A Note from Scott Smith

From: Internal News
Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2006 11:27 AM
To: All LATimes Employees
Subject: A Note From Scott Smith

Dear Los Angeles Times Colleagues:

Today David Hiller will succeed Jeff Johnson as president, publisher and CEO of the Los Angeles Times.

After a thorough review, Jeff and I agreed that he should resign at this time. We do agree on many priorities to best serve our customers, communities and shareholders. The Times’ has also made great progress on many fronts in the face of intense marketplace challenges. However, this leadership change is necessary because of important differences on how best to shape our future.

We thank Jeff for his steady leadership of the Times’ over the past six years and major achievements throughout his Tribune career. We wish Jeff and his family the very best in the years ahead.

David Hiller is an outstanding media executive to build on the Times’ progress. David has been president and publisher of the Chicago Tribune for two years, and has held a number of key executive positions during his 18 years with the company, including president of Tribune Interactive. He is totally committed to the top quality journalism and customer focus essential to publishing a great metropolitan newspaper. He also has terrific experience growing our internet and targeted print businesses. David will quickly get up to speed with you on the Times’ central role in the very diverse Los Angeles metropolitan area.

Everyday, we all strive to create value for readers, advertisers, the broader public and shareholders. Successfully serving these varied interests, as the best news organizations have consistently done, is most challenging now due to the fundamental changes in our markets and media. As much progress as we have made in recent years, we clearly need to innovate more to grow readership and revenue, and to do so efficiently. Let’s rise to these challenges together to achieve our shared goals.

Thank you.

Best regards,
Scott Smith