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Martinez eliminated from L.A. Times pages

He has been an L.A. Times columnist since 1984, but January 19 will be the last time Al Martinez’s column will run in the paper – and not because he wants it to end. Why? He sent this email to mediabistro.com:

“I’m not sure why: too old at 79? no space for me? I don’t fit the hip, cool, Hollywood demographics? All of the above? Ask them. They did say they couldn’t afford me, but since I was “downsized” the first time and hired back as a freelancer, my salary has been halved and I’ve had no medical coverage, no vacation time, no expense account and generally no staff perks. I haven’t been THAT expensive. But I’ve never been a whiner, and I won’t be now.”

He says he’ll continue to reach out to his public via his blog and I’m sure this multi-talented writer will find something to do with his time. Al is not only a columnist, but an author, scriptwriter, documentarian and television series creator. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Al was also nominated for an Emmy in 1992 for the CBS-TV movie “Out on the Edge.” He authored “The Last City Room,” “City of Angles, a Drive-By Portrait of L.A.” and two books profiling Spanish-speaking Americans, “Rising Voices” in 1974 and “Rising Voices: A New Generation” in 1994. According to his bio, he also created three network television series and has 20 writing credits for TV movies.

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