LAT prepares buyout list

Yesterday was supposed to be the deadline for taking the buyout, but the paper still has a week to decide who will be accepted. In the Business section, the list of potential candidates includes auto writer John O'Dell, former business editor Bill Sing, and reporters Evelyn Iritani and Nancy Cleeland. L.A. Observed has the full rundown throughout the newsroom. As has been reported, they want to cut 70 positions, but the final tally might depend on the salaries of folks who are leaving. Already, there's chatter about whether some of the senior editors who left on their own accord in recent weeks should be included in final count. Of course, there will be words of regret and indignation about the loss of so many LAT veterans, though it's worth noting that the paper will still have a newsroom staff of 850, which is a little bigger than the Washington Post newsroom.