Los Angeles Times reporters just found out that the paper’s new owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, is planning to move the company from downtown Los Angeles to El Segundo:
The L.A. Times is getting a fancy new campus in El Segundo, with an eight-floor building that has a museum along with event and retail space. https://t.co/a6ujKGBWti
— Matt Pearce ? (@mattdpearce) April 13, 2018
The paper’s lease is up and it’s either move or pay an extra million-per-month in rent:
The Times’ lease for its newsroom and business administration expires June 30. Soon-Shiong said the current landlord has demanded a $1-million-a-month rent increase to keep the paper’s staff at the building across from City Hall.
“There’s not much time for me to find accommodation for 800 people,” he told more than 300 employees who jammed into the Chandler Auditorium in The Times building to get their first glimpse of Soon-Shiong. “We decided that we needed to create the most modern newsroom … one that respects the work and the lifestyle of the people who work in the newsroom.”
But the move, which in the end probably saves journalism jobs, doesn’t seem very popular with the staff. “El Segundo” is now trending nationally because of the blowback:
And, now El Segundo es El Primero … pic.twitter.com/aRgSMWA6sR
— geoffrey mohan (@LATgeoffmohan) April 13, 2018
Even those who like the new owner aren’t happy with the move:
Trying not to lose sight of the fact that this a positive ownership change for the newsroom and LA overall. The Good Doctor does genuinely seem to care about journalism and people, unlike Tronc, who were essentially prison wardens. But El Segundo is a terrible awful idea.
— James Queally (@JamesQueallyLAT) April 13, 2018
The LA Times is moving to El Segundo near the Lakers' and Clippers' facilities. So three organizations that are bad at basketball will now reside there.
— Mr. Mark Potts (@mrmarkpotts) April 13, 2018
Hey! El Segundo is closer to the beach … maybe reporters will like that?
Imagine the scene in Spotlight where Mark Ruffalo cabs back to the office with those court docs except he's driving from DTLA to El Segundo
— Priya Krishnakumar ? (@priyakkumar) April 13, 2018
But the rents are higher, so that’s a concern:
The median rent estimate of El Segundo – our soon to be new @latimes HQ is an eye-popping $4,032, according to Zillow pic.twitter.com/3PSIPlIoCQ
— Kyle Kim (@kyleykim) April 13, 2018
The town got its name from an old Standard Oil refinery which some are commenting about:
"The town's name, in Spanish, means 'The Second'; it was so named because it was the second Standard Oil refinery on the West Coast." https://t.co/a6ujKGBWti
— Matt Pearce ? (@mattdpearce) April 13, 2018
So who knows how El Segundo got its name? It was the site of Standard Oil's second refinery on the West Coast. Richmond is El Primero. (Credit: @ChrisWoodyard, a walking repository of such marginally useful information.)
— Mitchell Landsberg (@LATlands) April 13, 2018
But the main concern seems to be commute times:
El Segundo is at least 45 minutes from everywhere, including El Segundo
— Isaac Spaceman (@IsaacSpaceman) April 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/laura_nelson/status/984893384534835200
I just had the same waking nightmare. Very excited to wake up at 3:30 a.m.
— James Queally (@JamesQueallyLAT) April 13, 2018
That's about 30ish minutes. Not bad!!!!!!!! (cries.)
— Mr. Mark Potts (@mrmarkpotts) April 13, 2018
I've figured out a fix. pic.twitter.com/KEnOOFdUH4
— Hugo Martin (@hugomartin) April 13, 2018
Or, you know, you can take a bus or train or whatever:
Happy to be of service to our friends at the @LATimes! #ElSegundo pic.twitter.com/dZq3OGet6S
— Metro (@metrolosangeles) April 13, 2018
Hang in there!
Editor’s note: All tweets were curated for this post from the Los Angeles Times’ own “Staff & Sections” list.
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