Andrés Martinez chat transcript

The following is a transcript from a live chat with Editorial Pages Andres Martinez. It has been edited slightly for typos and such.

Moderator1: Hi everybody. This is Tim Cavanaugh. We’ll be spending the hourwith Andres Martinez, editorial page editor of the LAT.

Moderator1: Let’s start out with a question from Larry.

larry: Mr. Martinez, I understand why you have added right-wing op-edcolumnists. However, why do you continue running people such as Max Boot andJonah Goldberg whose opinions have been consistently wrong?

Andres Martinez: well, we have columnists who write from various ideologicalperspectives. Without knowing your particular issues with these twocolumnists, I can assure you many readers feel our more liberal columnistsare “consistently wrong.”

Gabriel: I am a Mexican born naturalized American, who is veryappreciative of the work this paper does in covering issues regardingMexico. But I want to ask Mr. Martinez why the paper took so long in takinga more critical role of losing candidate AMLO. I feel the paper gave him abreak for too long.

Andres Martinez: Well, I do like Lopez Obrador’s first name (Andres). Iassume you are talking about coverage of the former Mexico City mayor oneditorial page, not news pages. I am not sure we were too late to becritical. We were troubled in April when he refused to debate. It’s truethat earlier we thought it was counterproductive to ban him from the race.

JW: Mr. Martinez, can you give me a brief idea of what you think makes fora good commentary piece that the LAT might consider publishing? Should it beregional or national in scope? Based on a trend?

Andres Martinez: We strive to offer an interesting mix of topics on op-edpage, ranging from local to foreign. Often the best pieces focus on a hyperlocal issue but broaden it to identify larger trends people throughout theregion can relate to. Also, I should add that we are blessed with hundredsof submissions a week!

zombie: Andres are you religious, christian, and is that why the editorialpage has tilted godward?

Andres Martinez: Wow. How have we tilted Godward? (could i be scoring pointsupstairs without realizing it?!)

Spencer: I’ve tried submitting numerous texts re: City Council, and can’tget a reply, yet “what’s her name” writes completely idiotic articles aboutwhy Danny Bonaducci joining Adam Carolla’s radio show is a bad idea. That,following pieces about phallic symbols. How can Joe Citizen respect theTimes when we are stunted in writing pieces and the Times wastes importantspace on Danny Bonaducci and similar subjects?

Andres Martinez: Well, I am sorry your numerous texts haven’t made it in,and I do appreciate your sending them. But I’d dispute the notion thatpopular culture isn’t a subject fit for an op-ed page.

evera: Are you going to bring community voices? It’s a shame if you don’tbecause the current columnists have no clue.

Andres Martinez: I am not sure what you mean by “community voices.” We dotry to run op-ed page commentary from people from all walks of life, thoughwe can probably do better at bringing in fresh voices. We used to have aSat. “voices page” but we now try to weave those pieces into our everydaywork.

JW: Have you considered expanding Sunday’s Current section? Or, is it onthe chopping block? I enjoy reading it but would like to see an increase inshorter pieces and less of the 2,000 word tomes. Just my opinion.

Andres Martinez: I appreciate the plug for Current! Nick Goldberg does agreat job editing it. I would love to expand Current (maybe you and I canstart a grassroots campaign!). In the meantime, we are thinking of new featuresthat will be shorter, improving the overall mix of pieces.

zombie: How could the editorial board promote handing over the fifthlargest economy on earth to a “steroid-abusing, pot-smoking, woman-groping,son of a Nazi, washed-up movie star?” to quote The Simpsons...

Moderator1: Zombie, there’s a question outstanding for you: What godwardtilt are you referring to?

zombie: n/m

Andres Martinez: Because he is doing a good job... (and I say that withoutbuying into your characterization of rainier wolfcastle). Also, are [we] now thefifth-largest global economy? These things always fluctuate with exchangerates, and I thought we were closer to 8th or 9th... but you made my day.

shakeel: Mr. Martinez...first off welcome to town, if you’re new to thearea. Secondly, this is a great idea and you’d keep it up. Thirdly, aquestion ... are we leading ourselves into yet another war in Iran ... thxto Judith Miller then ... how’s LAT planning to be responsible andcritically question the warmongers?

