LA Times Names Stanton Editor; Staff Shake-Up Has Bellack And Barrett Heading Digital
By David Kaplan - Thu 14 Feb 2008 01:57 PM PST
With all the talk of job cuts at the Tribune Company and New York Times in the last two days, here’s something a little different: the Los Angeles Times has promoted Russ Stanton to serve as editor of the paper. The paper also reshuffled a number of other positions, including naming Bob Bellack, currently the LAT Media Group’s CFO, and General Manager Rob Barrett to head the digital side of the paper’s operations.
Stanton joined the paper in 1997 as was named Innovation Editor in February 2007. He succeeds Jim O’Shea, who has said he left - or was fired from - his post in a dispute over how deeply to cut costs at the paper. O’Shea was the second editor to exit LAT over the issue of staffing cuts in the past 15 months. Stanton apparently felt he would be able to resolve the situation with management. In turn, publisher David Hiller clearly felt comfortable that Stanton would present less of a challenge than the last two editors.
-- Digital moves: As for the other personnel changes, Bellack becomes president of Development and Digital Media, while Barrett, becomes SVP, Interactive. Barrett is charged with leading all efforts to grow of LAT Media Group’s multimedia and online operations. Bellack will oversee development efforts, including acquisitions, partnerships and new mobile and digital initiatives. In addition, Bellack will head up classified advertising, with a focus on web-based recruitment, real estate, and automotive categories, areas that have been struggling lately due to the poor real estate market and general economic woes. Barrett will also continue in his role as GM, latimes.com, reporting to Bellack. Chris Avetisian, currently director for Financial Planning and Analysis, will take on Bellack’s former role as CFO. Release
-- Metromix LA gets print version: Separately, LAT’s culture news and listings site Metromix Los Angeles is getting the paper and ink treatment as a free weekly. The site began life last summer and is part of a Tribune Company network of Metromix online entertainment guides tied to the publisher’s other dailies in New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Orlando and other places. The print rollout will begin with an initial circulation of 100,000 copies, distributed every Wednesday on local college campuses and in grocery stores in about a half dozen of the city’s neighborhoods. Release
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