It wasn’t that long ago that we were writing about Stephanie Elam’s move from CNN New York to NBC Southern California. Less than a year later, the Howard University grad and former CNN business reporter has straight-reversed that career direction, heading back to the closer confines of CNN’s LA office.

Those who follow Elam’s Twitter feed have known about this latest career move for upwards of a week. This afternoon, CNN has made it official:

During her tenure at KNBC, Elam’s reporting centered around emergency awareness, empowering Southern Californians with information to be earthquake ready, water safety and informed about money matters. She covered the release of John Smith, a man jailed 18 years for a crime he did not commit; the 2012 Golden Globes red carpet; and she anchored KNBC ‘s breaking news coverage of the Seal Beach murders.

“Stephanie is an excellent communicator and tenacious reporter, and we are pleased to have her back as a part of the CNN family,” said Terence Burke, vp of newsgathering for CNN U.S.

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Not long ago on Twitter, KFI AM 640 newscaster Aron Bender was singing the praises of Katherine Timpf, a one-time intern at the station making a big splash at Fox News with her exclusive coverage of some Facebook foolery. Today, a separate KFI-to-FOX success story continues.

Araksya Karapetyan (pictured), who started out during her college years interning at both KFI and KABC-TV, has been promoted to full-time anchor with the FOX 11 Morning News.* She joined the station last year as a general assignment reporter and fill-in anchor, where she had been contributing to the 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. weekday newscasts as well as Studio 11 LA.

The Newhouse School grad will anchor weekday newscasts from 4:30 to 7:00 a.m. and again from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., as well as continue to contribute to Good Day LA. From today’s announcement:

“Araksya’s smart and in-depth reporting is matched by her exceptional commitment to the community,” said Kingsley Smith, FOX 11 vp and news director. “She has an extraordinary work ethic and has quickly made a name for herself in this area as a reporter who tells compelling stories about everyday people.”

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The Twitter profile for LA Times DC bureau reporter Matea Gold resolutely states: “I still believe in newspapers.” But perhaps not those being coveted by Rupert Murdoch and a pair of Koch brothers.

In what could be interpreted as hedging her bets, maintaining control of her professional fortunes or a little bit of both, Gold is staying in DC but moving up in terms of the daily Beltway newspaper she writes for, as money and politics reporter for the Washington Post.

Warm wishes are flowing across Twitter to Gold, proof of how well-liked a journalist she is. That’s how we first caught up to the news. Kevin Roderick has the Post announcement memo. He also spoke to Gold, who seems to confirm ever so slightly that the transitional aspect of Tribune Co. had something to do with this.

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First, you find a bureau chief. Then – if you’re lucky and work for a media outlet that still has money in the bank – you go beyond the freelance-stringer frontier and give that bureau chief some full-time local assistance.

Such is the case with Ad Age’s San Francisco operation. After installing Cotton Delo as Bay Area bureau chief, the media publication will add, post-Memorial Day weekend, Tim Peterson (pictured), a journalist plucked from competitor Adweek. Via this morning’s announcement:

It’s been a while since Ad Age has had more than one edit staffer in the Bay Area and we think now’s a good time to crank up our coverage there…

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Here’s how Los Angeles Daily News columnist Richard Waggoner put it earlier this spring when rumors of program director Jhani Kaye’s departure from K-Earth 101 and The Wave 94.7 FM were confirmed:

Considered by many, including myself, as one of the true geniuses of radio, Kaye refined the idea of flow as it pertains to the sound of a radio station. Bob Moore, who was managing adult-contemporary KHTZ (now KAMP, 97.1 FM) when Kaye was named to the programming position at new competitor KOST in the 1980s, said that Kaye likened the soft-rock station to a wave, moving up and down gently.

He says that Kaye is the reason KHTZ changed to classic rock in 1986 – he just couldn’t compete against Kaye’s programming prowess.

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After three years covering Golden State politics for the LA Times, Michael J. Mishak is switching to the Sunshine State. Per an announcement this morning by AP South Region editor Lisa Marie Pane and Florida News editor Terry Spencer, he is joining the wire service as a Miami-based politics writer.

Before the LAT, Mishak covered the labor and politics beats for the Las Vegas Sun. From today’s announcement:

“Mishak’s appointment to this new position marks a critical expansion of the AP’s national political reporting team,” said Liz Sidoti, AP’s political editor based in Washington. “It will help ensure that the AP fulfills its mission to provide competitive, comprehensive and clear campaign coverage during the upcoming 2014 and 2016 contests while also chronicling changes in the public’s attitudes and behavior.”

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A reader tipped us to a May 3 report on queerty.com. One phone call later, we’re able to confirm a few additional details related to that publication’s exclusive news break.

As of today, The Advocate editor-in-chief Matthew Breen (pictured) is under the employ of Grand Editorial and by mid-summer, will be relocated from The Advocate‘s Westwood offices to those of Grand in Brooklyn. Only he, and the magazine’s current bi-monthly print magazine efforts, will be moving away from the west coast. A staff of just over a dozen editors will remain here in LA.

Grand Editorial is run by Aaron Hicklin, EIC of Here Media sister publication Out magazine. A year ago, a similar move was made involving that publication, with the big difference being that the editorial staff was let go and rehired on a contract basis.

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From an LA perspective, the most pertinent aspect of today’s announcement from Emmis Publishing is contained in the very last paragraph. There, we are reminded that Mary Melton (pictured) is a “fourth-generation Angeleno.” Very impressive.

Melton, the well-liked EIC of Los Angeles magazine, is adding a weighty concurrent title to her resume: vp/editorial director of Emmis Publishing, her parent company, based in Indianapolis. From today’s announcement:

“In Mary, we are continuing the tradition of exceptional journalistic leadership,” Greg Loewen, president of Emmis Publishing, said. “We are thrilled Mary will take on a broader, company-wide role overseeing the editorial content of our award-winning city and regional magazines.”

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Celebrity photo syndicate service X17 recently posted a job ad on Mediabistro seeking an “Experienced Entertainment News Writer.” After the company sifted through responses from many qualified applicants, the position has been filled.

Joining the Beverly Hills operation this week is Maane Khatchatourian. She holds an M.S. from the Columbia School of Journalism and worked previously for the EW.com website.

X17 VP Brandy Navarre tells FishbowlLA her arrival means there are now five staffers powering X17′s news content side. Khatchatourian, like her colleagues, will work closely with X17′s foot soldiers.

“X17 online writers speak with our photographers multiple times throughout the day,” Navarre explains. “Our photographers are our eyes and ears on the street and they have invaluable information about the stars.  They speak with bodyguards, assistants and friends of the stars — and, oftentimes, the stars themselves.”

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LinkedIn remains a very handy tool. Per a FishbowlLA tipster, it does indeed appear that Alan Citron is newly installed as a business lead with Yahoo Entertainment.

Citron, one of the genuinely nicest guys in town, has had a long, illustrious career, one many journalists today would pine for. After working for more than a decade as a reporter and editor at the LA Times, he segued to Ticketmaster Online and MusicNet.

Most recently with BuzzMedia (a.k.a. SpinMedia), Citron was instrumental as founding GM in helping the late Jim Paratore and Harvey Levin build out TMZ. His fellow TMZ-er at Buzz-Spin, Gillian Sheldon Heckendorf, previously left for Berman Braun.

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