Andres Martinez: Thanks. I’ve now been in LA over 2 years, and I love it...still lots to explore, though. And yes, we will do such chats routinely withvarious folks from our opinion pages. As for Iran, I don’t know where we areheaded, but it does seem that the administration will have a far toughertime crying fire in a theater next time.. without facing far more scrutinyfrom the media, the Congress and our foreign allies. It may even be the casethat the president’s credibility is so low that he may have a hard timegetting anyone to notice if and when there really is a proverbial fire outthere.

Mitchell Young: Any chance of some balance on immigration issues? There isplenty of academic work out there on the restrictionist side, Borjas, Sumetc. I suppose Brimelow would be asking too much.

Andres Martinez: The newspaper’s position on these matters is pretty clear,as expressed in our editorials. We think the U.S. economy has a need formore legal immigrant workers, and our denial of this fact has contributed tothe problem of illegal immigration. On the op-ed page, however, we do try topresent all sides of a pressing policy debate like this. One of ourcolumnists Erin Aubry Kaplan just cited Borjas favorably in a piece lastmonth.

Senor Frog: Mr. Martinez, why so many East coast writers, experts,university professors etc. when this coast is rife with talent? Old reflexor true problem in finding local voices?

Andres Martinez: Hmmm... that’s an interesting one. California has some ofthe best universities in the world, I agree, and I am not sure I agree withyou that they are underrepresented on our pages. All things being equal, Ido prefer CA-based voices.

evera: Do you ever pick up the phone and a call a resource and ask them tosubmit an op-ed piece on an issue that’s “hot”?

Andres Martinez: Yes, we have a number of op-ed editors who commission op-edpieces, often asking experts (though too often on the East Cost, accordingto SR Frog -- isn’t that a bar in Mazatlan, btw) and asking them to react tosome news event on a tight schedule.

Mitchell Young: I was of course speaking of the op-eds, not unsignededitorials. And while it’s great that an author cites Borjas, that reallydoesn’t balance a whole piece by, say, Doug Massey. Thanks for answeringthough.

Andres Martinez: I think we could use more rigorous economic-based argumentson both sides of the immigration debate, so your point is well taken.

shakeel: Would you agree that the “media” (along with others) gave a freepass to the Administration ... Isn’t [the] media going to question the warmongerswhose mantra yet again takes lead position in today’s paper (Israel soundsalarm on Iran’s nuclear efforts).

Andres Martinez: I think in a post- 9/11 environment, “the media” may havebeen a little complacent. That said, the LAT editorial page (before my time)did oppose the decision to go to war (as did other major editorial pages).Also, bear in mind that at the time of the debate, plenty of officials fromthe Clinton administration were seconding what the Bush administration wassaying about the WMD issue. Also, Saddam himself was involved in ahigh-stakes poker game, bluffing and pretending that he did have WMD -- ashis own generals believed. SO things aren’t always so black and white. btw,we did run massey

Andres Martinez: (this is to mitchell young) in the summer of 2005...

zombie: godward the support of a fundamentalist christian group buyingKOCE instead of a college because there are enough public televisionstations.... i.e.

Andres Martinez: Ah... well, that was more a decision based on the auctionprocess, not the identity of the parties...the Christian group made thehighest bid, I seem to recall, in an auction for public property.. and it’snot like people in OC are deprived of public broadcasting. I’m afraid thatis not much of a godward tilt. But I do not want to dodge your earlier, morepersonal question... I am religious to the degree that I do believe there isa God, but I am not terribly religious in terms of my church attendancerecord and such. The editorial page strongly believes in the separation ofchurch and state.

Moderator1: Allow me to throw a question out there: Do you think the era ofthe unsigned editorial--which is really bound up in a sense of institutionalauthority few people believe in anymore--may be coming to an end.

Andres Martinez: you’re fired, moderator... shouldn’t your question be asoftball?!

