April 1, 2008 News

ANOTHER ADDRESS UPDATE


Valley Magazine's current address is 8210 Orion, Suite 2, Van Nuys, CA 91406. Bonnie Steele remains the long-time editor.


NATALIE NICHOLS ON THE CITY BEAT CHANGES…

… in a blog post here.


LA OBSERVED'S LIST OF LA TIMES STAFFERS GONE IN THE BUYOUT AS OF LAST WEEK

Take this link for the most current updates (list below as of 3/31) and links to some of these fine folks' farewell emails, none of which had anything good to say about owner Sam Zell.

Kevin Crust, film writer in Calendar
Jennifer Delson, Orange County staff writer
Glenn Doggrell, design editor
Joan Fantazia, assistant copy chief
Laura Gutierrez, editorial hiring staff assistant
Liz Hale, magazine deputy art director
Don Hunt, City desk weekend editor
Tom Furlong, deputy National editor
Greg Griggs, Ventura staff writer
Connie Kang, Metro staff writer
Greg Krikorian, federal court reporter
Myron Levin, Metro staff writer
Ela Lindsay, research assistant
Joe Mathews, Washington bureau staff writer
Alan Miller, Washington bureau staff writer
Sonia Nazario, Metro staff writer
Robyn Norwood, Sports writer
Charles Perry, food writer
Jonathan Peterson, Washington bureau staff writer
Gina Piccalo, film writer in Calendar
Jeff Rabin, Metro staff writer
Cecilia Rasmussen, Then and Now columnist
James Ricci, Metro staff writer
Ruth Ryon, Hot Property writer
Joel Sappell, special projects editor
John Spano, Metro courts staff writer
Lewis Segal, dance critic
Molly Selvin, Business staff writer
John Stewart, National news editor
Mike Terry, Sports writer
Tomas Alex Tizon, Seattle bureau chief
Cicely Wedgeworth, features copy editor
Henry Weinstein, legal affairs writer in Metro
Robert Welkos, film writer in Calendar
Nona Yates, politics desk researcher


HEARTS IN THE RIGHT PLACE DEPARTMENT

Good luck to these people, for all the good it will do (although it did work for Al Martinez). Anyway, LAIst reports on this effort to get the LA Times to reinstate Lewis Segal and/or a full-time staffer for dance coverage.

The backers say:

We believe that Los Angelenos need a commitment from news organizations such as the L.A. Times to support the amazing, fast growing art forms of choreography and dance as seen on the screens and stages of Los Angeles. At a time when dance has never been more popular, we ask you to sign this petition to support the reinstatement and growth of dance staff and coverage at the L.A. Times.

Click HERE to participate.

March 28, 2008 News

THIS AND THAT…


Fishbowl LA reports that Hollywood Reporter Features Editor Christy Grosz resigned earlier this week.

Starting Monday, Steve Lowery replaces Steve Appleford as City Beat editor, and former OC Weekly writer Rebecca Schoenkopf comes aboard as arts editor.

Apparently LA Confidential moved its offices in September, but I'm just finding out – maybe you are, too. They're now at 1875 Century Park East, Suite 1130, Los Angeles, CA 90067.

March 24, 2008 News

OUT THE DOOR AT THE LA TIMES

LA Observed passes on this memo announcing the departure of LA Times Guide editor MaryKaye Schilling. It also says "Scott Sandell will oversee the print version beginning today [last week] until a permanent replacement is named."


RECOMMENDED FOR ALL OF US PR TYPES

Check out PR pro Peter Shankman's cool and useful mailing list, "If I Can Help a Reporter Out..." I highly recommend signing up for it.

Here's his description:

I built this list because a lot of my friends are reporters, and they call me all the time for sources. Rather than go through my contact lists each time, I figured I could push the requests out to people who actually have something to say.

These requests only come from reporters directly to me. I never take queries from that other service, I never SPAM, and I'm not going to do anything with your email other than send you these reporter requests when they arrive in my in-box.

UPDATE ON TRAVEL WRITER PETER GREENBERG

From an AARP press release:

Peter Greenberg has signed on to become AARP's new travel editor at large. In addition to his current duties as the Travel Editor for NBC's Today Show, Greenberg will now also provide travel expertise and advice as well as original content to AARP's members via the organization's publications, Web site and major local and national events.

March 10, 2008 News

Thanks for making this blog a big success – we've had more than 10,000 page views since our debut last May!


UPDATE ON WALL STREET JOURNAL'S GLOSSY MAG

WWD.com has an interview with Tina Gaudoin, editor of the Wall Street Journal's new quarterly glossy magazine, ever so imaginatively called WSJ, coming in the fall. Take this link to read the whole thing, but I quote here from the most relevant (to us) part:

Gaudoin said the magazine would be broad in scope, naming, as examples, commissioning your own artwork, managing a staff, and coverage of jewelry, fashion, cars and gadgets. ( The magazine is aimed at men and women. About a third of Journal readers are female.) The size of her staff has yet to be determined, she said, though it will likely be a mix of magazine veterans and existing Journal staffers. Nor could she say how large of a budget there would be for luxury magazine indulgences, like name-brand photographers and on-location shoots.

MORE JOB CUTS

Gary Scott's blog has this about the LANG group of papers comprised of the Pasadena Star News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Whittier Daily News, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, San Bernadino Sun, and Redland Daily Facts: Executive Editor Steve O'Sullivan is gone, and Frank Pine, senior managing editor at the San Bernardino Sun, becomes senior managing editor for the Inland Division (all the papers).

