Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
ancawr@anca.org

PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, June 28, 2007

Contact: Haig Hovsepian

Tel: (818) 500-1918

Genocide Controversy Leads L.A. Times Managing Editor To Resign

Los Angeles, CA – After escalating criticism from the Armenian American
community for his role in obstructing an article on the Armenian Genocide
this April and his discriminatory behavior against Armenian American
reporters, Los Angeles Times Managing Editor Douglas Frantz has resigned
effective July 6th and will be returning to Istanbul, reported the Armenian
National Committee of America-Western Region (ANCA-WR).

This past April Frantz "killed" a story on the Armenian Genocide that was
written by Armenian American Los Angeles Times reporter Mark Arax. Frantz
had erroneously accused Arax (who recently left the paper) of having a
"conflict of interest" regarding reporting on the Armenian Genocide and had
also circumvented the standard editorial process for reviewing articles. A
subsequent internal investigation by the Times deemed Frantz’s accusations
to be completely baseless.

This past April, the ANCA led a grassroots campaign to raise awareness
regarding Frantz’s actions. Over 5,000 activists responded to an ANCA
action alert and sent emails and letters calling for Frantz’s resignation.
In addition, the ANCA-WR, California Courier Publisher Harut Sassounian and
other community representatives met with the publisher and senior Los
Angeles Times management on multiple occasions during the last several
months to convey the community’s outrage regarding Frantz’s discriminatory
actions.

"Doug Frantz’s resignation from the Los Angeles Times is an appropriate
answer to his unprofessional behavior and anti-Armenian posture in the
newsroom," remarked ANCA-WR Board member Zanku Armenian. "The Los Angeles
Times is a fine newspaper and deserves better than to have a genocide denier
as a member of its senior staff. The fact that Frantz is returning to
Istanbul tells the full story of where he stands." he added.

Frantz’s activities and pro-Turkish positions have been monitored over the
course of his many assignments at different newspapers and most recently in
May when he moderated a panel in Istanbul that featured a well-known
genocide denier. The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
(ANCA-WR) worked with a coalition of individuals to bring to light the
situation that had developed at the Los Angeles Times after Frantz more
overtly revealed his anti-Armenian position with his actions against Mark
Arax. Sassounian had highlighted the Frantz controversy in several columns
that appeared in the California Courier and a host of other news websites.
Sassounian was also instrumental in bringing to light Frantz’s involvement
in the May conference held in Istanbul.

The Armenian National Committee of America is the largest and most
influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in
coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout
the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA
actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad
range of issues.