CHICAGO, April 2, 2013 — Tribune Company today announced the promotion of Kathy Thomson , President and Chief Operating Officer of the Los Angeles Times to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer/Tribune Publishing, effective immediately. In this new role, Thomson will work with all of the company’s publishing units and lead several strategic initiatives including the expansion of digital products and services, the formation of a cross-functional team focused on innovation, the promotion of process efficiency, and the increased use of video. Thomson also will continue in her current role at The Times, overseeing the Los Angeles Times Media Group’s portfolio of products. READ MORE »
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LA Times President Kathy Thomson Named Tribune Publishing COO
Why Hollywood Doesn’t Read LATimes.com
LAObserved.com just posted a memo from Sallie Hofmeister, the LA Times‘ incredibly mediocre Assistant Managing Editor for Arts & Entertainment. More interested in celebrity coverage than substantive beat reporting, Hofmeister exhorts her showbiz blog staff to try to have “an original … Read More »
UPDATE: Michael Eisner’s BFF Wants Him To Replace Sam Zell Atop LA Times’ Tribune
UPDATE: Here’s the reason why Michael Eisner is first choice among prospective candidates who could operate Tribune Co once it emerges from bankruptcy: John Angelo of NYC hedge fund Angelo Gordon & Co which is one of the Chicago-based media company’s biggest creditors. (See photo of Angelo, Eisner’s son, and Eisner.) Not only are Eisner and Angelo childhood pals who grew up together. “He was my sidekick from the age of 6,” Eisner said in his autobiography about Angelo, whose mother was in turn Eisner’s mother’s BFF. In the book’s acknowledgements, Eisner equates Angelo with his own sister because they ”have been an important part of my life longer than almost anyone else”. Even now, the two men remain best friends and Angelo’s son Jesse (an editor at the New York Post) is Eisner’s godson. Eisner even devotes a chapter to Angelo Gordon & Co in his forthcoming book, Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed and describes Angelo as someone who “I know as well as perhaps anyone, aside from my own wife and children.”
On Angelo’s advice, Eisner, 68, has been accumulating Tribune Co debt. Tribune Co and its creditors are still struggling to negotiate a settlement. But just last week, the latest round of talks surrounding the disastrous Sam Zell management collapsed. On Friday, Tribune Co is supposed to submit a
proposed settlement plan which the court could approve. It’s clear that senior creditors like Angelo Gordon & Co will end up owning Tribune Co because of their $8.6 billion in claims. Meanwhile, Angelo Gordon Co has accumulated several newspaper holdings post-bankruptcies in the last year. Because of the Angelo connection, Eisner was first approached about becoming a member of a reconfigured Tribune board by him. Reports say those conversations led to discussion of a potentially larger role for Eisner with Tribune Co, and today he is being touted for the top job. Read More »
LA Times Follows NY Times’ Lead? New Movie Editor With No Showbiz Experience?
UPDATE: Bizarrely, LA Times entertainment chief Sallie Hofmeister didn’t bother to even mention that Julie Makinen, formerly Julie Bowles, worked at The Hollywood Reporter briefly. Very briefly.
Previous: Earlier this week, I pointed out that both the new Movie Editor and TV Editor for The New York Times have zero experience with Hollywood. (… Read More »
Overture Duo Were Fired By Blackberry
My pal Claudia Eller has a funny little scoop on the LA Times website about how Starz chief Chris Albrecht made a Blackberry mistake that led to Chris McGurk and Danny Rosett’s exit from Overture. (So I gotta ask: is this why moguls like Alan Horn and Ron Meyer refuse … Read More »
UPDATE: Ron Burkle & Harvey Weinstein Insist Still “Working Towards” Miramax Deal — Despite Disney Telling Media It’s Dead
UPDATE 5:45 PM: Ron Burkle and Harvey Weinstein just issued this joint statement in response to Disney insiders telling the media (including Deadline) that the Miramax deal with them is “dead”:
“The Weinstein Brothers, The Weinstein Company and Ron Burkle are all working towards
R.I.P. Dede Allen
She died Saturday at age 86. She was the first film editor to get a solo credit on a feature, 1967′s Bonnie And Clyde for which she “revolutionized imagery, sound, and pace” and ”included a staccato tempo sometimes called shock cutting, and beginning the sound from the next scene while the … Read More »
Hollywood Reporter Publisher Eric Mika Officially Out: THR Turned Down By LA Times’ Lynne Segall; What’s Next?
