L.A. Times bloodletting reportedly gets a big one -- Mark Heisler

Big name on news side gets the ax as well:

http://www.thewrap.com/media/column-post/la-times-cuts-more-staff-29518

 

This may be a good thing for The Lakers Network that Time Warner is paying huge money to launch. I would believe, that anyone as highly regarded as Mark may just be hired to join the networks online operations.

 

I loved Heisler's open letters to Donald Sterling a few times between October and May-ish.

 

Sounds like they laid off a lot of people in their 50s and even 60s ... I'm sure they thought this out carefully and are balancing the age groups, but on the other hand, it certainly sounds like age discrimination.

 

Shameful shit.

 

I am not a lawyer but I think that age discrimination is hard to prove in court. I said something similar on another thread and others responded with antedoctal evidence of someone threatening to sue and receiving a reprieve, etc. but is there a documented example of someone who was laid-off and won a lawsuit?

 

I never missed a column. He is one of the Times writers whose stuff I read since long before I even thought of being a journalist. He is excellent.

I hope he finds a new home soon. ESPNLA, make it happen.

 

Why on earth would NBA.com or LALakers.com or LakersTV.com want to hire a journalist, over the age of 50, in order to run "real" stories when they can hire some social-media savvy 20-something for $35K and keep him/her under their thumb?

 

You have it backwards. Why would a veteran journalist want to be a house organ for the NBA or the Lakers??

 

Indeed.

 

A paycheck is often a marvelous motivational tool.