Andres Martinez: It’s actually a question we get a lot, and it’s a good one.In an age when we are awash in “chatter” -- ie, information coming at usfrom all sources -- I think there is a value in having authoritative filtersthat provide a conceptual framework through which to interpret events. Youdon’t have to agree with that framework, but it’s still useful, I think, toreact to it. It is true that people don’t believe in institutions the waythey once might have, but that just means we have to work harder to make ourwork speak for itself on the merits, and be more consitent and transparent.Lastly, I find that too much of opining these days is nakedly partisan, andwe try to take positions based on enduring principles, not the tacticalpartisanship of the day.

zombie: Nope not as long as people have an opinion to express and anidentity to conceal.

zombie: Andres... the paper is sinking fast...help, please.

zombie: and I just like having a choice of stations and the Christiangroup’s offer was in some dispute as I understand it.

Andres Martinez: I don’t agree that the paper is sinking fast. Somedays,given all the angst, it feels like we are sinking slowly... but in reality,this paper still packs a lot of entertaining, interesting and useful newsand commentary every day .. for only 50 cents!!

evera: What’s your take on LA’s mayor? He definitely loves his personalappearances but has he done much during his reign, in your opinion? Did hemake a mistake taking on the education issue?

zombie: Sports as front page news..The Envelope...?? Please....

Andres Martinez: I don’t think Mayor Villaraigosa erred in taking on theeducation issue. On the editorial page, we encouraged him to do so. Majorcity mayors will inevitably take over schools, it enhances accountabilityand better governance. Schools are the issue people most care about when itcomes to local government, and so it makes sense to make the mayorresponsible for schools. And it has worked in NY and Chicago, among otherplaces. That said, the mayor’s plan was unduly convoluted, in part toreflect complicated reality that school district is larger than city. On thewhole, though, I feel Villaraigosa has done a great job of raisingexpectations for the mayor’s office. We will see if he can deliver.

Moderator1: We have time for a few more questions:

Sobchak: Last year the editorial page took on traffic and homelessness assignature issues. How’s that going?

Andres Martinez: Those remain perennial concerns. And we will keep at it

Mitchell Young: That’s the point -- Massey’s position is pretty much openborders (actually its more complicated than that, but this isn’t the place).So in an ideal world Massey would be balanced by a Borjas or maybe twoMasseys to a Borjas. I was pleasantly surprised by the editorial today ondeporting criminals -- I’m sure that was painful to arrive at.

Andres Martinez: It wasn’t painful at all to arrive at that conclusion, Ican assure you. And I would love to run op-eds by George Borjas.

Senor Frog: Thanks for answering (and yes, I’m a bar in Yucatan!) I willnuance my earlier remark and say that there are more and more local expertsinvolved in the pages. But I often find myself wondering why there is [in] mylocal paper someone like Jonah Goldberg, who’s syndicated and seems to beeverywhere, when you could perhaps find a local conservative guy fond of popculture closer to home. I mean, if you go get people on the East coast,they’d better be really worth it because there are a lof of great experts,bloggers etc. here. ¡Salud!

evera: Are there going to be any changes or any significant additions tothe op-ed section on latimes.com? I’ve heard that the website is undergoingsome design changes, which is long OVERDUE! Fyi, the website is HORRIBLE!!!!

Moderator1: Ouch

Andres Martinez: If newspapers were slow to take the Internet seriously, Ican assure you everyone here at LAT has now gotten (that) religion. On theopinion pages, we will be offering a lot of online-only content... moreeditorials, columns, reponses, chats, dialogues, you name it. Thanks.

Sobchak: Can I rephrase? What are this year’s top local issues you’ll beopining about?

Andres Martinez: This year we will be focusing on the infrastructuredebates, now that CA has passed all these multi-billion-dollar bonds, howshould money be spent? Also, we will soon be raising a lot of questions, andattempting to answer them, about our county government, and whether it’scapable, as designed, to effectively provide services to its 10 millionresidents.

Moderator1: Well, we’re at a 63-minute hour now, so we’ll wrap up now.

Moderator1: Thanks a lot, everybody, for joining in.

Mitchell Young: Thank you two for your time -- very 21st century