Should Eli Broad Buy the L.A. Times and Return It to Local Ownership?

Practically ever since the Chicago-based Tribune Co. merged with the Times-Mirror Co. in 2000, there have been calls from Los Angeles civic leaders for the L.A. Times to return to local control. After the firing of a popular publisher and more newsroom cuts this fall, those calls have grown louder.

Last month, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution calling for local leadership at the newspaper, and a group of more than 50 local civic leaders signed a letter to the Tribune Co., urging the company to put leaders in charge who know and love L.A.

"Having key decisions at the Los Angeles Times made by an entity 1,750 miles and two time zones away is not in the best interests of those who depend on the newspaper for vital information and analysis," said L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. "Our constituents deserve better than the current setup, which is essentially publishing by remote control."

There is one local buyer’s name that keeps popping up: Eli Broad. But there are mixed feelings about the 82-year-old billionaire philanthropist taking over the paper.

Broad has already tried to buy the Times, twice. He partnered with a group of local investors two years ago, but that went nowhere. Then last month, Broad, who did not respond to requests to speak for this story, told the L.A. Business Journal he tried again.

“At the request of the chairman of the board of the Tribune Co. I did make an offer … which they ultimately rejected,” Broad said. “I’ve always believed that the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego papers ought to be owned by Californians.”

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