Last week, a noticed a number of signs on news racks along Sepulveda in the city of El Segundo. The notices informed the public that the news racks were out of compliance with municipal code. Every news organization that owns a rack must obtain a permit and pay a fee.
In the past, this process was quite contentious, since municipalities didn't want massive numbers of news racks cluttering up the sidewalks. They opened up a lottery system every day for which newspapers would go where, or if they would get a news rack for that day at all.
Because of rapid advances in technology and communications, news racks are going away, and most media companies are staving off print media to go directly into digital. Some of the news racks have been long abandoned, covered in graffiti and rust from misuse and neglect. I've seen them many times because of the walks I take down that street and in the El Segundo area.
It's stunning how the Los Angeles Times has neglected their own news stands, including one station under the Green Line station on the corner of Aviation and Imperial Highway. People aren't reading the Times anymore, or at least they don't want to read the print version. One of the three at this public meeting informed me that they get a free copy of the Sunday edition of the Times! The media company needs to keep their distribution numbers high so that advertisers continue to work with them!
It doesn't look as if the LA Times is going to be in charge or in print much longer. How long with everyday reader continue to tolerate left-wing bias, anti-conservative smears, and distortions of local as well as statewide news and events?
What a telling development, that the Los Angeles Times has turned into a dead-beat organization, refusing to even pay their permit fees for the news racks in local cities!