Why the Los Angeles Times Missed the Biggest Education News this Week
By Karen Wolfe. She is an LAUSD parent activist and supporter of public schools with children who currently attend district schools.
According to the Los Angeles Times, there was not much to report: “Protestors Add a Little Rain to Otherwise Sunny Broad Museum Opening Day.”
Not “Education Activists Rain on Eli Broad’s Parade” or even “Greedy Teachers Union Steals Thunder from Philanthropist”.
Maybe no LA Times reporter was actually at the protest like CBS andABC News were. The LA Times article was written by an arts reporter who claimed there were 70 protestors. Maybe art is open to interpretation but, considering there were about 800 teachers and public education activists, how could she have been at the same demonstration? If she was using Common Core math, she should have shown her work. They even got the chants wrong. You can watch the videos to get an idea of the numbers and to hear the clear messages: “Whose schools? Our schools! Don’t privatize; play by the rules!” “When students and teachers are under attack, what do we do? Stand up! Fight Back!” and “You want art for the masses? Fund art classes!”
Another LA Times article about the protest was written by a crime reporter. Isn’t that taking the editorial board’s assumption of teachers being guilty until proven innocent a little far?
Seriously (sort of). Is the LA Times really confused about whose beat this was? Maybe they could assign an investigative reporter to find out why none of the six or seven education reporters showed up to get the scoop on public education activists protesting LA’s biggest art patron on his big day.
The education reporters certainly knew the event was news. UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl had already challenged Eli Broad to a public debate after Broad’s plans for a hostile takeover of LAUSD were leaked. And UTLA activists said Mayor Garcetti had called the Why the Los Angeles Times Missed the Biggest Education News this Week:
