In an unusually expedient manner, WaPo has hired a new Style Editor to replace Ned Martel, who recently stepped down after management heard numerous complaints about his demeaning management style. The new editor is: Frances Stead Sellers, a UK native, who has run National’s coverage of health, science and the environment since 2009. The memo makes an obvious point to address Sellers’ personality: She is “ferocious loyal” to her reporters and “the epitome of collegiality.”

Read the memo. It’s not half bad. Someone must have gone out dancing before writing it…

UPDATE: Lynn Medford, Sunday Style, Arts and Magazine Editor) just wrote this note to the newsroom: “A hearty congratulations to Frances. We do ask that she not try to impose Civilization on Style.  heh heh heh.” Our sources tell us Sellers is a “truly lovely” person.

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WaPo‘s Nicole Arthur will no longer be one of top Style Editor Ned Martel‘s deputies. She moves to Sunday Arts & Style where she’ll work under Style Editor Lynn Medford. In an internal announcement memo, colleagues get a dose of Arthur’s history. Formerly an arts editor for WCP, she began at WaPo as a “tough” copy editor. She left for an experimental venture that ultimately failed. She returned in 1998. She’s married to Slate‘s media writer Jack Shafer.

See the memo which includes her one liner “personal statement”…

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WaPo has announced in an internal memo to staff that the search is on for an editor for the Arts and Style staff. With the recent shift of Richard Leiby to Local after two decades at Style there is a gaping hole to fill. Management says they have a strong in-house candidate but are willing to talk to other interested candidates both inside and outside the paper to fill this position and others that may arise in the future.

Behind the scenes, we hear that Style is struggling under the leadership of Ned Martel. What’s more, we’re told that one of  Martel’s two deputies is taking another position as Style’s Lynn Medford‘s deputy. Joe Heim is Martel’s remaining deputy. The new editor would work “elbow-to-elbow” with Heim.

See the internal memo…

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WaPo’s Liz Kelly and Matt Nelson welcomed baby Desmond Clyde Nelson to the world on Saturday night. Liz, a “Celibritology” blogger for the Post, wrote obsessively about “Lost” — which explains why she named her kid “Desmond.”

Congrats to Liz and Matt and welcome to the Fishbowl, little guppy.

Memo from Lynn Medford below:

Subject A new Stylista!!!

Liz Kelly and Matt Nelson welcomed Celebritology baby Desmond Clyde Nelson to the world Saturday night, weighing in at 8 lbs 12 oz and measuring 20 inches long. Despite the 14-hour labor, Liz sent the note herself! All are happy and well. This is their first.

Lynn Medford
Style Editor
The Washington Post

Young Journos watch out!

WaPo’s Arts & Style Editor Richard Leiby has signed on as an adjunct professor at GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs. He starts teaching a basic journalism class Tuesday and Thursday nights on news writing and reporting.

And he’s not messing around.

In his syllabus, he writes to students, “I’m going to treat you, my students, as if you’re my reporters and I’m your hard-nosed assignment editor. Treat this class as you would a job at a news organization. As your editor, I expect you to show up on time at your desk, ready to work and well briefed on the day’s news.”

Leiby’s class begins just before 8 p.m. “I especially pushed the class start time to a quarter to eight realizing anything can happen, so I should have time to get over there and impart whatever wisdom I have to the young minds,” he said. “I’ll tell you from someone who’s been in the business now over 30 years, bringing back those core basics is like squeezing out a strand of DNA because it’s so much a part of what you do everyday.”

The class, he said, is the basics: writng nut graphs, leads, finding good stories and sources, conducting interviews, and covering meetings.

Leiby said he officially became part of WaPo management Friday. His titles are many but he describes himself as an “Arts Editor” who’s also responsible for putting out the Sunday Arts & Style section.

So what’s his title? “Person with three jobs,” he replied.

What does all this mean for Leiby?

“It means I can bid farewell to writing,” he said. “I have to run meetings.”

Leiby, now Professor Leiby to some, has worked at the newspaper for 19 years.

Washington City Paper presents “Fisticuffs at the Washington Post,” starring Andrew Beaujon as Marcus Brauchli, Jason Cherkis as Chris Richards, Erin Niedowski as Lynn Medford, Erik Wemple as Manuel Roig-Franzia, Amanda Hesse as Monica Hesse and Mike DeBonis as Henry Allen.

