Undercover Photographer: L.A. Times staffer crosses a line, again. [Hugh Hewitt mentioned]

Know what, how to throw rocks? I already knew that. And some people still wonder why the right is leery of the media.

"You send me the pictures, and I'll give you your 'war'".

LOL! Exactly!!!

From http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/ww1/byrne.html:
William Randolph Hearst
The year was 1897 and tensions were high in the United States due to the growing conflict between our close neighbor Cuba and Spain. William Randolph Hearst, already an established newspaper owner in San Francisco was engaged in a fierce battle for readers between his newly acquired paper the New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer's highly successful New York World. Hearst knew that a war, particularly a war with the involvement of the United States would increase his newspaper distribution dramatically. Hearst championed the Cuban rebels and welcomed a U.S. declaration of war.
He launched a scathing series of attacks in his daily editorials aimed at the Spanish government for its hostile actions and towards the United States government for not doing anything about it. He called for war at a time when the country was just healing from the wounds of the Civil War and was itching for an excuse to flex some military muscle. He spent untold sums of money to send reporters and corespondents to Cuba to capture the stories of Cuban insurrection.
When his artist correspondent, Frederick Remington, arrived in Cuba to cover the anticipated Spanish-American war only to find there were no visible signs of war and cabled Hearst for permission to come home, Hearst reportedly cabled back,
"You provide the pictures, and I'll provide the war."

This strategy worked, as the Journal sold more than a million copies during the height of the crisis...

"...The Zelig-like Cole also garnered national attention in 1997 for gaining access to Emil Matasareanu as he lay dying on a North Hollywood street after his outrageous, nationally televised post-bank-robbery shootout with police, which left 11 officers and six civilians injured. In Cole's version of events, Matasareanu was a victim of heartless law-enforcement officials who didn't respond quickly enough to his medical needs. Her account, which she conveyed to Times reporter Bill Boyarsky, became a part of the wrongful-death lawsuit leveled by Matasareanu's family..."
For an alternative point of view, see http://www.reporter-news.com/1998/opinion/bang0424.html:

Abilene Reporter-News
Friday, April 24, 1998
Bang, bang, you're sued
The American legal theory that "everyone is a victim, no one is responsible" got another boost this week.
The victim, or so his lawyer says, is Emil Matasareanu, who was indeed engaged in a hazardous line of work. He robbed banks and armored cars.
Last February, in the course of pursuing his occupation, Matasareanu and his partner, Larry Phillips, donned full body armor and armed themselves with assault rifles loaded with armor-piercing ammo and illegally modified to be fully automatic. They then set off to rob a bank.
When police objected, they shot at them. And shot and shot and shot, for 40 minutes, wounding 11 officers and six civilians. One squad car was hit 47 times. The altercation ended when Phillips committed suicide and Matasareanu was wounded, fatally it turned out.
A lawyer, suing on behalf of Matasareanu's children barely a month after the robbery, charged that police violated the robber's civil rights by denying him immediate medical attention. He might have lived, the suit says, if the police had rushed him to the hospital. This week, the suit was broadened to include the city's paramedics as co-conspirators in murder.
A reasonable person might say that one forfeits a claim on prompt and courteous service from the police by trying to kill them for the better part of an hour, but this is the American legal system: As the lawyer put it, the would-be killer had "serious medical needs."
This case deserves an award, all right, but not for damages. The judge should give it an award for effrontery before throwing it out of court.

From http://www.freqofnature.com/2002_02_24_newsarchives.html:

Monday, February 25, 2002
LAPD bears shootout scars
[Source: Daily News]

Photo of an LAPD police car from the N. Hollywood incident

By Holly Edwards
NORTH HOLLYWOOD -- Bullet marks still mar the cinder block walls and wrought-iron fences surrounding the Bank of America in North Hollywood, the site of one of the fiercest gun battles in the city's history.

Five years ago this Thursday, two masked men armed with automatic weapons and body armor robbed the bank at 6600 Laurel Canyon Blvd., then marched confidently down the street in terrifying scenes caught unforgettably by helicopter-borne television cameras.

