He has a tendency to recount conversations verbatim without identifying his sources. No longer would East Coast papers view it with contempt. His descriptions become increasingly personal; you get the impression that hes getting back at colleagues and editors who once crossed him (for example, he describes former editor Shelby Coffey III as Nixonian without an explanation). Was it boredom? Some seem certain it will revolutionize the world, while others point out its difficult or inaccurate responses. It's an astonishing mlange of antique automobiles and motorcycles, jumbled together with huge stuffed trophy kills from Chandler's peripatetic hunting expeditions. While immersed in the story of a family whose drama rivals any Shakespearean tragedy, I found myself pointing and saying to my husband, "That's how Robbie got into car racing!" This is the central mystery of his life. "This trust is dearer than life itself." Milk Bones, business trips, sleepy His second wife, Bettina, is not particularly enthusiastic about his dangerous trips into the Great Beyond. Mobile. The division, an ethical given among journalists, exists so that reporters can write about people and companies without regard to the paper's financial interests. Family and friends are welcome to send flowers or leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. This uniquely American saga should stir the interest of specialized distribs and worldwide fests prior to Stateside PBS tube dates. In a supreme irony, once Otis Chandler took charge in 1960 and directed the paper to drop its jingoistic, frankly dreadful writing in favor of classically mainstream American journalism, the Times . People born under this sign are popular because they're sincere and avoid conflict. The paper and the company, of course, were never the same. Biden Not Confident Supreme Court Will Uphold Student Debt Cancellation, Celta Vigo Star Gabri Veiga Is Alerting Wealthy Teams In The Premier League, RFK Killer Sirhan Sirhan Denied Parole For 16th TimeReversing 2021 Decision, Wednesday, March 1. Though the General loved attention, his son-in-law preferred anonymity. Chandler made improvement of the paper's quality a top priority, succeeding in raising the product's reputation, as well as its profit margins. Closing, bitter minutes ask how a family that virtually created the city could allow the paper that defined that city to crumble a question that seems even weightier given American journalisms current crisis. Reporters, already disenchanted by the Willes regime, demanded an investigation and a public apology from Downing, which she gave. There is something mythic about Otis' story. Otis Chandler was the publisher of the Los Angeles Times between 1960 and 1980, leading a large expansion of the newspaper and its ambitions. Almost immediately afterward, 8-by-10 photos of Chandler began showing up in the newsroom, posted on pillars and desks and bulletin boards. Despite the fact that he was the boss's son, Chandler literally worked his way up. An obituary for a science fiction writer who won a . . I said, no, I feel fine. So rich, complex and contentious is the Times saga that Jones and Catalena could have devoted an hour alone to the papers titanic political battle in 1934 against left-wing gubernatorial candidate and great American novelist Upton Sinclair. Ex-husband of Private Chandler spent money to make money and was well rewarded. Chandler was the great-grandson of Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, the blustery Civil War veteran who bought part-ownership of The Times in 1882, a year after it began publication, and was its. Ruthless and strait-laced, he assured the Chandlers family wealth for generations to come. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. "You are assuming a sacred trust and grave responsibilities," Norman Chandler told his 32-year-old son in front of several hundred invited guests in the auditorium of the Hotel Biltmore. After 20 years as publisher, in the rough-and-tumble of putting out a newspaper every day, was he just temperamentally ill-suited to be chairman of Times Mirror? Hasalyn Harris : News Anchor and Co-Founder of Aloneinforest. He still surfs off the Ventura County coast; in fact, he took his long board on the plane with him for his 20th wedding anniversary in Tahiti in May. Interview segments and archival selections are absolutely aces, as is Liev Schreibers narration. Collection Title: Chandler Family History Collection Digitized by California Audiovisual Preservation Project. Gavin Newsom (D) blocked the move. 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Jordan Meets Reporter at 'Creed III' Premiere Who 'Teased Him all the Time' in High School: 'I Was the Corny Kid, Right? In his words, she was a power hungry matron-in-the-making who tried to control everyone around her. So, sure, I'm sad. It was a shock to them.". What can we learn? JUMP TO: Otis Chandlers biography, facts, family, personal life, zodiac, videos and related celebs. Son of Otis Chandler and Marilyn "Missy" Chandler Stewart For almost 80 years, this would be the model for the paper. Most important, he insisted that the paper no longer function as the personal expression of his family. Whats missing is how a rich Southern California jock, who showed no passion for the family business as a young man, suddenly fell in love with his own newspaper and understood at some elemental level that journalism is more than a business; its also a public trust. "I spent 50 years at the Los Angeles Times, plus going down there as a little kid when my dad would take me to see my grandfather. I mention the arm-wrestling idea while we are touring his museum and confide that I'm having second thoughts about it, musk ox or no. He left the board of directors in 1998 at the mandatory retirement age of 70 and also resigned from the board governing the Chandler family trusts. Its not enough for the Ukrainians to mine the roads and fields where they expect the Russians to advance. He was certainly a great newsman; in 1999, he was named one of the 25 most influential news people of the century by Editor & Publisher magazine. In the early 1970s, Chandler became embroiled in an embarrassing stock scandal involving Jack Burke, '52, an old pal from Stanford. He is the prince who walks among his people and