Toilet Watch: Newsweek Picks Up the APT Issue
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — 
I was at the DLANC Board meeting tonight when my Dad called. Sitting down back in Michigan after a late softball game he picks up a copy of Newsweek and what does he find but me getting quoted.
For its perspective page, a weekly snapshot of quotations from around the country, the magazine picked up my quote from the recent Times APT article.
“If we want to clean up the smells and sights of our streets, we have to be able to offer these facilities.”
It’s typical but sad that the news media keeps pushing the “luxury” angle of this. These same sort of APTs are in various cities across the US (SF, Chicago, Boston). In LA, though, it’s got to be luxury.
I plan to go pick up a print copy tomorrow, but online I’m situated between one quote on the Queen’s visit and another about porn on the Disney Channel.
Thanks also to Curt Gibbs for noticing this and offering his congratulations.
This story belongs to the following topics:
-
4th and Hill Toilet Still Inching Toward Service
June 03, 2008
-
DWP Still the Hold Up in Downtown Toilet
April 09, 2008
-
NYC Gets Into APT Game; Downtown Slowly Adding Its Own Units
January 11, 2008
Comments
I think it might be time to start a 4th & Broadway “closed sidewalk” watch. What is going on with the structures that burned there recently? People are walking in the street which is dangerous.
Channeling typical East Coast Newsweek reader:
Oh, those wacky LA people! Those fruits and nuts from La La Land!
Those goofy flakes who demand luxury toilets on every sidewalk!
What next? Free limousines for everyone to use? Ha ha ha!
Isn’t there anyone living in LA with some common sense? What a bunch of airheads!
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blogdowntown was started in January of 2005 as a place to document life in Downtown Los Angeles. The goal was and is to start a conversation about Downtown life with those who live and work here. More
Essentially, the journalist is inserting their own editorial spin/commentary to inject drama into the story. Basically, they are trying to juice up what is a pretty mundane story about basic services not delivered and the powers that be not giving a damn. The editor is supposed to catch this stuff and edit it out. But, their collective institutional bias overcomes good judgement.
It is a very small example of the media distorting the facts of an issue to serve their sensational impulses. Fortunately, bloggers now exist to take note of this behavior.