Shaw on where the L.A. Times has improved

Journalismjobs.com interviews Los Angeles Times media critic David Shaw.

JournalismJobs.com: Has the Los Angeles Times become a better paper since the Tribune Company acquired it in 2000 and John Carroll took over?



David Shaw: I think the L.A. Times under John Carroll, Dean Baquet, features editors John Montorio and Rick Flaste and publisher John Puerner is certainly a better paper than it was under Mark Willes, Kathryn Downing and Michael Parks — no question about it.



JournalismJobs.com: In what ways has it gotten better?



David Shaw: The features sections in particular are substantially better than it used to be. Our Hollywood coverage is generally written better. The food section is substantially better. We’ve done an excellent job covering the major stories, whether it was the recall election or the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The reorganization of all California news into a California section and not pretending to be simply a Los Angeles paper. Getting rid of some of the marginal community newspapers that we were using less experienced reporters on and potentially undermining our brand was a good idea. The paper is more design-conscious and looks better.

See, all you news-is-all-that-matters snobs: David Shaw reads the food section. (Brought to you by the guy who puts the Merc’s food section together every week. Not that I’m biased or anything.)