Happy belated birthday to Christie Findlay and Kevin McVicker! Good morning FishbowlDC! What we know and what we’re reading this Thursday morning…

NEWSPAPERS | TV | ONLINE | MAGAZINES | NEWS NOTES | WEST WING REPORTAGE | IN MEMORIAM

NEWSPAPERS

WSJ launches a San Fran edition today.

Washingtonian: Having taken a beating for trying to set up evening salons where reporters could mingle with corporate types who’d pay big money for the privilege, The Washington Post now is attempting a more benign way to raise revenue: wine tastings — with reporters as guests.

TV

Fox News’ Glenn Beck has appendicitis.

Changes at CNN.

More reality shows… Bravo’s in DC to recruit contestants for “Top Chef.”

ONLINE

TVNewser’s Twitter list picks.

MAGAZINES

Looks like there are layoffs to come at Time Inc. Layoffs were the topic of convo on mediabistro’s Morning Media Menu earlier today.

NEWS NOTES

On Election night, Twitter seemed to beat cable for insight and analysis.

And Election night ratings via TVNewser.

WEST WING REPORTAGE

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on year one.

ABC’s Jake Tapper on President Obama, Air Force One and Twitter on Politico‘s podcast.

IN MEMORIAM

Politico: John W. Mashek, a political reporter who covered every presidential election from 1960 to 1996, died of a heart attack Tuesday. “He was one of the great political reporters of the last quarter-century,” said Jerry Seib, executive Washington editor of The Wall Street Journal.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, Nov. 9, at 11 a.m. at the Church of the Epiphany, on Dumbarton Street between 27th and 28th Sts., N.W., in Georgetown.

AWARDS & EVENTS

HAT TIPS: mediabistro, TVNewser, Politico

Former WaPo staffer Chris Richards will return to the paper as Style’s new music critic. Memo obtained by FishbowlDC below:

A NEW POP MUSIC CRITIC FOR STYLE

Style is pleased to announce that Chris Richards will rejoin us to write about pop music — in all its forms — and to redefine our music coverage in the paper and, especially, online. Before leaving for New York last year, Chris was an editorial aide in Style for six years and contributed a wide range of entertaining and insightful profiles, performing arts reviews and feature stories to the section. He also created the Singles File column – a must-visit destination for anyone trying to keep up with the latest and most interesting music offerings. Chris has boundless energy, a deep well of story ideas and a thorough knowledge of Washington’s music history and its many music scenes. We look forward to reading his dazzling takes on the pop music world beginning Aug. 31. He will report to Joe Heim.

Ned Martel Lynn Medford Joe Heim

In a memo from WaPo executive editor Marcus Brauchli and Raju Narisetti and Liz Spayd, Lynn Medford and Ned Martel were named senior editors of the Style section. Former Style editor Deb Heard had taken a buyout last year.

Medford previously worked on the Metro section for three and a half years and Martel was most recently at Men’s Vogue.

Also announced- Style’s interim edtior, Steve Reiss, will move to the newly formed Universal newsdesk.

Their memo to staff after the jump…

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Earlier this month, FBDC posted that WaPo intended to create “community journo positions.” The Post Guild said that the gig “sounded a lot like the positions we already have… for a lower wage.”

From the looks of a WaPo memo today, the positions are now official:

Metro News Openings for New Community Journalists Positions

We are very pleased to announce that The Post has created a new position to help us expand and improve coverage of local and community news in the Washington region. Employees in the new posts, called Community Journalists, will focus on writing stories for the Extras, and on multimedia work on local and community topics. They will report directly to Extras Editors. While there may be occasions in which they work for the daily paper, they will seldom cover stories on larger regional and national issues.

We are currently looking to hire several Community Journalists for suburban bureaus and possibly the District. We are looking for people with a strong interest and expertise in local affairs, a lot of energy and drive, and eagerness to learn. Some experience in journalistic reporting and writing is preferable but not required. It would also be a plus to live in the county or other jurisdiction that one covers. These positions would be a natural fit for some Editorial Aides who have already shown promise as writers.

We plan to fill these positions internally.
Bob McCartney
Lynn Medford