During his 12 years as a copy and layout editor with the Chicago Sun-Times, Christopher Woldt (pictured) got to massage the copy of Pulitzer Prize winning film critic Roger Ebert. Now, as a member of the Orange County Register news desk, he’s performing similar duties.

“I’m only in my fourth week,” he tells FishbowlLA, “but I’d say this is my best headline at the Register so far. It was for a story about saving money by getting massages at massage schools instead of at spas:”

Meeting your kneads for less
Massage schools can loosen you up at prices that won’t rub you the wrong way.

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For the first time since 2008, the Orange County Register has a standalone business section in a Monday print edition. It’s the latest sign of the Aaron Kushner/Freedom Communications Inc.-led revival and a genuine cause for celebration.

From the official announcement:

In January 2008, the paper moved business news into the back of the main news section as part of an effort to cut costs. A year later, the paper restored a separate business section Thursday through Saturday, with real estate on Sunday, but business news remained in the main news section Monday through Wednesday…

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When long-time Orange County Register features editor Cathy Lawhon left the paper for the luxurious life of flackdom, we wondered how the paper was possibly going to publish. Who could step in to do the work of a woman who was already doing the work of five?

The answer, it seems, is no one and everyone. OCR announced major changes to its features department, shuffling people around, starting up new Online sections and giving Health editor Andre Mouchard the plum job of overseeing “Morning Reads” (the longish features that run, like Column Ones, on the Reg’s front page).

More of the changes are described in the memo below. But don’t ask us what OCmoms.com is. We have no idea.

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