The robbers sprayed thousands of bullets at officers, bystanders and the surrounding neighborhood for 45 minutes before they were killed. Ten police officers and six bystanders were wounded.

Like the pockmarks left by the shower of bullets, the indelible marks of the gunbattle are still riddled throughout the city -- in the way the Los Angeles Police Department responds to armed suspects, the public's perception of the LAPD, and the personal lives of the officers who risked their lives in the standoff.

Many of the responding police officers say they have coped with the lingering effects of traumatic stress -- depression, nightmares and flashbacks -- similar to those experienced by battle-scarred soldiers.

"I'm not the same person and I still think about the shootout every single day," said LAPD Officer John Caprarelli, 44, one of the officers involved in the gunfight.

"For months and months, I had nightmares where I was back in some part of the shootout. I was haunted by questions of why and what if, and I couldn't get back to sleep. Stress will do very strange things to you."

Caprarelli said he still relives moments of the shootout, like running for his life in a hail of bullets, hearing his wounded comrades screaming for help over the radio, and staring into the eyes of Larry Phillips before the 26-year-old robber was shot and killed by police.

The other robber, Emil Matasareanu, 30, was killed by members of the LAPD Special Weapons and Tactics team after he commandeered a pickup from a man who ran for his life after being injured by flying shrapnel.

Since the shootout, three of the officers involved have committed suicide, and many have sought help for depression and substance abuse problems, said Sgt. Keith Moreland, supervisor of the LAPD employee assistance unit.

While Moreland said he does not believe the officers' suicides were the direct result of the shootout, he said it is common for officers involved in life-and-death situations to experience despair and anxiety that can worsen if left untreated... more

Their "despair and anxiety" might also have been aggravated by Ms. Cole, and the pro-criminal attitude of the L.A. Times.

It is also known as "suicide by cop" to provoke a standoff that ends in fatal gunfire.

My Gosh, Ron. She is on Piece of Work!

Chairman Arafat
Mark Steyn Link Excerpt:

Just as revealing was the reaction from the European media. In the American press, you read things like: "An observer to the bomb-blast scene described a dead young girl, perhaps 10 or 12, lying on the ground with her eyes open, looking as if she was surprised." For Europe, on the other hand, the main significance of this development was that it was "unhelpful" to the "peace process". Before I'm accused of being more upset about dead Jewish than dead Muslim kids, let me say that I take people at their own estimation: in the Palestinian Authority schools, they teach their children about the glories of martyrdom; indeed, the careers guidance counsellor appears to have little information on alternative employment prospects; at social events, the moppets are dressed up as junior jihadi, with toy detonators and play bombs. It's not that I place less value on Palestinian lives, but that Chairman Arafat and his chums in Hamas do. So does Saddam Hussein, whose government (the subject of an admiring article in this week's Spectator) gives $25,000 to the family of each Palestinian suicide bomber. So does the Arab League, which at last year's summit passed a resolution hailing the "spirit of sacrifice" of the Palestinian "martyrs" and thus licensed Wednesday's massacre. As for the "peace process", those Europeans who, just a few months ago, were urging the Americans to cease operations for Ramadan evidently feel no compunction to demand from Chairman Arafat and his dark subsidiaries any similar "bombing pause" for Passover.

In the days after September 11, we were told that Muslims had great respect for their fellow "people of the book" - ie, Jews and Christians. This ought to be so: after all, the dramatis personae of the Koran include Abraham, Moses, David, John the Baptist, Jesus and the Virgin Mary. It's one thing to believe that the Israelis are occupiers and oppressors and that the Zionist state should not exist. But no Muslim with any understanding of his shared heritage could in good conscience blow up a Passover Seder. It marks a new low in the Palestinians' descent into nihilism - though, as usual, the silence of the imams is deafening. As for the nonchalance of the Europeans, that too should not surprise us: in my experience, the Continent's Christians, practising and nominal, find the ceremonies of Jewish life faintly creepy, notwithstanding that these were also the rituals by which their own Saviour lived.

