On Wednesday, The Los Angeles Times published graphic photographs of US soldiers posing with corpses and body parts of suicide bombers in Afghanistan, spurring a criminal investigation and condemnation of the activities by US government officials. The unsolicited photos, taken two years ago, were given to The Times by an anonymous soldier who said the photos demonstrated “a breakdown in leadership and discipline that he believed compromised the safety of the troops,” the article said.

After being shown the photos before publication, however, Pentagon officials such as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta asked The Times not to publish the images, citing the potential risk of inciting violence against US troops by forces in Afghanistan, Poynter reported.  

Ultimately, The Times editorial staff decided publishing the pictures was in the public interest, though the paper delayed publication as per request to allow the military time to increase protections for the soldiers shown in the photos, the article said.

T.L. Caswell, formerly of the Los Angeles Times editing staff and current writer for Truthdig, recently published an article criticizing the Times' decision to run a realistic looking advertorial on the July 1st edition of their LATExtra. The publication, which has won 39 Pulitzer prizes, has the fourth largest circulation in the United States. Caswell, holding the newspaper in high esteem, expresses his sentiment that the Times is "among the greatest dailies of modern time." He adds, however, that "now, the good times are gone and, some will argue, the good Times is gone."

Facing bankruptcy, the Times, like many other publications, must make changes in order to survive. Caswell notes that is spite of staff cutbacks and several other adjustments, such as the introduction of the LATExtra section, have not "cured the ills" of the paper.

The Los Angeles Times and Tribune Interactive have released a new iPad app, reports Editor&Publisher. The app, which costs $1.99 allows readers to keep up with the latest news with headlines, photos, tweets, and a feed of news from L.A. Now blog. According to the L.A. Times website, "users can browse through The Times' individual sections -- including each section's blogs -- and save stories and photos under the Favorites section for later viewing." Users can also use the app to share stories on Facebook, Twitter, and via e-mail.

Moreover, the Times has also launched the next generation of their app which features an adjustable interface for app users to customize how they receive Times content. Publisher Eddy Hartenstein said "Next month, our Hollywood Star Walk app will also go live, offering a robust interactive L.A. -centric experience for visitors to Southern California and entertainment junkies."

Producers of the app hope that it will allow users to be more interactive in how they receive news. According to Tribune Interactive President Marc Chase, the app "adapts to users preferences and makes content just a click away."

The Walt Disney Company paid roughly $700,000 to the Los Angeles Times for a front page ad for its upcoming "Alice in Wonderland" movie, a source at the newspaper confirmed to The Wrap.

Readers of the LA Times last Friday morning had to flip to the second page to read the day's headlines, while a multicolored picture of Johnnie Depp, dressed as the Mad Hatter, obscured two stories on health care and the war in Afghanistan.

The editorial board at the LA Times opposed the ad, but the decision was ultimately made by the newspaper's business executives, according to anonymous sources at the paper who spoke to The New York Times.

"Obviously, it was not my decision," said Russ Stanton, the top editor at the newspaper.

"We worked very closely with Disney to come up with an exceptional and distinctive way to help them open 'Alice in Wonderland,'" said the Times' spokesman, John Conroy. "It was designed to create buzz, and to extend the film's already brilliant marketing campaign."