Requiem for L.A. Times endorsements

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, June 17, and you can expect a morning of June gloom followed by sunshine in the high 70s.

The recent June primary doubled as an unlikely Southern California media milestone: It was the first modern election in which the Los Angeles Times provided no endorsements on the local candidates and measures on the ballot. 

The death of the paper’s once-vaunted endorsements received little in the way of public notice, but the disappearance has been acutely felt — and bemoaned — around town. The editorial board carried particular weight in down-ballot races where voters tend to know little, if anything, about the candidates. 

“I must have had 50 people email or text me saying, ‘What do I do with the judges?’” Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank) told me, one of several lawmakers, political strategists and former L.A. Times staffers I spoke to.

In a new piece, I looked at how the L.A. Times endorsement process actually worked, why their research mattered and how the ensuing vacuum has altered L.A. politics. 

‘THE NEXT DETROIT’: Variety’s Gene Maddaus examines why film and T.V. productions are decamping from L.A. and how lawmakers can stanch the bleeding. The cover story notes: “Filming in L.A. has become sort of a cause du jour, like freeing Tibet or avoiding fur.”

DOG SHOOTING UPDATE: Activists are calling for the release of body-camera footage from the LAPD officer who fatally shot a dog over the weekend while responding to a call about a “screaming woman” at a Canoga Park apartment complex. The woman was celebrating the Knicks’ championship victory.