vows to reform his kingdom. "His reign at the Los Angeles Times was the newspaper's Camelot," McDougal says. But he leaves little doubt about his opinion of Chandler's accomplishments in the profession that consumed his passion and energy for 50 years. "He didn't get any good press out of that. The site has since grown to nearly 5 million members who have added over 150 million books, completely by word of mouth. He was captain of the legendary Stanford track team that included two-time Olympic decathlon champion Bob Mathias, '53. He acquired other companies. Though less personal to him, we were both drawn into the story. Politicians and the police were there to protect their interests and, more than anything else, those interests revolved around the citys rapid growth. Willes was promising nothing less than a reinvention of the newspaper business. In theory, he had been away from the paper for quite a while. Is this the destiny of the new media? The paper had some habits that seem a little strange now. At a paper long known as "the velvet coffin," that move earned him the nickname "the cereal killer." At the turn of the century, it was an Otis-Chandler syndicate that quietly purchased tens of thousands of acres of parched farmland in the San Fernando Valley, knowing that the fix was in to steal water rights from Owens Valley farmers 200 miles to the north. When the time came to fold the family's money-losing afternoon tabloid, the Mirror, the Chandlers cut a sweet deal: in return for closing the Mirror, which competed with the Hearst Corp.'s afternoon paper, the Chandlers got Hearst to shutter the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, the Times's morning rival. PBS Presstour Chandler's crew published a scathing assessment of the hate-mongering John Birch Society, a popular and influential force in Southern California and among his Chandler cousins. Soon his agenda became clear. He had five children: Norman, Harry Brant Chandler, Cathleen, Michael and Carolyn. Otis and Tom Johnson had understood this in a way that eluded their successors. What created the controversy was management's refusal to admit, to its reporters or readers, that some profits from the sale of the special magazine would go to the Staples Center itself. The Mandalorian's Season 3 premiere sets the stage for an adventurous third season of the hit Disney Plus Star Wars show. The family was originally landowning farmers of Glastonbury, Somerset, the Otises went to New England during the Puritan migration of the 1630s settling first in Hingham before finally moving to Barnstable. I was weaned on column one and Steve Lopez, reading the Times became part of my mornings somewhere in my sixteenth year. At most newspapers, there is a "wall," with the writers and editors on one side and the business staffers who sell advertising on the other. Otis Chandler Family Member #234074 Most Popular Boost Birthday November 23, 1927 Birthplace California DEATH DATE Feb 27, 2006 ( age 78 ) Birth Sign Sagittarius About The scion of the wealthy Chandler family who took over the Los Angeles Times and transformed it into a nationally respected publication. All Rights Reserved. He would start in two days. As the Chandlers and their newspaper gained influence, every up-and-coming politician in the Southland made sure to kiss their ring. Still, to me it seems ridiculous and pretentious for the Chandlers to have looked down on Dorothy. The site has since grown to nearly 5 million members who have added over 150 million books, completely by word of mouth. The Chandler family -- with Otis's blessing -- hired Willes away from General Mills to run Times Mirror in 1995. The writer's sin? One evening before dinner, his father handed him a seven-page memo, in effect Otis's marching orders for the next seven years. At 6-foot-2, he claims to have shrunk an inch, but he still towers over most visitors. Next time I wont worry about how I will pay the the rent a good idea needs focus and 100% of your execution. he would look at me, shake his head and say, "I don't know who you are talking about." Otis Chandler (1927-2006), Publisher of the Los Angeles Times (1960 and 1980) and great-grandson of Harrison Gray Otis Elwell Stephen Otis (1838-1909), United States of America General who served in the Philippines late in the Spanish-American War and during the Philippine-American War. Although not much is known about John Otis, his son, John Otis (generally referred to as "Judge Otis") was the first of the family to rise to provincial eminence. Discover what happened on this day. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. By 1969, its weekday circulation surpassed a million and ad sales exceeded $115 million. "This trust is dearer than life itself." Philip Chandler and Harrison Chandler, as well as a sister, Mabel Otis Booth. (Crawford replaced all of the interior chrome fixtures with pewter so photographers couldn't take pictures of her distorted reflection in the door handles.) I suspect that she internalized some of the disdain that so many Chandlers felt towards the Buffums. This is the right thing for us to do for the future of Times Mirror. I'm human. Chandler Otis was born on month day 1770, at birth place, Connecticut, to Stephen Otis and Lucy Otis . As Otis poured money into The Times, the paper became the most profitable in the country. Trade Madness: Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Islanders And Devils Spent February Making Notable Moves, Los Angeles Chargers Have Shown Keenan Allen The Money But They Wont Show Him The Door, The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 1 Recap And Review: The Apostate Sets The Stage For Whats To Come, Corner Threes Are Secret Sauce For Milwaukee Bucks Offensive Success, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz Could Face Subpoena To Testify Before Congress, Bernie Sanders Says. Stephen Otis and Tom Johnson had understood this in a way that eluded their successors and strait-laced, he to. Had understood this in a way that eluded their successors began showing up in the early 1970s, Chandler worked! Is dearer than life itself. is something mythic about Otis & # x27 ;.... Words, she was a power hungry matron-in-the-making who tried to control everyone around her now. 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