Los Angeles Times Publisher David Hiller Ousted

Yet another top executive is leaving the Los Angeles Times. Publisher David Hiller announced yesterday that he is on his way out, after less than two years on the job.

Tribune Co. - which owns the L.A. Times as well as other media assets - is already looking for a new publisher for the Chicago Tribune to replace Scott C. Smith, who announced his resignation last month, the Los Angeles Times points out.

Hiller’s announcement came the same day the Times managers began on a series of newsroom cutbacks that will ultimately oust 150 people, or about 17 percent of the editorial staff. It also fell on the same day that Chicago Tribune editor Ann Marie Lipinski announced her resignation.

In a memo to staff, Hiller indicated that he may have been pushed out by Tribune chairman and CEO Sam Zell, writing, “Sam’s the boss and he gets to pick his own quarterback.”

Hiller was appointed publisher in 2006 after Jeffrey M. Johnson lost his job for publicly refusing to make specific cost-cutting measures mandated by the parent company. Hiller’s tenure at the paper has been marked by the steepest drop in cash flow in any of the Tribune chain of 11 daily newspapers, according to The New York Times.

Hiller acquired the reputation as an indecisive leader and poor manager, though editor Russ Stanton said in a statement that Hiller was “extremely supportive of our efforts to restructure our newsrooms for the long term.”

Tribune COO Randy Michaels expects to name a new publisher by the end of the summer. In the meantime, Michaels himself will oversee operations at the Times, along with Tribune evp and chief administrative officer Gerry Spector.