Tonight comes the premiere of Inventing LA: The Chandlers and Their Times–a chronicle of the city, its paper, and the family that united the two. “For four generations,” the film’s promo declares, “the Chandlers wielded unique influence through their newspaper. In their pursuit of personal agendas and civic ideals, they built the city of the future, but also exposed the dark side of the American dream.”
The film–which features some two dozen interviews with Chandler associates, Times journalists, and other perspective-offerers (and which is narrated by Brainy Heartthrob Liev Schreiber)–airs at 9 p.m. EST on PBS (check local listings, etc., etc.). In the meantime, the documentary–in a marketing move that’s becoming more and more standardized–features an accompanying Web site chock full of supplemental material, including
an extensive collection of historical documents and photos from the Chandler and LA Times archives, streaming video of the film (available immediately after broadcast) and archival and original material, an interactive video timeline with additional information on the people and events portrayed in the film, and original essays and interviews.
Oh, and! an embeddable trailer. Thanks, PBS.
Megan Garber is an assistant editor at the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University. She was formerly a CJR staff writer.