MEDIA : Fake Front Pages on Times

Thousands of vending machine copies of today’s Los Angeles Times were wrapped with fake front pages criticizing U.S. involvement in El Salvador and the newspaper’s coverage of the issue.

Crudely fashioned cover sheets were discovered in newspaper vending machines from North Hollywood to South Central Los Angeles. No one claimed responsibility for the prank, but Salvadoran peace activists have used the bogus newspaper covers as a way of publicizing their cause in other cities, including Washington and San Francisco. Times Editor Shelby Coffey III deplored the prank. “We feel the perpetrators’ view of our coverage is erroneous,” he said. “They are perfectly free to have their opinions, but they are wrong in vandalizing our news racks to express those opinions.”