As per recent swirling rumors, the LA Times reports that billionaires Eli Broad and Ron Burkle have put in a bid to buy the embattled Tribune Company, which owns the (recently embattled) LA Times plus television properties and, just for kicks, the Chicago Cubs. No word on if equally-rumored suitor David Geffen put in a bid, which probably means that he did not. James Rainey, the LAT media writer on the LAT beat, notes that all three potential future owners "have said in the past that The Times would benefit from their stewardship because they would be willing to accept lower profits and invest in news coverage." Which sort of makes the departure of EIC Dean Baqueta little bit sadder, seeing as he was forced out precisely for his efforts toward that end.
In other LAT-related navelgazing news, Seth Mnookin examines the impact of the Baquet departure a few time zones east, looking at what it may mean for the New York Times, where he suggests could 
easily be Baquet's next stop up the masthead (or, eventually up the masthead, which is really the thrust of his point). It's an interesting backstory, but he makes the sort of disheartening point that Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. could get around promoting managing editor Jill Abramson — a woman — to the top executive editor position were he to replace her wtih an African-American editor, i.e. Baquet. Sort of depressing that it's such an either/or situation, and so anomalous that it even bears notice. It will be good at least if this stimulates some debate, or at least awareness — says Mnookin: "[F]or all its coverage of and obsession over race and gender, the media isn't that great at discussing difficult issues in its own house." Well, hey — this is a start. Why not aim high? If Nancy Pelosi can drain the Congressional swamp in a hundred hours then surely the media can clean out a few cobwebs of its own. As Snoop Dogg says, dream big — you may never wake up.
This concludes what ETP is fairly sure is the only blog post today likening Nancy Pelosi to Snoop Dogg. Spizzle of the Hizzle!
