Magazine Said to Exclude Minority Areas in Distribution
“The former publisher of the Los Angeles Times Magazine
claims The Tribune Co. fired and defamed him for objecting to the
newspaper’s decision to save money by stopping distribution of its
Sunday magazine to low-income and minority neighborhoods, while
charging them the same price as ‘the white affluent subscribers
http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/09/16/39833.htm
,’ Robert Kahn reported Friday for Courthouse News Service.
“Steven Gellman sued the Tribune Co., the Los Angeles Times and
Scott Pompe, the Times’ senior vice president for advertising and
targeted media, alleging wrongful firing, defamation, intentional
infliction of emotional distress and violations of business and
professions codes. He demands at $3 million in compensatory damages
and $10 million in punitive damages, plus costs, in Los Angeles
Superior Court.
Gary Weitman, senior vice president of corporate
relations for the Tribune Co., provided FishbowlLA with the
following statement via email, FishbowlLA’s Richard Horgan reported:
“After reviewing the lawsuit just filed
by Mr. Gellman, we believe the claims contained in it are without
merit
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlla/los-angeles-times-magazine-steven-gellman-discriminatory-practices-lawsuit_b39135#more-
39135
. As this is a matter of ongoing litigation, we will defer
further comment.”
Kahn’s account continued: “Gellman says he began working for the
defendants in July 2009 as
publisher of the Times Sunday Magazine.
” ‘Shortly after plaintiff began working at the Los Angeles Times
Magazine, he began receiving complaints from customers about
defendants’ discriminatory distribution of the LA Times Magazine,’
according to the complaint. ‘Defendants made the decision to eliminate
distribution of the magazine in the Sunday paper to lower-income, and
demographically minority neighborhoods, such as Highland Park and
Compton. Although the minority subscribers in these ZIP codes were not
receiving the Los Angeles Times magazine, they were still paying the
same subscription price as the white affluent subscribers. Further,
defendants continued to distribute the Los Angeles Times magazine in
the Sunday paper in the white affluent neighborhoods.’. . . ”
“. . . Accusations of the Tribune Co. abandoning minority neighborhoods
are not new. In Chicago, the Tribune has long been accused of ignoring
downtown news, ceding that area to the Sun-Times, in pursuit of
“better demographics” in the affluent suburbs.”