• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer, September 11, 2015

Austin Beutner still has plenty of friends in high places in the political and business worlds of Southern California. And his network rumbled into action to protest Tribune Publishing’s abrupt firing of the former investment banker as publisher of the Los Angeles Time earlier this week.

Over 50 personages of note in the LA scene signed a letter bashing Tribune’s decision and urging the company to restore local control of the newspaper, according to the LAT, which first reported the news.

The list of signatories includes former mayors Antonio Villaraigosa and Richard Riordan.

The letter to Tribune CEO Jack Griffin and the board of directors began: “We are writing to you on behalf of a broad cross section of the people of Los Angeles to express our profound disappointment regarding your decision to dismiss Austin Beutner as publisher of the Los Angeles Times.”

Later the letter noted: “The Times struggled through a series of financial and operational difficulties for many years, yet Austin had demonstrated in only a year that the Times was once again capable of impactful journalism and meaningful community leadership. Making such a drastic decision to terminate him after he had served less than a year in that position is both curious and disappointing to us. To the contrary, we all looked forward to seeing even more progress under Austin’s leadership.”

The letter was also signed by billionaire Eli Broad, who has expressed interest in acquiring the LAT from Tribune. Rumor has it the recent rupture followed another bid by Broad -- supported by Beutner -- which was nonetheless rejected by Tribune. Some speculated that Beutner’s political ambitions also led to his removal.

In a lengthy Facebook post following his firing, Beutner made it clear his departure was involuntary: “I am not departing by choice, nor is this some ‘mutual agreement’ on my part and Tribune Publishing. Tribune Publishing has decided to fire me.”