July 23, 2008 News

GOODBYES

Forgive a little personal weeping, but I had to say goodbye this week to my friend Adam Crane, LA Phil PR Director, who is remarkable personally and professionally in so many ways. He's leaving L.A. to grace the St. Louis Symphony as Director of Communications, and he WILL be missed. A lot. A bunch of us were lucky enough to enjoy his farewell fest this week, attended by as many media-folk fans of Adam's as LA Phil/Hollywood Bowl folk.

Also there was just-laid-off LA Times writer Chris Pasles (there really can't be a nicer man), who's about to embark on a long-planned vacation. The good news is that he'll likely do some free-lance writing for the Times in 2009. We miss you already, Chris!


LA TIMES STAFF FAREWELLS

TellZell.com has a collection of "farewell" emails sent by axed LA Times staffers to their colleagues. Among my favorites is this from former Health section writer Janet Cromley. (NO apologies to Lee Abrams, ha ha.)

Subject: THINK PIECE!!!

Idea for saving (news)paper: What if every other word were RED? Then you could fit two stories in the space of one!

OR what if we printed the paper with DISAPPEARING INK? Green readers could tote the empty paper to Kinkos and get a refill. Whoa!! And what if we dispatched some, whatchacallit.writers, to FOREIGN-SOUNDING countries like PARIS or PEKING .and had them talk to people.and blackberry the news from there? Think about it.

And finally, if a reporter innovates a fond farewell in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it still sound like ... SO LONG, SUCKERS!!!???

Adios my dear friends,
Janet Cromley -- Sept 9, 1992 - July 18, 2008

INFO AT WWD.COM ON NEW LA TIMES MAGAZINE

WWD.com has a story on the…

soon-to-be-relaunched and already controversial monthly magazine, which has been quietly staffing up under Annie Gilbar, who a spokeswoman for the Times confirmed will serve as editor. The editorial team so far includes familiar names in the glossy magazine world, among others: Celebrity stylist Lori Goldstein began as fashion director on July 1 (though she is not working in the office full-time), and several former House & Garden staffers are either on staff or contributing part-time, including former Testy Tastemaker columnist Mayer Rus, contributing food editor Lora Zarubin and contributing senior editor Paul Fortune, according to several sources.

Read the full thing here.

A little tip from me: I can't completely confirm all of the above names (except for Annie Gilbar and Mayer Rus), but staffers at the mag, due in September, can be reached at firstname.lastname at the regular latimes.com address.


P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRO!!

July 17, 2008 News

LISA FUNG IS NOT LISA FONG

Happily, LA Times Arts Editor Lisa Fung was not among the ousted staffers, even though Variety confused her with the Lisa Fong who was. Spread the word to anyone who was misled by Variety's error.


MARTIN PERLICH SHARES SOME GOOD NEWS

Hi Colleagues, ARF!! Guests and Friends:

After 8 glorious years at KCSN, I'm leaving to publish my own Website (currently under construction). Beginning in September it will present New Releases, New Music by living composers and interviews with major contributors to the Arts: Film, Theatre, Literature, Dance, Jazz, and of course "classical" music.

Please stay in touch at the address below, keeping me on your mailing lists for CDs, Press Releases, etc.

Have a great summer.

See you in September!

Best
Martin Perlich Interviews
398 North Huntley Drive
West Hollywood, CA 90048
Perlix [at] sbcglobal DOT net

I'll post when Martin's site is up and running.

July 16, 2008 News

MORE BAD NEWS - MARTIN PERLICH LEAVES KCSN

Here's the memo. I have no comment because everyone can read between the lines.

Greetings Dear KCSN Staffers ~

I have just been informed by CSUN Human Resources that our esteemed Program Director Martin Perlich has opted for retirement effective immediately.

I would like to personally thank Martin for his many years of dedicated service to KCSN FM; to our programming mission; and for his tireless enthusiasm. He helped greatly in the advancement of our radio station in many areas including increased public awareness, professional imaging, programming, and fundraising. His top-notch interviewing skills have helped put us on the map here in Los Angeles..

Please join me in wishing our colleague Martin Perlich great joys and successes in the years to come. It has been a pleasure working with you Martin. Needless to say you will be missed by all.

Sincerest best wishes, and bon voyage!
Fred
Frederick D. Johnson
KCSN General Manager

LA TIMES LAYOFFS LIST

Almost more names than one can bear are listed on TellZell.com.

