Austin Beutner is an accomplished guy, what with being a co-founder of a successful investment bank and deputy mayor in Los Angeles. But since he has no experience in the news business, why did he take the top job at the Los Angeles Times?

“Maybe a fresh set of eyes is what an enterprise like this needs,” Beutner said. “You’ll see us start to experiment. That’s the nature of an evolving enterprise.”

Exactly how the newspaper might experiment is largely undecided for now, given that he’s still on the steep part of the learning curve. Beutner said he’s putting in 12-hour days that often start at 6 a.m. as he learns the ins and outs of being publisher and chief executive of America’s fourth-largest newspaper.

Read the full story in the September 15 weekly edition of the Business Journal.