Monday, August 24, 2009

August 24, 2009 News



New-ish editor for Valley Life Magazine is Deborah Shadovitz.



Gawker reports layoffs at Salon.com, including Culture Editor Joy Press.


Thanks to LA Observed for the tip that former LA Weekly music writer John Payne debuted a new music website, bluefat, recently. From the home page:

Welcome to bluefat, a magazine for music, film and visual art devotees with open minds and a fondness for the diverse. Updated weekly, bluefat is a deep plunge into works spanning wide formal regions, from rock, pop, jazz and folk to international traditional music, contemporary classical music and new-/non-genre sounds, as well as commentary on groundbreaking new filmmakers. In-depth conversations with artists forging paths outside the boundaries of popular taste visit realms where pure expression is the name of the game.


CAN YOU HELP?

Writer Debra Levine sends this along…

Save Film at LACMA, a three-week-old grassroots movement founded to convince the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to reverse its decision in cutting a valued forty-year-running classic film program, is looking for a pro-bono partner in the area of public relations.

In three short weeks, we have attracted a significant following in our online petition online that presently has more than 2,500 signatures.

The effort is sponsored by a blog. It has an affiliated facebook group – 3,500 fans -- and twitter feed.

We have had significant coverage in the Los Angeles Times, on TIME.com, and a major article in the New York Times is anticipated this week. We need to keep our interactive online campaign fresh and add to our print coverage. We anticipate the need to reach out to television to cover our upcoming celebrity-filled “Popcorn” summit with LACMA on September 1.

Please reach out by email or phone 323 662 0261 to Debra Levine (debra@levineonline.com) at Save Film at LACMA. We’re already rocking; we want to keep rolling! We need your help. Many thanks!



Monday, August 10, 2009

August 10, 2009 News


 The contact for Local News Service, the new pool news crew for KNBC, KTLA and FOX, is Ellen Winston at KNBC. Her @nbcuni.com address is ellen.winston.


Thanks to the intrepid Lucy Pollak for passing this on from Alexis Johnson, late of Angeleno:

I hope this finds everyone well. Just wanted to let you know that today [August 6] is my last day at Angeleno--after three phenomenal years, I've decided to go back to USC to get a master's in public art studies. I will still be frequently freelancing for the magazine, covering beauty and culture, but am also helping launch a new, LA-based style website on September 1st with a few former LA Times Image section writers (details to come).

For future fashion and party coverage pitches, contact Jade Chang (jchang). For all calendar requests, send press releases to eventsla.
[addresses are @modernluxury.com]

Alexis's @gmail.com address is alexismarissajohnson, and her web site is here.


And thanks to Mannfolk PR's Omar Cunningham for this tip:

Eryka Clayton, Ed/Chf of Signature LA Direct Magazine, just shot out a "moving on" email stating that she is leaving the magazine to move onto her next project, which she will let us know of in the very near future.



Ex-LA Times writer Robin Rauzi, now of The Journalism Shop (see post below), passes on the news that "UCLA Live will likely be in the market for an interim publicist asap, and that interested parties should contact the marketing director Phil Rosenthal."


This is a quick shout out to the lovely Harriette Smith and her film/theatre blog. Take a look here.

 

Monday, August 3, 2009

August 3, 2009 News



Very interesting "mea culpa" from the New York Times with regard to a large number of errors in a story on the passing of Walter Cronkite.


Lynne Heffley, one of my favorite former LA Times writers, and a bunch of colleagues have debuted a web site where you can find

"highly skilled newspaper veterans interested in taking on freelance assignments. All members are former Los Angeles Times staffers offering a wide range of skills and interests, from investigative reporters to book reviewers, page designers to project managers. If you are looking for help with a complete editorial project, email us and we'll get you in touch with the right people."
Check it out here!


Speaking of former LA Times writers, veteran music critic Robert Hilburn has a book about his career coming out in the fall, Corn Flakes with John Lennon (couldn't he think of a better title? No matter, his writing is worth it whatever it's called) and a web site with blog. Take a look.


LA Times.com Entertainment Editor Richard Rushfield departs for Gawker.com as its west coast editor. Details from LA Observed here.


Perhaps connected to the above, the Times has also announced Scott Sandell's appointment as "morning entertainment editor, Calendar," with a memo, which begins:

We are pleased to name Scott Sandell as the morning entertainment editor for the Calendar and Company Town operations. In this newly created position, Scott will give us an earlier jump on the news each day and improve coordination among Calendar, Company Town, the Web, the photo and graphics departments and the rest of the paper. Working a 7 a.m.-to-3:30 p.m. shift, Scott will scour the wires, papers and the blogosphere to put together our early morning coverage. He will be responsible for an internal memo that will be distributed to senior editors at 7:30 a.m. that gives a heads-up on stories moving to the Web and enterprise on deck for the day.

Read the rest of it here.