E5 Global Media CEO Richard Beckman just informed the staff about Eric Mika’s exit. It’s hardly unexpected. Ever since Beckman was hired in January, he has been telling people outside the trade — but, deliberately, not the staff — that he … Read More »
‘Hurt Locker’s Nicolas Chartier Admits Sending Private Emails About ‘Avatar’
Oy, now there’s even more about Oscar badmouthing, and this is even more unimportant. I’ve learned that Hurt Locker financier and producer Nicolas Chartier today admitted to Summit Entertainment he sent more emails about Avatar. But these weren’t mass mailings to … Read More »
LA Times Prints Year-Old Showbiz News
The Los Angeles Times must be desperate. Rachel Abramowitz is peddling the story of Angelina Jolie-as-Kay Scarpetta (novelist Patricia Cornwall’s signature character) as news when Mike Fleming wrote it for Variety back on April 21, 2009. By the way, his Deadline|New York site debuts on March 2nd. I’m going to miss sharing … Read More »
And You Read the LA Times Because…?
This email just went out from Los Angeles Times deputy arts & culture editor Sherry Stern. But I’m sure the paper’s exhaustive coverage of superstar makeup and celebrity footwear won’t suffer:
Hi. I’m writing this time to let you know that as of tomorrow our page size shrinks.. As a
At Least The Titanic Had Entertainment…
Los Angeles Times is announcing that Scott Sandell, the Calendar morning editor, will become deputy online arts & entertainment editor reporting to Lisa Fung. As if anyone bothers to read that newspaper in print or online.
LA Times’ Claudia Eller Now Player-Coach
My longtime galpal Claudia Eller has been promoted to “player-coach” for the Los Angeles Times‘ Company Town, effective tomorrow. What the heck does that mean? According to the internal announcement, “Claudia will continue to cover the movie studios for Company Town, but will devote about a fourth of her time … Read More »
LA Times To Make Staff Cuts In Calendar? Washington Post Closing Its L.A. Bureau
WEDNESDAY AM UPDATE: Los Angeles management told editors at a meeting this morning that, yes, more layoffs are planned. But management is claiming the 40 number is too high, and no film writers are involved. If anyone’s job has been saved because of adverse publicity, then great. (I’ve added a … Read More »
More Layoffs Underway Now At LA Times; 100 Newsroom Cuts Planned At NY Times: Is Entertainment Coverage Immune?
I’m receiving word that Tina Daunt who wrote the “Cause Celebre” column about Hollywood politics is included in a new wave of layoffs by the Los Angeles Times, which has already bought out or fired so many people that it’s a … Read More »
Just How Pathetic Is LA Times Coverage Of Hollywood? Well, THIS Pathetic!
I am shocked and dismayed that the Los Angeles Times is so lacking in original content reported by its scores of entertainment beat journalists that it would post a list of liked and disliked Hollywood figures compiled by an anonymous snarker who runs a temp … Read More »
Annie Gilbar Axed At LA Times Magazine
UPDATE: The paper just announced that Nancie Clare was promoted from deputy editor to editor of the Los Angeles Times Magazine. I learned the bomb was dropped this afternoon on experienced editor Annie Gilbar, who made the Los Angeles Times Magazine wonderfully readable and visual … Read More »
LA Times Names Online Showbiz Editor
Why does everytime the Los Angeles Times makes an entertainment coverage personnel move, the positions always sound identical? The newspaper today announced Lisa Fung as Online Arts & Entertainment Editor to oversee multimedia coverage of all arts and entertainment, including Calendar, … Read More »
Roman Polanski Double-Crossed By Swiss
UPDATE: The Los Angeles Times reported this morning that LA prosecutors planned Roman Polanski’s arrest in Switzerland after learning he would be accepting a film festival award in Zurich. Prosecutors sent a provisional arrest warrant to the U.S. Justice department which … Read More »
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