But this year, when the Christians' solar calendar and the Jews' lunar calendar have coincided and Easter and Passover fall together, it's a safe bet that George W Bush will make the connection. The first time I ever heard him speak, he spoke openly about his faith and about Christ in a way that would be unimaginable for a British politician. He will know all the details - "the baby tried to crawl away, but it died, too".......................

Before I'm accused of being more upset about dead Jewish than dead Muslim kids, let me say that I take people at their own estimation: in the Palestinian Authority schools, they teach their children about the glories of martyrdom; indeed, the careers guidance counsellor appears to have little information on alternative employment prospects; at social events, the moppets are dressed up as junior jihadi, with toy detonators and play bombs.

Thank you so much for this ping.

Thanks for the ping!

I dropped my LA Slimes subscription some time ago.
I see no reason to start subscribing again, seeing that they support this reporter!

PROPAGANDA

What 'intelligent' folks recognize when they hear it? Usually 'right-minded' people.

Just a reminder....I hope these Carnak gems are being indexed to the file.

No real conservative or Jew would ever subscribe to the LA Slimes or buy a single maggot infested issue from a machine or stand!

Real conservatives and Jews in LaLa land should cancel their subscriptions to the LA Slimes immediately. Then let the LA Slimes Board of Directors know why they have cancelled their subscriptions.

If any of you cancel your subscription to the LA Slimes, send half of your monthly savings to Free Republic. This is a double whammy against these vile maggots!

How about a RINO-sponored alternative to the RAT-infested L.A. Times?

See http://www.labusinessjournal.com/feature0422.html:

April 22, 2002
Riordan Faces Tough Run at Publishing
Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan may have picked a task even more daunting than running for governor.

By CONOR DOUGHERTY and HOWARD FINE, Staff Reporters
The millionaire businessman, who just came off a grueling campaign and ultimate defeat in the Republican primary, has confirmed that he will start a newspaper in Los Angeles by this summer.

In an interview last week, Riordan said the paper is likely to be a 28-page broadsheet made up of news and commentary that would be fashioned after the weekly New York Observer.

“The paper will contain local news, California news, feature articles by top writers,” he said. “We have a whole list of top writers from the L.A. area who have agreed to submit pieces for us. I would also like a page analyzing what’s on the Internet. I’d also like to see analysis of articles in other media.”

But as of last week, the paper remained a work in progress. For one thing, it’s unclear how often it will publish. The former mayor wants to start out as a five-day-a-week daily, but he left open the possibility that the frequency would be cut back to one or two days a week. Also unclear is whether the paper will be subscriber-based or given away. He apparently has a name in mind, but said he could not announce it until various legal issues were resolved.

Riordan said there would be a staff of about 40 and that he plans to start the publication with Matt Welch, co-founder of LAExaminer.com, a local media Web site that provides local news and analysis – much of it biting – about the heretofore ignored L.A. media scene.

“Why am I doing this? I’ve always liked writing,” Riordan said. “I have always liked having input for a newspaper – it’s intellectually stimulating.”

Welch said that he and Ken Layne, co-founder of LAExaminer.com, had been pursuing ideas for a print publication in Los Angeles when Riordan called out of the blue. “I laughed at first and then we started having a serious discussion on ideas,” Welch said last week.

“For now, I consider myself a co-conspirator in this process,” he explained. “I’ve started several other publications – both print and online – and that I’m sure is part of the reason he contacted me. I don’t think he has a management team that’s set in stone. But some of the people he’s been talking to I know would be able to start working on this right away after he pulls the trigger.”

Costly Start-up

Riordan, who had been talking about the idea with numerous media people in recent weeks, refused to say how much he is willing to spend on the paper. “I have some sense of how much money would be involved, but it’s still inexact,” he said. “I don’t want to release a figure until I have a better idea.”

Whether daily or weekly, analysts say Riordan shouldn’t expect to operate in the black for at least five to ten years, assuming the paper catches on.

“Someone has to be willing to stay in the red for a long, long time and even then there’s no guarantee.” said John Morton of Morton Research Inc., a media consulting firm in Silver Spring, Md.

David Cole, editor and publisher of NewsInc., a Bay Area-based newsletter about the newspaper business, estimated the startup costs of a weekly newspaper with a circulation between 30,000 and 50,000 to be around $5 million. A daily of that size, he said, would cost between $15 million and $20 million.

