com/show/lr

Hosted by: R.Scheer, A.Huffington, M.Miller & T.Blankley

Provocative, up-to-the-minute, alive and witty, KCRW's weekly confrontation over politics, policy and popular culture proves those with impeccable credentials needn't lack personality. Featuring four of the most insightful news analysts anywhere, this weekly "love-hate relationship of the air" reaches about 50,000 of the most influential radio listeners in Southern California.

On-Air Fridays 2:30 - 3:00 PM, repeated Fridays 7:00 - 7:30 PM
Listen Online (http://www.kcrw.com/grid): Fridays 2:30 - 3:00 PM, repeated Fridays 7:00 - 7:30 PM
Find out where Left, Right & Center can be heard on our Station List (http://kcrw.org/lrcstations.html).
Podcast (http://www.kcrw.com/podcast): Automatic MP3 Downloads

Here are the two most recent programs listed - there are others also listed and they sound interesting too.

Election Roundup and Implications; France's Youth Riots; Big Oil Profits

{Listen - http://kcrw.com/cgi-bin/ram_wrap.cgi?/lr/lr051111Election_Roundup_and }
Aired Friday, November 11, 2005. {GUEST LIST & LINKS - http://www.kcrw.com/cgi-bin/db/kcrw.pl?show_code=lr&air_date=11/11/05&tmplt_type=Show}

President's Poll Numbers; Libby Plea; Alito for Supreme Court?; Did Senate Dem's Grow a Spine?

{Listen - http://kcrw.com/cgi-bin/ram_wrap.cgi?/lr/lr051104Presidents_Poll_Numb}
With Matt Miller on assignment and Tony Blankley in Moscow, Bob Scheer hosts. Edward Lazarus, a former Supreme Court clerk to Justice Harry Blackmun and author of Closed Chambers: The Rise, Fall, and Future of the Modern Supreme Court joins us on the Left. Dr. Dan Goure, former staffer to Lewis "Scooter" Libby and a specialist in national security issues at the conservative Lexington Institute, joins us on the Right.
Aired Friday, November 4, 2005. {GUEST LIST & LINKS - http://www.kcrw.com/cgi-bin/db/kcrw.pl?show_code=lr&air_date=11/4/05&tmplt_type=Show}

Anybody reading this who listens to these shows and would like to give an overall opinion of them? I haven't listened yet and am wondering if Scheer speaks and debates as well as he has written in his columns. Arianna Hufington is also a co-host, I see.

[ugarte]

20. Somewhere Jim Murray is rolling in his grave...

L.A. Times, R.I.P.

[fearnobush]

22. Let em rip!!!

[Festivito]

23. At least it's not a cattle-car to a concentration camp.

Yet.
Live well, express well, be well good and faithful countryman.

..if we don't hang together, we shall certainly hang separately.