Report: L.A. Mayor Karen Bass Edits Out Q&A from Press Conferences

Mark Schiefelbein photo

by JOEL B. POLLAK
February 22, 2025

Embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has been editing out the question-and-answer (Q and A) portion of many of her press conferences, limiting exposure of reporters’ questions about her handling of the Palisades Fire disaster.

The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday:

In the days after the Palisades fire, those Q and A segments were occasionally treacherous for Bass. At one session, she bristled at a question about the city’s emergency reserve and whether L.A. would have enough money to weather the crisis. At another, she struggled to answer a question about the county’s continually malfunctioning emergency alerts and whether Angelenos should stop using them — an issue that is not even the city’s responsibility.

The omission of the Q and A — not just from social media but, on at least some occasions, the live feed watched by the public in real time — in some ways sanitizes the mayor’s image, removing the messy back-and-forth that takes place between politicians and the news media.

The Times asked the mayor’s team on Thursday why the Q and A has gone missing from so many of the mayor’s video clips and livestreams. They did not respond to that question.

Bass has faced calls to step down after firing L.A. Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley on Friday over the disaster. Many Angelenos feel that she is attempting to blame other officials for her own failures of leadership and judgment.