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Montorio In the latest shakeup at the country’s fourth-largest paper, a Los Angeles Times managing editor, John Montorio, will leave at the end of the month. His departure comes at the request of the newspaper’s new editor, Russ Stanton.
Montorio, one of two managing editors (the second-highest editorial position at the paper), was promoted to the post in July. In a memo to staff, Montorio said that
(Editor & Publisher has the entire memo here.)
Hiller has proven to be an unpopular publisher, with editors and editorial positions dropping like flies, and it seems clear that the friction will continue as budget cuts are forced upon the paper. Even Stanton, the new editor appointed by Hiller, told the newsroom last week that he was “hopping mad” about the seemingly endless cuts.
The Los Angeles Times newsroom currently has about 870 employees, down from a high of about 1,200. Hiller expects to reduce newsroom staff by another 40 or 50 this year, writes The New York Times.
Since Hiller’s arrival, the paper’s website has improved significantly, pulling 5.7 million unique visitors in January and ranking it fifth among newspaper sites (per Nielsen/NetRatings). It has added video, dozens of blogs and the ability to place hyperlinks within articles.
The LA Times had earnings of about $240 million in 2006 and $192 million in 2007. The paper projected about $150 million in earnings this year before the announced cuts.
Former LA Times executives say that two or three years ago, the paper had an operating profit margin of more than 20 percent, but that it is now in the mid-teens.
Katz Media Group has added another new client, Lincoln Financial Media, and will sell ad time on the company’s 15 stations beginning immediately.
Katz also added CBS Radio and Entercom last week, picking them off from Interep’s list.
Katz has also…
Last week, Aegis Group CEO Robert Lerwill resigned unexpectedly, sparking speculation that a takeover may be on the horizon.
Lerwill stepped down officially today (Monday), with Aegis chairman John Napier taking over his duties on an interim basis, writes MediaPost. People…
Out-of-home companies are bracing for the recession like everyone else, but they may not feel the sting as badly as other media.
Though the third quarter brought negative growth to the nation’s three largest OOH companies - Clear Channel Outdoor,…
The 82nd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade pulled an average 12.6 rating/26 share on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 27, according to Nielsen.
That was 8% higher than its telecast last year, Mediaweek writes. NBC estimated that a total 44.7 million viewers…
Time magazine ousted Cosmo as the top magazine for college students in this year’s Anderson Analytics fall survey.
Time also jumped past People, which was last year’s No. 2, writes Ad Age. A Time spokesperson said the magazine did not run…
Email, news gathering and paying bills continue to be the most widely used online activities among U.S. adults, but downloading TV programs, watching videos and making web phone calls posted the biggest overall growth, according to data from Mediamark Research…