From LA Observed:

This is a note that someone in the Los Angeles Times building taped to the wall where past Pulitzer winners are recognized. A bouquet of flowers was left on the floor under the note.

July 14, 2008

EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS – LA TIMES LAYOFFS IN CALENDAR SECTION

Lynne Heffley, Chris Pasles and Kevin Bronson are among the Calendar section writers laid off today.

I'll publish here anything else I hear. You probably already know that Publisher David Hiller is out. Keep an eye on LAObserved for other updates.

July 10, 2008 News

READ IT AND WEEP (OR NOT)

LA Observed has news about the LA Times, including this:

[Wednesday's] issue of the auto section Highway 1 was the last one, the paper confirmed in an editor's note. Pulitzer-winning columnist Dan Neil will move to the Business pages on July 18. No word yet on where, or whether, Susan Carpenter's Throttle Jockey column will go. (Her latest.) Also, the weekly listings section The Guide will stop being printed after July 24.

Full post is here.


ANNE MIDGETTE NAMED TIM PAGE'S PERMANENT REPLACEMENT

From a Washington Post internal memo posted at Media Bistro's Fishbowl DC:

We are delighted to announce that Anne Midgette is the Post's new classical music critic. She has been filling in on a temporary basis since January.

Memo in full is here.


WHEN PUBLICISTS COLLIDE

I had the pleasure of meeting the delightful Lucy Pollak, theatre publicist extraordinaire, on Tuesday.

Among her current projects is this production by Jeff Favre, which we should all go see:

Theater critic and columnist Jeff Favre (Back Stage West, Daily Breeze, Downtown News, Ventura County Star) has written a new Garage Rock musical which premieres July 19-August 16 at art/works Theatre in Hollywood. This is great rock and roll - Jeff wrote the book, and the music and lyrics are by lead singer Missy Gibson and guitarist Mike Flanagan of the indie band Breech (indie-music.com's Top 25 CDs of 2007 for "Tarnish and Undress" and winner of the 2003 DIY Album of the Year with its release, "Apron Strings"), It's 1983, and Chip and his budding garage band are looking for the new sound that will take them to the next level - much to the dismay of Chip's mom (played by Breech's Missy Gibson) a singer-songwriter from the '60s with a checkered past and a belief that good music is more than a simple hook. For tickets to "The Next Big Thing," call (323) 960-4418 or go to http://thenextbigthingmusical.com.

JOE FEINSTEIN, RIP

If you ever worked with Joseph Feinstein, you might have known him as a sometimes-reviewer of stuff from theatre to restaurants, for outlets ranging from online blogs to the Westside Today newspapers. I knew him as that but also as a teacher at my high school, lo those many years ago. Joe passed away in May, and you might enjoy learning about his past in this LA Times obit. He was a man whose work at Grant High School touched many, many kids' lives.


USA TODAY'S WILLIAM KECK HEADS TO TV GUIDE

From Media Bistro's Fishbowl LA:

Longtime USA Today entertainment columnist Will Keck makes his move to TV Guide to become the senior editor of the mag's Hollywood bureau.

From the press release:

Mr. Keck will launch a weekly column in TV Guide magazine about the latest TV news, shows, and stars, as well as write features and news stories and report from the red carpet at all major entertainment events…. The addition of Mr. Keck to TV Guide comes on the heels of a new look and attitude to the 20+ million weekly readers-strong magazine, resulting in several promotions of its top editors including Lisa Chambers as managing editor (formerly features director), Carol Dittbrenner as features director (formerly deputy features director), and Bruce Fretts as articles editor (formerly editor-at-large).

Read the whole thing here.

June 30, 2008 News

NEW APPOINTMENT AT LA TIMES

From the LA Times Readers Representative blog:

Amanda Covarrubias will be moving to a newly created morning-news post on the city desk. This job will be a hybrid of reporting and editing…

Read the whole memo here.


FROM CISION'S THE NAVIGATOR:

Stephen Galloway has been appointed executive editor of features and events at the The Hollywood Reporter. He oversees the features department. He was most recently a contributing editor, although he has previously held the title of executive editor and served as a columnist for the publication.

And

Laura Bird, weekend news editor at The Wall Street Journal, is now overseeing travel coverage for the The Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition and editing the weekly Chefs at Home column. Bird replaces Janelle Carrigan, who, as The Navigator previously reported, has been appointed features editor for WSJ.