Quoted directly from Scott's blog is this list of no-longer-employed folks:

Elise Kleeman, science writer for the Pasadena Star-News

Emanuel Parker, a longtime staff writer at the Star-News who had recently transitioned into features at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Sharon Brawley, librarian at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Greg Andersen, staff photographer

Sean Moses, sports writer/copy editor

Rod Kamitsuka, copy editor/page designer

Steve O'Sullivan, executive editor, San Gabriel Valley News Group

Wes Hughes, columnist at the Sun

Paul Oberjuerge, sports columnist at the Sun

Michelle Rester, assistant city editor at the Sun

Brett Snow, staff photographer at the Sun

Gina Tenorio, night cops reporter at the Sun

Ellen Timothy, copy editor at the Sun

Marc Campos, staff photographer

George Paul, features reporter at the Bulletin

Adrianne Woodward, news assistant at the Bulletin

James Folmer, editor of the Redlands Daily Facts

Also, thanks to Bob Thomas for passing on this link to the Pasadena Star News's spin on the departure of O'Sullivan.


MORE LA TIMES STUFF

According to this at LA Observed, Leo Wollinsky heads up features at the LA Times to "provide managerial oversight" starting March 17, according to the memo from Editor Russ Stanton.

The Michael Calderone's Politco Media blog updates the LA Times buyout story, saying that the list of editorial staffers requesting the buyout will not necessarily be the way the layoffs play out.

March 5, 2008 News

DO YOU KNOW ANY OF THESE PEOPLE?

They've applied for the LA Times buyout, which means they will be leaving soon. Thanks to LA Observed for this list, and take this link to read the whole story.

Crust, Kevin--Calendar
Darling, Jill--poll
Fantazia, Joan--Features
Furlong, Tom--National
Green, Julie--Editorial pages
Hale, Liz--magazine designer
Hunt, Don--Metro
Kang, Connie--Metro
Krikorian, Greg--Metro
Kunitomi, Darrell--tour guide
Levin, Myron--Metro
Nazario, Sonia--project writer
Neal, Ron--features designer
Norwood, Robyn--Sports
Piccalo, Gina--Features
Pinkus, Susan--poll
Rabin, Jeff--Metro
Rasmussen, Cecilia--Researcher
Ricci, Jim--Metro
Ryon, Ruth--Real Estate
Sappell, Joel--project editor
Segal, Lewis--Calendar
Selvin, Molly--Business
Spano, John--Metro
Stewart, John--National
Walters, Jim--National
Weinstein, Henry--Metro
Welkos, Robert--Calendar
Willman, David--National
Yates, Nona--researcher

The Times finally changed the date on their editorial staff list to February 26 (it was labelled some time in July of last year until just recently even though changes had been made to it every so often). Guess they'll have to update it again very soon.


ON THE SUBJECT OF ARTS COVERAGE

In connection with the above, LA Times Dance Critic Lewis Segal's position was apparently eliminated, according to this. Thanks to the long-distance Rachelle Roe for passing this along.

Take a look at OC Register Theatre Critic Paul Hodgins's blog about newspaper arts coverage. Maybe we can generate more hits for him than did his Clay Aiken post. ;)


NEW OLD EDITOR AT NEW ANGELES MONTHLY plus FEATURETTE OF THE WEEK!

New Angeles Monthly brings back its original editor Nikki Bazar to replace the departing Donnell Alexander.

Here's my two cents "FEATURETTE" about publications that are doing things right, including New Angeles Monthly: kudos to those offering an ACTUAL online view of the publication right on a web site. Check out New Angeles Monthly's virtual magazine -- from their home page, take the "click to view magazine" link on the right side just under the masthead. It has all kinds of cool sound effects, it turns the pages for you, you can print one or more pages, and you can find everything -- including your press clippings -- exactly how they look on the printed page. Who needs a clipping service?

The Beverly Hills Courier, Park La Brea News, Los Feliz Ledger and other local newspapers offer lower-tech versions of the same thing, usually in PDF format. If you know of others that do as well, let me know, and I'll pass it along here.

March 3, 2008 News

POST ST. VALENTINE'S MASSACRE x THREE OR FOUR

Twenty-two people lost their jobs Friday at the Daily News, among them long time music writer Fred Shuster and features writer Val Kuklenski. See the full list and tributes here.

This story on DistrictWeekly.com details the news last Friday that "[The Long Beach] Press-Telegram, a name synonymous with local journalism for 110 years, suffered deep staff cuts and a corporate restructuring that leaves it as little more than a bureau for the Torrance-based Daily Breeze."

More here at LAObserved.

Also, nine people lost their jobs at the Daily Breeze Thursday, and in New York, 120 Newsday positions were eliminated, 25 in the newsroom.

Very sad.


ON THE OTHER HAND…

According to an AP internal memo posted by LA Observed, Josh Dickey and Derrik Lang have joined the West Coast as deputy entertainment editor (Dickey) and entertainment writer focusing on the celebrity scene (Lang).


IN STYLE PROMOTES HONOR BRODIE

Honor Brodie, InStyle's features editor in charge of entertainment coverage (out of New York), has been promoted to managing editor. No word yet on who's filling her old job. I believe Mark Morrison is still the west coast editor, based here.