LA Times staff walk out 1st time in 142 yrs

Unionised journalists at the Los Angeles Times walked off the job Friday for the first time in the paper's 142-year history, after management said it planned significant job cuts to help plug a gaping financial hole.

"The changes to our contract that management is trying to pressure us into accepting are obscene and unsustainable," said Brian Contreras of the Los Angeles Times Guild.

"If management thinks our financial situation is untenable, they need to come to the bargaining table in good faith and work out a buyout plan with us."

Contreras told AFP at least 90 percent of guild members were participating in the walkout.