L.A. Observed has the dirt on a series of legal maneuvers by and related to former LAT Op/Ed editor Andres Martinez.

If you’ll recall, Martinez resigned from his post last year after offering to let producer Brian Grazer guest-edit the Sunday Opinion section. Grazer was repped by Martinez’s then-girlfriend, Kelly Mullens. At the time, Martinez said there was nothing fishy about the arrangement, but now it turns out he blames his whole downfall on his former flame … and has filed a lawsuit to prove it!

Mullens, for her part, says the suit is, according to LAO “”backlash over a restraining order obtained by Mullens earlier this year.”

Classy!

Blogger Patterico has a long memory, especially for all things LA Dog Trainer Times. He’s been bugging Jamie Gold, the Reader’s Rep., about the Andres Martinez investigation.

Backstory: Martinez got grief about the Brian Glazer guest editor idea, especially after his relationship with PR Kelly Mullens came to light, and quit in a huff.

Turns out he didn’t do anything wrong, or so the non published report says.

The Readers’ Representative concluded her review of the issue involving a potential conflict of interest involving the former editorial pages editor. Based on the internal investigation, we have not found that anything was published in the Times–or that anything was withheld from publication – because of this relationship. The situation is a reminder that even the appearance of a conflict of interest can raise questions about the paper’s credibility, and all such situations should be disclosed and reviewed with one’s supervisor.

Since Martinez is part of this week’s Dust-Up fracas, Patterico wonders “how bad could things be?”

Earlier:
Andres Martinez Joins New America Foundation
Piranhas in the Fishbowl: Grazer-Gate Continues
Show Down on Spring Street: Andres Martinez Names News Room Meddlers at LA Times
Andres Martinez: Safety in Numbers at the LAT
Andres Martinez, Kelly Mullens, Brian Grazer: Three’s Company
Brian Grazer: Editor for a Day at LA Times

FBLA has decided that responsible, cautious journalism is for wusses. We get delicious little morsels of unsubstantiated rumors in our in box all the time. Today, we shall disperse them to the masses. Feast, ye heathens! Feast!

Last week we heard that the 50-80 LAT staffers were going to be laid off by week’s end. Instead, staffers received their raises (we’d also heard those were going to be frozen).

That hasn’t stopped the doomsday whispers, with Spring Street journos convinced that at least 50 jobs will be eliminated soon. FBLA hears management is targeting reporters and editors who received below average performance reviews.

Here’s another interesting tid-bit that more conscientious journalists would check out before publishing: In their ongoing investigation into Andre Martinez’s Op/Ed pages, LAT brass is looking into whether Martinez’s relationship with Kelly Mullens influenced his coverage of the Dodgers — one of Mullens’ former clients.

Know anything more about any of this — or anything else? Fill out that there tip box to the right, and let us know!

Andres Martinez, for such a pleasant guy, seemed to have made some LA Times enemies in his very short tenure there. All weekend, FBLA has been hearing various little snippets of rumors that Martinez was perceived as “too pro-business” or “not in touch with the rest of the paper”. LAObserved is ground zero for those who went on the record.

LATimes watcher, the late Cathy Seipp, wrote about Martinez in 2005 in the National Review Online. Then, Martinez was full of bright and shiny plans for a fresher Op-ed section with freelancers and outside experts writing editorials, readers contributing to online wikitorials, and other innovations planned under Michael Kinsley. Kinsley thinks it’s all ridiculous, but his literal-minded readers wonder why he’s posting about it.

First to crash and burn was that wikitorial.

But Martinez perked up the section, transferring some staff to news, hiring Matt Welch and Tim Cavanaugh from Reason, Rob Greene from the Weekly. Not everyone agrees that the changes were helpful.

One of those named by Martinez in his online tirade, Tim Rutten wraps himself in a few hundred words of sanctimony and loftily observes:

Like most of my colleagues at The Times, I’m fundamentally uninterested in other people’s personal lives

Which might explain why circulation has dropped so drastically in the last years. Remember when reporters were daring, risk-takers? Now they’re as prim as frontier schoolmarms, and as dull as civil servants.

Read more

Andres Martinez covers his butt in a blog post at the LA Times. He’s quick to point out that he wasn’t alone, no siree, in deciding that Brian Grazer was a swell choice as Guest Editor.

“Two senior editors, besides me, agreed that Brian was a good choice”

“we all read up on him and met him, and were excited about his involvement.”

“The decision to ask Brian to do this was not mine alone, but was taken by three editors here, and then approved by the publisher”

Nikki Finke reports that PR guru Allan Mayer orchestrated the entire thing. His firm 42West signed Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment as a client after the guest editor gig was announced. Finke also mentions an internal exam of Martinez’s section and the placement of other 42West clients in same–like Harvey Weinstein’s piece on producing credits, which most likely was written by someone other than Weinstein.

Other names considered were Steven Spielberg, Warren Buffett and Steven Jobs. Nothing makes a man as fascinating as a few billion. Did no one at the Times stop to reflect that perhaps there are other curious, informed people in Southern California besides successful businessmen?

Read more

FBLA thinks this is almost too good to be true:
Andres Martinez, the Op-Ed Editor at the LA Times has been dating Kelly Mullens, who was an executive with Sitrick and Company. One of that firm’s clients is Brian Grazer, the guest editor of this weekend’s Current section.

Former Sitrick exec., Allan Mayer, taking one for the team, told Kevin Roderick that he suggested Grazer to Martinez. Mullens never worked directly with Grazer. From LA Observed:

Martinez emerged from a hurriedly called meeting this afternoon with Publisher David Hiller to inform the editorial staff of the news and to deny that his romantic relationship with Mullens played a part in the selection of Grazer as Current’s first guest editor.

FBLA believes him. Stupidity played a part in the selection of Grazer, not pillow-talk. Nikki Finke interviewed Martinez way back when and genial cluelessness seems to be the over-riding tone.

Earlier:
Brian Grazer: Editor for a Day at LA Times