Writers Tricks of the Trade SPRING 2017 ISSUE 2, VOLUME 7 | Page 16

J OURNALISM IN THE “T YPEWRITER E RA ” (C ONTD )
PAPER
LOS ANGELES
TIMES HISTORY
The Los Angeles Times
was first published on
December 4, 1881,
under the name of the
Los Angeles Daily
Times. When the
original founders ran
into financial
problems the
following year, the
fledgling paper was
inherited by its
printer, the Mirror
Printing Office and
Book Bindery. The
company hired as
editor former military
officer Harrison Gray
Otis, who quickly
turned the paper into
a financial success.
Otis and a partner
purchased the entire
Times and Mirror
properties in 1884 and
incorporated them as
the Times-Mirror
Company. Two years
later, Otis purchased
his partner's interest.
in the company.
S PRING 2017
was equipped with a two-way radio to the city desk and a police radio. Each was
staffed by a photographer and a reporter (taking turns at the wheel), constantly
cruising, listening to chatter over the police radio, and looking for a happening or
potential story.
It was not unusual to get to a crime scene before police arrived.
On the other hand, it was not unusual for the news unit to report things such as
vehicle accidents or house fires while cruising.
One Mirror cruiser car was assigned mostly to the Hollywood area in early
morning hours because that is where the action was. First stop was at the
Hollywood police station where overnight bookings were checked out in efforts to
find something interesting.
Sometimes a well-known personality was behind bars for some incident. That
was certain to make a front-page story.
With facts in hand, the reporter would dictate notes via the car's radio directly
to a member of a fast rewrite team in the paper's newsroom.
That's how breaking news wound up pronto in print, then on the street.
Aside from that, some facts were verified via different procedures.
Relations with law enforcement agencies were much better than in current
days. A reporter with the right credentials could research police files or ask for
ownership of a particular vehicle with certain license plates.
This speeded information to readers.
Now, it's not unusual to see the name of a person involved in an incident
released by authorities several days after the event.
Also performed with speed were reviews of entertainment shows, whether at
the Hollywood Bowl, Philharmonic Auditorium, Hollywood Palladium or Pantages
Theatre, as examples.
After a performance, a reviewer would drive back to the newsroom, write the
review, slap a headline on it (as the clock neared midnight, often beyond) and hand
carry the copy to the composing room where it was set into type and placed in the
"hole" reserved for it.
Thus, readers saw reviews the next day with their morning coffee.
That doesn't happen now, despite cell phones, computers and such.
Reviews, fewer than in the earlier period, now often take several days to appear
in print.
Old timers would label today's mode as sluggish.
P AGE 8
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE TRADE