Hugh Hewitt this day brought to America's attention that the L. A. Times is in it's death throes. Of 30,000,000 possible customers they have a measly 775,000 and that number is falling. He has spoken on this before. The numbers change on occasion with the LAT numbers plummeting each time and the customer base rising...

Saturday - November 11, 2006 - Tim Rutten: wrote in Regarding Media

A tough place for The Times

This week, the paper's new publisher, David D. Hiller, asked Editor Dean Baquet to resign because they were unable to agree on The Times' future direction and on the Tribune Co.'s demands that costs be cut by further reducing the staff.
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Earlier this week, Hiller sent The Times' staff a thoughtful appraisal of the paper's situation and of the steps that need to be taken to ensure that it go on fulfilling its responsibilities to its readers and meeting its financial obligations to Tribune's stockholders. The key initiatives he identified centered on reinvigorating local and regional coverage, reaching out to Latino readers, young people and young families.

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Rutten goes off into la-la land (No relation to all of L.A.. just portions of it.) in his article and the majority of it is nonsense but what Hugh Hewitt said on his radio show made sense. The a good portion of that 775,000 number the LAT claims is not real readers.

I can say personally that one of those Sunday issues goes to my brother-in-law's house. His wife is Korean by birth,  American by naturalization and had signed up for a Korean newspaper. With it and unknown to her came a complimentary copy of the Sunday L.A. Times. - She does not bother with it. She seldom reads much of the Korean paper.

My Bro-in-law is legally blind.

I called the LAT up and cancelled the "FREE" issue. They have not as of this time accepted my cancellation.

Every Sunday I pick the paper up from their driveway and throw it in the trunk of my car with the idea that I can pull out the comics and share them at work.

Once a month I pull the papers out of the trunk and set them just inside of my garage with the idea that I will pull out the comics and share them at work.

The pile is getting higher.

One of these days I will put the papers in my blue recycling bin unopened and unread. Comics included.

The LAT circulation is really 774,999...