Four in the morning

1. Liberal columnist Frank Rich bails on New York Times, goes to New York magazine. NY

2. A map of 17 "muckraking" bloggers having an impact on world affairs. Daily Beast

3. The Denver Post continues to sue bloggers for using its content without permission - and catches a destitute writer in its dragnet. Westword

4. Los Angeles Times reporters Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives win the Seldin Ring Award for Investigative Reporting for their city of Bell stories. USC

Four in the morning

1. The Pearl Project has completed its investigation into the murder of Daniel Pearl. Key finding: "Twenty-seven men were allegedly involved in the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal bureau chief Daniel Pearl, but only four have been charged and convicted." The rest of the report is here: Pearl Project (found via LA Observed)

2. 25 essential writing tips you may or may not agree with. Guardian

3. NPR and its 1.4 million Facebook fans. Nieman Journalism Lab

4. The USC j-school news site Neon Tommy is having an open house "today from 3-4 p.m. in the West Lobby of the Annenberg School. All are welcome."

Four today

1. Former LA Times reporter Bill Boyarsky lauds USC's online news site, Neon Tommy, as the future of IF Stoneian journalism (although I thought the name referred to something completely different). Truthdig

2. CNN's website expands - becomes even less relevant to me. Business Insider

3. Former Boston Globe reporter comes up with an unfortunate name to describe gripping stories. JLocal

4. Voice of San Diego wants to turn people into civic activists. Nieman Lab

It's Wonderland, Russ

Los Angeles Times editor Russ Stanton let it be known that he opposed Friday's takeover ad, which featured a mock front page with a giant picture of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter alongside recent Times' articles, but said he got overruled by the suits.

From the New York Times:

The top editor of The Times, Russ Stanton, and several of his deputies vigorously opposed the ad before it was published, but they were overruled by the paper’s business executives, according to people with direct knowledge of the dispute, who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Mr. Stanton said only, “Obviously, it was not my decision.”

John Conroy, a spokesman for The Times, said, “Stretching the boundaries was what we were going for.” He said Eddy W. Hartenstein, the publisher and chief executive, and other executives would not comment.

Conroy goes on to say the paper wants website advertising to set the tone for the way ads are presented in the newspaper, rather than have the newspaper set the standard.

Asked to comment, Geneva Overholser, director of USC's school of journalism, seemed resigned to the new world order: "This isn’t newspapering as it used to be, but that can’t be the determinant any more." At least one reporter, who spoke confidentially, accepted the move as a necessary, money-making evil.

SGV Tribune loses a reporter

Tania Chatila, who worked her way up the ranks to become a reporter and a sometimes editor at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, posted a note yesterday to let readers know that she has left the paper for a communications job at USC.

From her Leftovers at City Hall blog:

I've been working in professional newspapers since I was 19, but I have to say no newsroom has been quite like this one. Working in the San Gabriel Valley gave me a crash course in real crime, real politics and real people.

And now it's really time to go. This isn't to say I won't ever return to journalism (readers out there are either smiling or cringing at that thought) -- journalism and writing has always been my passion.

It's the art of storytelling that compels me. But for now, the transition is right for me and my future.

Her departure strikes me as a scary reminder that even good journalists are searching for a way station where they can wait out a storm that might never pass. It's also more evidence of the broken-ladder theory of journalism, one that should worry larger papers that hope to maintain their standards.

Coincidentally, the woman with whom Tania started the Leftovers from City Hall blog, Jennifer McLain, left the Tribune earlier this year and is now a student at USC.

Letter to Fielding

Callie Schweitzer, a reporter for USC's Neon Tommy, published an open letter to Dr. Jonathan Fielding, head of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, asking again that he sit down with reporters from the student-run website and answer questions about how the county records deaths from the H1N1 flu.

Schweitzer and Fielding appeared together on Tuesday's "Which Way, LA?," but Fielding declined to interact with her.

Here's a portion of her letter:

After listening to what you had to say, I realized we share many of the same goals: we both want people to take the H1N1 virus seriously and be properly informed on the risks and the situation in L.A. County.

It seems only fitting that the leading public health official in the county would have a conversation with Neon Tommy, the leading voice of the public on swine flu. We have much to gain by joining forces and helping to educate the public.

The complete letter is here. Neon Tommy's story about H1N1 deaths in LA County is here.

"It's not your father's LA Times"

Russ Stanton stopped by USC a couple of weeks ago and talked to a graduate journalism class about what's it like being editor of the Los Angeles Times. "It's like flying a 747 with three engines out," he said.

According to a student story about the visit, Stanton told the class that after he became editor he put Times journalists through an Internet boot camp and he touted the Top of the Ticket blog, the Mapping LA project and Brand X as successful innovations under his watch.

"It's not your father's LA Times," he told the students.

Stanton also answered a question about how he dealt with staff morale in the wake of numerous layoffs and buyouts. From the student report:

Executive in Residence and former Washington Editor for McClatchy Newspapers David Westphal asked how Stanton is keeping his employees' morale high despite a large number of layoffs. Stanton admitted it has been difficult, but that he makes an effort to go to lunch with someone from the staff every day in addition to sending daily notes to writers after well-reported stories. He also said he highlights the paper's strengths: foreign, entertainment and sport coverage.

"As we've been forced to get smaller, I've tried to reinforce the reasons why I love working there," he said.

Westphal wrote his own account of the visit, noting that Stanton sees the Guardian as a good model for how to handle online news and has put his faith in the e-reader to save the modern newspaper business.

Coincidentally, the LA Times has decided to partner with USC on a series of polls in the run-up to the next year's midterm elections, LA Observed reports. The Times killed its in-house polling unit last year.

Hyperlocal in L.A.

The "hyperlocal" journalism movement is the topic on today's "Which Way, LA?" The guests are Frank Gruber, a columnist at the Santa Monica Lookout News and attorney; Judy Muller, associate professor of journalism at the University of Southern California; Leo Wolinsky, former Metro editor at the Los Angeles Times and co-founder of The Journalism Shop, and Julian Do, Southern California director of New America Media. The show, which starts at 7:30 p.m., was produced by Frances Anderton.

Pasadena Weekly turns 25

The Pasadena Weekly formally celebrated its 25th anniversary with a small party at its office in downtown Pasadena on June 30. The alt weekly then moved the festivities to a bigger venue, the sidewalk in front of the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, for a citywide celebration. Mayor Bill Bogaard made a few opening remarks and then introduced the evening's entertainment, 80s cover band The Spazmatics. Hearing Bogaard say the name made it all worthwhile.

The celebration also marked the final day for PW writer and deputy editor Joe Piasecki. He's left the paper to pursue a master's degree in specialized journalism at USC's Annenberg School for Communication. Piasecki, a 2001 graduate of USC, was awarded an Annenberg Fellowship to help pay the freight. Staff writer Jake Armstrong will take over as deputy editor.

*Edited

Four in the afternoon

1. AP reporter reprimanded for critical comment about McClatchy posted on personal Facebook account. Former AP reporter David Kravetz has the story.

2. "We don't believe you, Joe." - Gawker

3. USC basketball coach Tim Floyd resigns. Clarion Ledger

4. Advice for graduates, from Bob Rector

The new journalism casts its net

The USC School of Journalism has invited Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post, to speak at its May 16 commencement. Here's how she's described on the school's Web site:

In May 2005, she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that has quickly become one of the most widely-read, linked to, and frequently-cited media brands on the Internet. In 2006, she was named to the Time 100, Time Magazine's list of the world’s 100 most influential people.

The School of Communication, meanwhile, will hear from actor Geena Davis.