The great majority of the 60 departing LA Times journalists made their exits this week from the downtown Los Angeles headquarters, an exodus that is mirrored throughout the world in the newspaper business.Rone Tempest, who has written about wars in the Middle East and the transformation of China, showed he still had a sense of humour when dispensing his final advice in his e-mailed sign-off on Friday.
"4 Career Life Lessons from a Retiring Hack," it read.
1) Never write a company-wide memo
2) In any foreign language the most important phrase is 'My friend will pay' as in French 'mon ami va payer' or Chinese 'Wo de pengyou yao mai le'
3) Given a choice, Bordeaux red
4) Never get killed for an inside story.
A full account of the LA Times exodus can be read at:
James Rainey, ‘The Times’ Changes Pick up Speed as Many Depart,’ LA Times, 2 June 2007.