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Summarized by Kent Larsen
LDS CEO of Times-Mirror Speaks at BYU
BYU NewsNet 17Feb00 B2
By Roger Bryner: NewsNet Staff Writer
PROVO, UTAH -- LDS Church member and Times-Mirror CEO Mark Willes
spoke to BYU students on Thursday at a symposium on the news media,
and told students that Newspapers will survive in the digital age.
Willes, who is a nephew of LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley,
said that it is simply more convenient to read a newspaper instead of
logging-on to the Internet to get the news.
But Willes did admit that Newspapers have had to change because of
the Internet. Willes says that Times-Mirror, which runs the Los
Angeles Times and New York Newsday have undergone significant
redesigns and sought to develop strong emotional ties with
subscribers by giving service to the community.
Willes has come under increasing criticism as he has tried to bring
his experience in manufacturing industries to make changes at
Times-Mirror. Journalists at the Los Angeles Times have been
uncomfortable with many of Willes' changes to the Times, blaming them
on WIlles lack of experience with newspapers. Many of Willes' changes
have sought to bring the editorial and business sides of the
newspaper together. Traditionally the two have been kept relatively
separate so that business considerations don't affect how or what
news is covered.
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