In N Out

 

Get ready for at least one more day of tears on Fox 11′s Good Day LA.

On Thursday, Jillian Reynolds apologized to the departing Dorothy Lucey for all of the mean things she’s said about her during their 17-year run together.

The real winner in this segment was Steve Edwards, who received a Dorothy-Jillian sandwich hug.

I’m on to you, Steve.

[H/T LA Observed]

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

The Huffington Post announced today that Janet Balis has been named Publisher of the Huffington Post Media Group. Balis moves to HuffPo from AOL, where she was Senior Vice President and Head of Sales Strategy, Marketing and Partnerships.

Also on the HuffPo business end, former Chief Agency Officer and GM of Sales for MSNBC Interactive Moritz Loew has been named the new Head of Sales Specialist and Senior Vice President.

Texas native Randy Harvey is returning home.

The Los Angeles Times associate editor is leaving the newspaper to become a featured sports columnist for the Houston Chronicle.

Harvey started at the LAT as a reporter in 1981, working his way up the ranks to become a columnist in 1996 and senior assistant editor four years later.

The Baltimore Sun managed to lure Harvey away for a two-year stint as assistant managing editor before returning to the LAT in 2006 as sports editor.

“I’ve been suppressing my inner Oscar Madison. After 12 years behind a desk in management, I’m letting him free,” Harvey told LA Observed via email.

 

Today is another big day in the career of Rolando Nichols, news anchor at KWHY Channel 22 in Los Angeles and Spanish-language play-by-play man for the Angels on ESPN Deportes.

Fox International Channels (FIC) and the RCN Television Group (RCN) have announced he will host a national newscast on MundoFox, the U.S. Spanish-language broadcast network launching this summer. Nichols will continue to handle local nightly 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts at KWHY, where he holds the title of vice-president of news and production.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to be able to deliver more global, in-depth coverage of the pressing issues affecting Hispanics in this country,” says Nichols. “We understand our community and know that they need options. I feel honored to have been chosen to be one of the faces representing our culture on MundoFox.”

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A little while ago we wrote about how the San Diego CityBeat was hitting some hard financial times, and was soliciting donations from readers to help keep it afloat. Doesn’t look like that effort is going too well, because the paper is shedding writers. Last week, after four years with the CityBeat, columnist Enrique Limon penned his final piece for the paper.

At times, I’ve felt as if my tenure at CityBeat has played out like low-budg version of The Devil Wears Prada (“a million girls would kill for your job” is one of my many mantras). So, with my love not just for alt-media, but journalism in general, still intact, I decided to kill the baby, so to speak.

I announced this decision to my editor months ago during a rare one-on-one meeting and told him that it was my wish to reach the mini milestone that is this space’s four-year anniversary before the infant-bludgeoning.

A lot was said in that meeting, both good and bad, and although I had the Mommy Dearest boardroom monologue memorized and ready to go, I never once lost my cool. At risk of damaging his street cred, I’ll share this much: We sealed the encounter with a hug….

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The Center for Investigative Reporting announced today that it has hired Susanne Reber as its senior coordinating editor for multiplatform projects and investigations. Reber will lead all national and international enterprise reporting efforts for The Bay Citizen and California Watch among CIR’s other properties.

“Susanne is a powerhouse in the investigative reporting community,” says CIR editorial director Mark Katches. “She has an established track record of producing high-impact investigative stories, telling them on multiple platforms and collaborating with major national media partners to make sure the stories reach as broad an audience as possible.”

Reber comes to CIR from NPR, where she was the deputy managing editor of the radio network’s investigative unit. She starts her new gig in June.

Nearly three years after the LA Times Magazine was removed from advertorial status control of the business end of the paper and put back under the LA Times‘ editorial umbrella, the monthly pub is being shut down. FishbowlLA spoke with the mag’s editor, Nancie Clare, who told us that the upcoming June issue will be the magazine’s last.

“I think it’s fair to say there were revenue issues,” she tells us. “It’s still a tough economic climate, especially for print. I don’t think they got rid of us because they don’t like us.”

The mag’s staff of seven will be let go. There’s no indication if positions will be available for them in other sections of the paper.

“I think the jury is still out. Part of what’s going on is a contraction. They’re contracting in the newsroom too. There’s nowhere to absorb us.”

Clare says the staff is handling the news stoically.

“There was no animosity or screaming. We’re professionals in a very small media market. Print is in a tough place right now. [The Times] is doing what they think is best. I obviously disagree. But I really appreciate that Russ Stanton gave us the opportunity to do this. When the previous editor was let go, he went out on a limb for us. And I think we’ve done some great stuff.”

The mag’s staff was only recently made aware of the imminent closure. Future plans are still up in the air. But Clare is confident everyone will land on their feet.

“I’m going to be working. And so will all of my people. I can’t sing the praises of my staff enough. Helene Goldsen is the best managing editor on Earth. [Design and Culture Editor] Mayer Rus is amazing. Rip Georges is a multi-award-winning designer. The young ones too…Raha Lewis with music…There’s only seven of us. We’ve been on a shoestring and the product we’ve produced is excellent.”

Since launch in 2009, TheWrap has proven to be a fertile training ground for entertainment journalists. Among the earliest examples of reporters who worked under Sharon Waxman before moving on to other outlets are Amy Kaufman (now with the LA Times), Josef Adalian (Vulture), Hunter Walker (New York Observer), Josh Dickey (Variety), Jeff Sneider (Variety) and Dominic Patten (Deadline).

Still, with the recent departure of Jason Scoggins, Cindy Kaplan and Joshua L. Weinstein for Film Funds LLC, the following photo now stands as a rather graphic representation of the kind of turnover Waxman (and others in the space like The Hollywood Reporter and the LA Times) must sometimes deal with. Of the ten people flanking Waxman in this April 1, 2011 birthday celebration snapshot obtained by FishbowlLA, only one person remains employed with the start-up company today.

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Our colleague Jerry Barmash at FishbowlNY has the scoop today on the latest broadcast name to hitch a ride with the Los Angeles Lakers. Beginning October 1, former NBC Southern California and WNYW Channel 5 sports reporter Andy Adler (pictured) will anchor LA Lakers coverage on Time Warner Cable’s SportsNet as that network’s in-studio game broadcast host.

And because Adler is fluent in Spanish, she will – get this – be switching back and forth during Lakers game days to also anchor Spanish-language coverage on Time Warner Cable Deportes. From Barmash’s report:

Making this project extra special for Adler is the chance to speak Spanish to viewers on a local station dedicated to sports. “Nothing like that has really ever been done,” Adler admits. “It’s just cool.”

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We told you yesterday about legendary Los Angeles Times books editor Jon Thurber retiring in early summer.

Well, the hunt is already on for his replacement as LA Observed got their hands on the internal memo:

To: The Staff
From: Alice Short, Assistant Managing Editor/Features

The Los Angeles Times has an opening for a Books and Culture Editor.

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