Major Changes at the Los Angeles Times

Seems I can’t stay away from the online community without missing breaking news regarding the Los Angeles Times. According to sources of Kevin Roderick’s the Calendar Section produced on the afternoon shift at the Los Angeles Times production Facilities, could be moved into the main section of the newspaper.

Here’s what Mr. Roderick said:

The Los Angeles Times staffers I've heard from seem pretty convinced there will be a new round of newsroom bloodletting next week, with many fearing the firing starts Monday. A hint of what may result came when editor Russ Stanton reportedly told some in Calendar on Thursday that the section, which is saddled with afternoon deadlines due to a limit on press capacity, would soon get late-night deadlines akin to the news sections Monday through Thursday. He framed it as good news, which it is for Calendar — but it raised alarms elsewhere.

This answers the question of why the cafeteria hours at the Los Angeles Times Olympic Facility are being reviewed for possible alterations.

Mr. Roderick's source needs to drop by the pressroom as things have changed twenty-five years ago, assuming this is a long term employee that has not visited the pressroom lately.

Not brought up by Stanton, though, is an underlying fact, which could be pretty huge: the Times' press capacity can only produce four sections in the live run. Currently it has the main news section, California, Business and Sports. Obviously, the main news section and Sports have to be there. But it means that one of the other two either has to move into the earlier pre-print -- where Calendar currently runs, and which would turn the section into frozen food, with pointlessly early deadlines -- or dies as a separate entity....

The Los Angeles Times Pressrooms can produce 96 pages in straight mode, with thirty-two pages of full color, and produce six sections on every press run. We have three sets of double form plates on each printing press, a conversion we adopted in 1984 while at Times Mirror Square. The printing presses can be run in three different modes, collect, straight, and double delivery.

Collect mode: One newspaper is produced for every revolution of the printing press, with the maximum capacity of 192 pages, 64 full color pages produced, and 12 sections produced simultaneously.

Straight mode: Two newspapers are produced with each revolution of the printing press with a maximum of 96 pages, 32 full color pages, and 6 sections which is the most common mode of operation at the Times.

Double delivery mode: Four newspapers are produced for every revolution of the printing press with a maximum of 48 pages, 16 full color pages, and 3 sections produced.

Appears many changes are coming to the Los Angeles Times next week, stay tuned for updates.