The 72 year-old Riordan has net worth estimated to be at least $100 million – and friends whose wealth is greater still. As of last week, however, it was unclear how the paper would be financed.

“He might approach some venture capitalists or some friends,” said Patrick Haden, a general partner at Riordan Lewis & Haden, the former mayor’s private equity firm that he has recently rejoined. “Dick’s been involved in many successful startups over the years, but they’re difficult,” he said.

However well financed, Morton said entrepreneurs looking to start a newspaper often don’t realize the gargantuan costs until the losses begin piling up.

“There are lots of people who thought they were rich until they bought a daily newspaper,” he said. Morton refused to speculate on how long it would take for a new paper to reach profitability because, in recent history, “nobody has ever done it.”

A Different Voice

Riordan’s disclosure came the same week that a daily newspaper debuted in New York. The five-day-a-week New York Sun is backed by Canadian newspaper baron Conrad Black and several prominent New Yorkers. Estimates of the initial investment run from $20 million to $25 million.

Here in Los Angeles, investment guru William O’Neil launched the nationally distributed Investor’s Business Daily in 1984 and the paper has yet to turn a profit. Asked recently how much money he had put into the paper over the years, O’Neil told the Business Journal, “We don’t give that figure out because it’s so much we’d probably be embarrassed. But it is a substantial amount.”

Analysts say that Riordan’s best chance would be to create an editorial product with a distinctly different voice from the dominant Los Angeles Times and to focus on relatively well-heeled readers that advertisers covet.

Cole said he thinks given the right conditions Riordan could be successful, but only as a weekly publication, which would be significantly cheaper to operate. “If Mr. Riordan wants to put money into hiring good people and is patient, he could probably have a successful weekly newspaper in five to 10 years,” Cole said.

Others question whether the already saturated L.A. media market, with the Times, Daily News, numerous smaller dailies and weeklies, plus broadcast and Internet outlets, is fertile ground for yet another publication – even one headed by the popular former mayor.

“I’m just not sure there’s room for another paper,” said Jill Marx, senior vice president and media director at Kovel/Fuller, an advertising agency in Culver City. “You have to fill a void that hasn’t been filled and I’m really not sure that’s possible.”

For all the risks, the new paper will most certainly create an initial buzz that could attract initial interest by advertisers. But Kovel warned that, “after the first 90 days, if they don’t have the circulation, it’s over.”

To the extent that Riordan’s paper will be a reflection of his politics, Morton said his reputation as a maverick could help grab readers. “Mr. Riordan, I assume, has a particular point of view and I assume the paper will reflect it,” he said. “Then the question becomes, are there enough readers interested in that particular take on journalism? If it distinguishes itself from other newspapers, that would be a big help.”

Welch said he expects the new paper “to have a lot of personality and fun. Punchy writing with a good sense of humor. It would compete against the laborious tone of the L.A. Times Column One stories.”

As for the chances of success, he added, “I believe there is plenty of room here for either a daily paper or a weekly one. This is a media town, under-served and under-appreciated.”

More than likely even a RINO owned and run fishwrap would still stink.

Conservatives don't need newspapers in today's world. Nor should we ever buy one nor subscribe to a left wing one like the LA Slimes.

There has to be a critical mass of conservatives subscribing to the LA Slimes or any left wing fishwrap that keeps that fishwrap afloat.

When enough conservatives stop buying/subscribing to their local fishwrap like the LA Slimes, that is when that maggot infested agenda pushing fishwrap starts to go belly up. It is not just the drop in subscribers that will force the newspaper to go under. Those subscribers who have abandoned the fishwrap are often the key audience that merchants spend their ad bucks to reach. If they aren't buying/subscribing nor reading, the merchants will no longer buy ads. Then it is goodbye fishwrap!

Great!

Only problem is these fish look too nice to be wrapped in a Slimes.

We need to find a picture of fish heads and fish guts spread out on a LA Slimes front page. Then it will be really appropriate.

In the meantime this will work.

POSITIVE USE OF LA SLIMES!