I've always been a bit contemptuous of those people -- on either side of the political divide -- who write Letters to the Editor cancelling, or threatening to cancel, their subscriptions. And I've always felt a bit smug about having such a great hometown newspaper, The Los Angeles Times, to read every morning. When I used to travel quite a bit, it amazed me that people had to put up with such inferior sources for their news!
But week by week, my newspaper has become a pallid shadow of its former self. There was a spark of life when Steve Lopez was allowed to put his great series on the homeless on the front page, and the in-depth reporting is still pretty good most days. However, the "Opinion" section, now renamed "Current," of all silly things, looks more and more like a comic book, well-written columns, even some from conservative sources, with cogent arguments, seldom appear, and the Letters to the Editors, usually interesting and well-written, have been cut in half. Many of the editorials have almost no substance -- they seem to be written as entertainment rather than as opinion pieces.
However, it never occured to me to cancel my subscription. I've been a subscriber for forty years! I read a lot of news on the Internet, but there has seldom been anything as good on the Internet as a good, long, in-depth investigative piece of reporting from the Times!
But now they've gone and done it! They fired Robert Scheer. Robert Scheer has worked for the Times for 30 years, and they didn't even give him an explanation. He's being replaced by Jonah Goldberg! Of course they've also fired ultra conservative political cartoonist, Michael Ramirez, probably to show they are providing "balance," and they aren't even replacing him! I hated Michael Ramirez' politics, but I didn't mind having him there, as long as some of "my guys" were on the same page. That's how a good "Opinion" section should look!
So now I have to decide: Do I cancel my subscription? How does my husband get his sports news? -- or any news, for that matter, since he doesn't use a computer. What about the travel section? And what about Steve Lopez? (Of course, he'll probably be the next to go!) If we all go away, then the Times won't even have an incentive to hire good reporters. OK, so I'm just thinking out loud here -- but I'm interested in what other Times subscribers plan to do.