L.A. Times publisher lists year's highlights

Times publisher Eddy Hartenstein sent a memo to the staff this afternoon reporting that the paper will end 2010 with "improved operating cash flow over the prior year." He also lists some editorial highlights, leading with these:

Investigating Bell and other L.A. County cities in articles that unraveled a sea of corruption, fraud and mismanagement of public funds.

Unveiling a groundbreaking project that sought to determine the effectiveness of thousands of Los Angeles Unified School District teachers in raising students’ test scores. Drawing on data the district had largely ignored, our “Grading the Teachers” project fueled an intense national debate over how teachers should be evaluated and whether the results should be made public.

Shining a light on flaws in the L.A. County child welfare system, where children under its care continue to die.

Remaining one of the handful of news organizations committed to foreign news, with a staff of dedicated correspondents covering the Middle East, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the deadly drug war in Mexico, the economic crisis in Europe, the tensions between North and South Korea, life in Africa and developments in the ever-changing China and India.

Providing the only late-breaking print report in Southern California – LATExtra – detailing events such as the San Bruno pipeline explosion, congressional passage of the tax-cut bill, Toyota’s Prius recall and the North Korea missile strike.

Continuing to lead in the digital era, providing a wide range of searchable databases on important issues such as neighborhood crime, as well as blogs focused on specialty pursuits like photography and video (Framework), technology (Tech Blog) and health (Booster Shots).

And more, posted at the newsroom's promotional blog. Coming in 2011, he says, "we will start the year by implementing our mobile product strategy, debuting an Android app around mid-January and, shortly thereafter, an iPad app that will join the iPhone apps we launched last summer. Add to that our plans to roll out our very own tablet initiative in the second half of next year, and I think you’ll agree that our digital pipeline is in high gear."