FROM MUSICAL AMERICA

Miami Herald Drops Its Classical Critic

On Tuesday, Miami Herald Classical Music Critic Lawrence Johnson received an “involuntary buyout” from his newspaper. Just to be clear, the word “buyout” when preceded by “involuntary” means laid off, in this case with eight weeks severance pay. Such is Johnson’s paper parachute.

The Miami Herald is located literally across the street from the two-year-old Adrienne Arsht (formerly “Carnival”) Center for the Performing Arts, which was built at a cost to Miamians of just under $600 million and houses the Florida Grand Opera, the New World Symphony, the Concert Association of Florida and the Miami Ballet, among others. Apparently, the Herald isn’t very interested in covering the neighborhood.

FROM WALEK & ASSOCIATES

Dow Jones & Company today announced that Al Lewis, the award-winning editor/columnist, blogger and television commentator for The Denver Post, has joined the Dow Jones Newswires editorial team. Mr. Lewis will begin his duties on June 30 and will write a wide-ranging new business column that offers an unconventional perspective on business, companies and the people who run them.

AP ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE UPDATE

Check out this blog post about a recent event at which Associated Press entertainment editors and reporters gathered "to introduce the wire service's ambitious new approach to entertainment news coverage."


YES INDEED, MORE IN-DEPTH COVERAGE OF RASCAL FLATTS… REALLY GOOD AND INNOVATIVE IDEAS FROM TRIBUNE "INNOVATION" CHIEF LEE ABRAMS

This guy, as T.J. Simers might say, lives (unfortunately) among us. Directly quoted from a memo by Tribune "innovation chief" Lee Abrams:

BUFFETT AND BARTOK MUST UNITE: : It seems like music coverage is not complete. There seems to be outstanding coverage of High end music, but with mass appeal artists, I notice that there's cursory pre event coverage and often a review AFTER the show. All good, but I wish we'd treat Jimmy Buffett, or Toby Keith, or any of the mega artists with the same informational tactics. The Morning Call in Allentown recently adapted such an approach. In their GO section they went deep into what to expect. Tools for a decision. Predicted set list, tips on what to expect, etc...My point here is that I noticed a paper doing a massive story on a local Opera. That's fine. Then there's a long story about an emerging alternative band. That's fine. But then when Pop music superstars are coming to town, that reaches a far larger audience, you don't see the same coverage. As if we're "too cool" to go big with Rascal Flatts or Genesis.

Thanks to L.A. Observed for Abrams' pearls of Wisdom, more of which you can read, if you dare, here.


PATT DIROLL'S PASADENA STAR NEWS COLUMN RUNS EVERY WEDNESDAY

Thank goodness for Patt – dare I call her a fabulous doyenne? -- who has long provided a terrific outlet for coverage of charities and fund-raisers. Her Pasadena Star News "On the Town" column and its "Social Calendar" sidebar now run every Wednesday on the Celebrations section front page.


ALFRED LEE GOES TO PASADENA STAR NEWS

The Reporter-G blog reveals this good news about Alfred Lee::

The Pasadena Star-News has a new reporter. Alfred Lee, formerly of L.A. CityBeat, will cover the foothill cities of Arcadia, Sierra Madre and Temple City for the Singleton paper.

FROM NIKKI FINKE ABOUT NEW YORK TIMES FILM WRITER DAVID HALBFINGER

Nikki Finke has the news about New York Times/LA Bureau film beat writer David Halbfinger taking a hike back to the East Coast.

June 16, 2008 News

ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS FROM LA OBSERVED

1) Tu Ciudad ceases publication. Details here.

2) Nikki Bazar is leaving for graduate school and Joshua Lurie becomes editor of New Angeles Monthly.

FROM MEDIA BISTRO'S REVOLVING DOOR

Time's arts editor Belinda Luscombe rotates out into an editor-at-large role and will return to writing features, while her replacement is the surprising outsider Radhika Jones, managing editor of the Paris Review...

COME ONE, COME ALL

944 Magazine is all about getting emails from us PR types. You'll find the details here.

Also, Martine Bury has replaced the departed Emmy Kasten as editor in chief.

OLDER NEWS

This happened weeks ago, but it takes effect July 1. From this story:

Copley News Service will be sold to Creators Syndicate by The Copley Press, the companies announced Wednesday [May 28]. The sale, for an undisclosed price, takes effect July 1. On that date, Copley News Service will be renamed Creators News Service. The sale is the latest in a series by The Copley Press, which appears to be focusing on its main asset, the San Diego Union-Tribune.