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L.A. Stories

Longtime News Gems readers know that I was a big fan of the enterprising reporting and writing in the Los Angeles Times under former editor Dean Baquet. When Baquet was pushed out the door last November, I doubted that new editor James O'Shea could maintain the same record of excellence. So far, I've been wrong. I think the L.A. Times continues to be the best-written paper in America (a few others surpass it for best-reported) as the examples below show:

The Times' Paul Pringle came up with a great way to cover the fire that attacked the city's Griffith Park this week. In "Precision Nighttime Flying was Crucial to Halting Fire," Pringle follows the blaze's advance and retreat through the eyes of helicopter pilot Scott Bowman, who spent nearly 14 hours making more than 100 solo flights to douse the flames. Check out how Pringle uses action verbs, crisp nouns and metaphor to describe the scene:

All night long, evacuees and other anxious residents watched as the helicopters darted in and out of the horizon-blurring banks of dense smoke, unleashing their giant curtains of water.

Down below, crews labored on the slopes with simpler tools: shovels and hoses. They carved firebreaks and arced streams of water and foam at flames that crept within 100 yards of houses.

The Times' package on the fire comes with a terrific photo gallery, a graphic showing how to protect your home from fires and a news blog that constantly updates the story. www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-newfire10may10,0,3260700.story?track=ntottext

In another story that successfully humanizes the news, Times business writer David Streitfeld covers the rise in home foreclosures through the experiences of a sheriff's deputy who delivers the eviction notices. Streitfeld's "Better-Heeled Failing Home Economics Too" is a strong example of how sometimes a narrow focus is the best way to cover a big story. He doesn't use a lot of quotes, but the ones he includes have a potent effect:

"You see me coming. You know I'm not exactly bringing tidings of joy," the deputy says. "I'm the grim reaper."

Be sure to check out how Streitfeld brings his story to a dramatic close. www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-evict6may06,0,5268127.story?track=ntottext

For more than a month, I've been meaning to highlight "Reporter Recalls the Layers of Truth Told in Iraq" by the Times' Borzou Daragahi. Daragahi powerfully describes the steps reporters take to simply survive in Iraq. It's a wonderful use of a first-person voice to tell the story behind news. www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-fouryears10apr10,0,3777294.story?track=ntottext

Finally, a splendid profile of the night watchman at Alcatraz by the Times' John M. Glionna: http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-trw-watchman7apr07 Thank you Kate Giammarise for this tip.

Do you agree the L.A. Times the best-written paper in America? Or do you have other favorites?

Published Thursday, May 10, 2007 1:35 PM by jonmarshall

Comments

# re: L.A. Stories

Friday, May 11, 2007 9:45 AM by Mark Johnson
The L.A. Times is beautifully written, but I'd say The St. Petersburg Times in Fla. has to be right up there too. Check out this boldly written feature by Lane DeGregory http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/06/Floridian/The_devil_you_know.shtml
The Post too still features very stylish writing: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/08/AR2007050801994.html
markj

# re: L.A. Stories

Friday, May 11, 2007 10:43 AM by John Ettorre
Come on, folks, the Washington Post is better written than both, and usually better than the NYT as well, although the LAT is certainly close most days. Of course, the $64,000 question is how much damage will be done to all these papers by the infernal, seemingly never-ending staff cuts, which leave fewer people to cover the same big world, and no doubt pressure great stylists to cut down on their third, fourth and fifth drafts. And the shrinking newshole offers different but no less serious challenges.

# re: L.A. Stories

Friday, May 11, 2007 10:48 AM by fake name
So, this is a little awkward for me. I'm not even comfortable saying it in public. I was a reporter, editor, and columnist for over two decades. Just to establish my credentials, my byline has appeared in the LAT, NYT, and the Washington Post (and I was once a columnist for one of those places). Today I, er, do something else completely unrelated to journalism. And one of the reasons that happened is I concluded that a lot of people in the business elevated "great writing" above the story. I think it's dangerous, and I think it leads directly to people like Jason Blair. It also leads to being captured by your sources, because you need those "great quotes" from authoritative observers. So you don't want to contradict those guys in print, because then they won't call you back before your deadline and then you're screwed. And the result of these forces is you wind up focusing more on the writing than you do on, you know, the truth. So, if you'll permit a bit of hyperbole, great writing is the enemy of the truth.

# re: L.A. Stories

Friday, May 11, 2007 11:28 AM by Mark Johnson
In answer to Fake Name: Nope. Lies, not "great writing," are the enemy of the truth. Jayson Blair was NEVER, ever a "great writer." Nor does great writing depend on "great quotes." Great writing flows from great reporting and great thinking, all masterfully organized.  

# re: L.A. Stories

Friday, May 11, 2007 12:05 PM by LA resident
There is a lot of really mediocre writing in the paper, especially in the Calendar area. Also, they do not have a gossip column or any features that readers seem to want. They did start a fashion section recently. Better late than never.

# re: L.A. Stories

Friday, May 11, 2007 1:26 PM by Ray
The WSJ has been the best written newspaper for decades, thanks, in part, to intensive editing.

# re: L.A. Stories

Friday, May 11, 2007 2:26 PM by Reporter in LA
LAT best-written paper in America? Puh-leese....I live in LA. And I just cancelled my LAT subscription. And I'm a reporter (obvs. not for them)! You would think that cancelling a subscription would have caused a reporter some pangs of guilt. Not really. It always reads like a warmed-over NYT. Their local coverage stinks (Medill grad students filing Evanston City Council stories do a better job).

WaPo is a much better paper, with much deeper local coverage while still hitting all of the national issues.

# re: L.A. Stories

Friday, May 11, 2007 4:28 PM by Dave Macaray
I've subscribed to the LAT for 20 years, have had a dozen or so freelance pieces published in it, know some of the employees, past and present---so while I'm not "tainted," I'm not exactly objective either.

Still, I don't know how one can compare the overall writing of various publications unless you read them all--from front to back--regularly, and do some serious homework.  

I've never once thought the LAT was badly written; in fact, I respect and admire the writing.  OK, there's a sports columnist I'm not fond of.  But he's won prizes, so posterity will say I was wrong, not the writng.

And I agree with the poster who said Beware of really zesty, wildly evocative prose in straight news pieces. The more brilliant, the funnier, the more stylized the writing, the more it tends to drift away from the truth.  

Even essayist/comic David Sedaris recently admitted to having "made up" much of his memoir material.  Why?  Because they read better in a "fictionalized" form.  Davey, we hardly knew ye.

# re: L.A. Stories

Friday, May 11, 2007 6:21 PM by Jon Marshall
I don't agree with Dave that just because something is a good read means that it is more likely to stray from the truth. A boring read can stray from the truth just as easily. I've certainly seen examples of both.

My picking the LAT as the best-written paper is admitedly subjective. That's why I welcome all of your suggetions of other papers. I agree that the St. Pete Times, WSJ and Washington Post are right up there.

# re: L.A. Stories

Sunday, May 13, 2007 3:18 PM by Mike Schroeder
I would put in my vote for the Wall Street Journal, with stories (especially Page 1 and the Marketplace cover) that are well-reported with depth and insight, with styles that are rarely boring. The story mix helps, and it's obvious that deft editing does, too. I'd put them slightly ahead of the NYT and WashPost, but far and away better than the LAT. I look for consistent quality over time, and that's just not something I've seen in the LAT.
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