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More than 500 LA Observed readers put their media savvy credentials on the line and offered predictions on the top Los Angeles media stories of the coming year. The news hounds and media insiders who frequent LAO give billionaire Eli Broad the best shot at prying the Los Angeles Times away from the clammy grip of Chicago's Tribune Company. Votes were cast last week while the latest twist — Broad and Ron Burkle trying to buy into Tribune's ownership — was just becoming known. Still, Broad easily beat out David Geffen, voted the next most likely billionaire suitor to gain control of the Times. Will West magazine still be around if the Times is sold? Many LAO readers don't think so.
The top vote-getters:
| L.A. media story of 2007 | Votes |
| Eli Broad buys LAT | 40.9% |
| West magazine folds | 32.2% |
| Beckhams join Scientology | 26.2% |
| David Geffen buys LAT | 25.8% |
| Hal Fishman gives up KTLA anchor chair | 24.9% |
| Bob Eubanks retired to pasture | 20.2% |
| Jill Stewart named LA Weekly editor | 17.4% |
| Ron Burkle buys LAT | 13.6% |
| Phil Anschutz launches L.A. Examiner | 12.7% |
| Chief Bratton runs for mayor — somewhere | 11.0% |
Readers could write in their own choices (a sampling of those are after the jump) and also vote for one off-the-wall occurrence they would love to see come to pass. In that contest, Times columnist Joel Stein going to cover Iraq with U.S. forces shot to the top as soon as the polls opened and he never looked back:
| Longshot I'd love to see | Votes |
| Joel Stein embeds in Iraq | 14.2% |
| Arianna Huffington named editor of LAT | 7.6% |
| Phil Anschutz launches L.A. Examiner | 7.5% |
| Hal Fishman gives up KTLA anchor chair | 6.7% |
| David Geffen buys LAT | 5.8% |
| Beckhams join Scientology | 4.7% |
| NYT hires David Zahniser Nikki Finke named editor of Hollywood Reporter Bob Eubanks retired to pasture | 4.1% (tie) |
| Villaraigosa takes over the traffic schools | 3.7% |
Some of the write-ins from readers:
→ Schwarzenegger run over by Beckhams' Enzo outside Celebrity Centre.
→ Daryl Hannah climbs onto the roof of Trader Vic's and refuses to come down.
→ Bill Gates buys L.A. Times.
→ Charles Foster Kane buys Times.
→ Rupert Murdoch re-launches LA Herald-Examiner as NY Post style tabloid.
→ Dean Singleton launches free-circ daily tab.
→ Landmark L.A. Times building torn down to build condos.
→ Perez Hilton website folds after lawsuit.
→ Anaheim Ducks win Stanley Cup, only gets page 6 AP wire story in LA Times.
→ Leland Wong names names.
→ An LA TV station actually starts doing a serious newscast, just like the old days.
→ KCRW and LAObserved team up for weekly news show. (!)
More than 800 LA Observed readers responded to last week's survey. Of those, 533 cast votes for the top L.A. media story of 2007. Watch News & Chatter for more results from the survey.
Previously:
The survey said...