some of the country's most storied newspapers.

The Baltimore Sun has a new owner, but his# political back about what the 187-year-old newspaper# could become.

And staffers at The Los## Angeles Times walked off the job today to# protest planned layoffs.

That's after its## top editor stepped down following reported# tensions with the paper's billionaire owner.

Ann Marie Lipinski is a former# editor at The Chicago Tribune.## She's now the curator of the Nieman# Foundation for Journalism at Harvar Thanks so much for being with us.

ANN MARIE LIPINSKI, Nieman GE OFF BENNETT: So, the raised eyebrows at his initial staff meeting,# where he reportedly insulted the journalism## that's being produced by the paper and# told the staffers to focus on profit.

Is this type of ownership model# a sustainable one for newspapers## moving forward, where the super# wealthy swoop in and buy them up?

ANN MARIE LIPINSKI: No.

Billionaire owners do not equal a business# strate in the last decade or so, some of whom have# had very good intentions, and, in some cases,## there has been some success.

But this idea# that your success in one realm will translate## to a success in another, in this case,# newspaper publishing, is not axiomatic.

And I think, from all accounts, it was# a rough start between Mr. Smith and the## newsroom.

He talked about not having read the# paper hardly at all and had a lot of criticisms,## not just of the paper, but of the community.# And I think that's a rocky place to start.

And there wasn't a lot of detail about what# else, except, let's make money and change,## that the newsroom could really sink their teeth# into.

I think it's -- the mission is not clear.

GEOFF BENNETT: And David Smith is also# executive chair of Sinclair Broadcasting,## which has drawn criticism for injecting# conservative and right-wing commentary## into its local news broadcasts that# owns over 200 local TV stations.

What concerns do you have about how that might# impact The Sun's journalism moving forward?

ANN MARIE LIPINSKI: I think we have examples## historically where newspaper# owners had political I think the question is, where do those play# out?

Do they play out on the editorial page,## where we come to expect political endorsements# and political campaigns, as it were, played out## by owners and publishers?

And I think that's# a -- that's something we're accustomed to.

Where it gets really dangerous and interferes# with the reporting obligations of a newspaper## is when you see that agenda creep in to the# news.

And we have certainly seen that.

You know,## we have seen national campaigns# roll out at Sinclair, for instance,## where all of the markets or many of# the markets were required to read these## identical statements about fake news, which# effectively sounded like an attack on the## press that very much mimicked the one that# President Trump was voicing at the time.

So I think that's -- there are differences.

You# can play out a political agenda or have an agenda## around issues in the community on the editorial# page.

Columnists do that.

Where it really becomes## a problem and where a community is not served# is when that plays out in the news columns.

GEOFF BENNETT: Let's talk about The L.A.# Times, because we mentioned that walkout## today.

It's the first work stoppage# in that paper's 143-year history.

What's the impact on the landscape of news# in Los Angeles and the surrounding region?

ANN MARIE LIPINSKI: The walkout# is an interesting strategy.

But I guess my question is, who's paying# attention to that?

Those of us in the m are paying attention to it.

I hope that there# is a sustained conversation with the community,## though.

We have mounting data that show# us that when newspapers are diminished## or closed in communities, there's an# increase in corruption, for instance,## violations like pollution# violations, EEOC violations.

I wish that we could pivot and have that# conversation when newsrooms are under attack## or when we have shrinking resources,# because that's the real cost.

Yes,## there are jobs -- there are journalists# who pay a price and lose their jobs,## but that's true in a lot of# companies and a lot of industries.

The outsized impact here really# is on what happens in communities,## and we need the support of communities# to support these institutions.

GEOFF BENNETT: Ann Marie, as# much as it pains me to say this,## the story of print media is in# so many ways a story of decline.

"Sports Illustrated," which was once considered# the standard of sports journalism today,## announced they're going to lay off most# of their staff.

You work in this space.## Is there anything that is working?

What's# the story of reinvention for print media?## Is it the nonprofit model that Evan Smith# is championing with The Texas Tribune?

ANN MARIE LIPINSKI: The Texas Tribune is a good# example.

It's had some financial challenges,## but they have done incredible# work on a different model.

We have seen in the past handful of months# this initiative called Press Forward,## which is $500 million being committed# across, I think, 22 donors, foundations,## and individuals to support a local news initiative# in markets across the country.

We have a lot of## people living in news deserts now in this country,# and this is an effort to try to return local news## to a lot of those communities, strengthen it in# places where there are maybe fledgling efforts.

Baltimore is another good example# of that.

The Baltimore Banner,## if The Baltimore Sun is disappointing you,# you should be supporting this new effort,## which is a start-up which is being run in part# by a lot of alumni from The Baltimore Sun.

Look, in my perfect world, they both# thrive, but if one model isn't working,## we have to be experimenting with some others,# and a lot of those are not-for-profit models.

GEOFF BENNETT: Ann Marie Lipinski is the curator## of the Nieman Foundation# for Journa A real pleasure to speak with you.# AN N MARIE LIPINSKI: Thank you, Geoff.