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T.J. Simers bats about .400 with his jokes in his first column for the Orange County Register — which would be terrific for a Dodger or Angel. "I’m 63, and the Orange County Register still hired me," he notes. "It’s probably the first time Human Resources has done paperwork on a new employee while also preparing retirement documents." The column runs with a note from the editors saying that Simers and five other Register columnists can be read by non-subscribers for now.
He mentions a few local sports figures he likes and a couple he doesn't, jokes that he thought Ashton Kutcher (not Aaron Kutcher) had bought the Register, and if he can be trusted to be accurate makes a little news with an allegation about his former bosses at the LA Times and the Angels' owner Arte Moreno.
I worked at the Times a few days shy of 23 years – much too long as far as Frank McCourt and the editors were concerned.
A few years back the Times directed its columnists to tone down criticism of McCourt, the publisher’s pal. They asked me to tone down criticism of Moreno recently; I guess it didn’t look good with all the advertising the Angels were doing on the Times’ website. I have no idea who influences news coverage in the rest of the paper.
Previously on LA Observed:
The Register officially announces (for free) T.J. Simers' arrival
LA Times staff told (tersely) that T.J. Simers is leaving
Simers explains why he's going to the Register
