Tuesday Morning Shorts

Tribune Co. Rejects Consortium Inquiry About Baltimore Sun
Ted Venetoulis, a businessman and former local politician, is leading a consortium of prominent Baltimoreans who want to buy the Sun, if Tribune decides to break up the company and sell it piece by piece.

Training tomorrow's reporters isn't easy in L.A.
As I read Mariel Garza's column last week (11/12/2006) in the Daily News of Los Angeles it echoed some of my own experiences in trying to connect my journalism students with the Los Angeles Police Department. Like Garza, I teach a journalism course at California State University Northridge, and wanted the students in my class to view a daily crime log as one of their 10 out-of-class reporting assignments for the semester.

Curbside Tagspapers
Photo-Op of newsracks.

Extended Warranty "Useless" -- Consumer Reports
You are buying a brand-new product. But the salesperson is telling you it could break down. And unless you pay for the warranty, you'll have expensive repairs. Well, is that true? Is an extended warranty worth the money?

Near-Riot @ Topanga Sony Style Store For PS3 Launch...
In January, when I observed that the search for an Xbox 360 was going to be "...a mere dress rehersal for the Playstation 3's release later this year," I didn't anticipate that last weekend would involve violence.


LA cops file suit over ticket quotas
A group of Los Angeles police officers in the north San Fernando Valley has filed a class- action grievance alleging that they have been improperly pressured by the command staff to meet quotas in writing traffic tickets.

Advertisers to push Times on rates
Whenever there's blood in the water, you can be certain that advertisers will be looking for a discount off the rate card. The Business Journal reports that Macy's and several unnamed local auto dealers say they will be expecting better deals next year, based on the paper's circulation drop (15 percent since the last ad rates were set).