The Last Los Angeles Times Press Run – IRA Stoll/The Editors

“The capital requirements to assemble a printing and distribution network, and the winner-take-most aspect of the classified advertising market (advertisers and readers both highly value the marketplace with the most ads and the largest audience) created significant entry barriers that, at worst, bred a kind of monopoly complacency and arrogance.

“At best, though, those profits paid for reporters, like me, to go out and report and write news.  And they paid for editors who, at best, helped make sure that news was accurate and accessible and fair. The newspaper owners lived in the community and cared about its long-term health and prosperity.”

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