LAT rewards Cole

Subject: Carolyn Cole promoted to NA/FG Photo Correspondent, based in NY

To the Staff:

I am pleased to announce that Carolyn Cole has been promoted to the position of National/Foreign Photo Correspondent based in New York.

In this unique position, Carolyn will enhance our visual coverage throughout the nation and the world using New York as a launching point. When she is not traveling, she will be available to cover stories in the New York area for both our news and features sections.

Since joining the Times in 1994, Carolyn has established herself as one of the most respected photojournalists in the world, documenting conflicts and social issues in Iraq, Haiti, Liberia, Afghanistan, India and Kosovo.

She is a Pulitzer Prize winner this year for her coverage of the conflict in Liberia. Last year she was a Pulitzer finalist for her exclusive coverage of the standoff at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, and for the second year in a row, she has received the Overseas Press Club Robert Capa Gold Medal for best photographic reporting from abroad.

Additionally, her work has been recognized nationally and internationally by Sigma Delta Chi, World Press Photo, National Press Photographers Association, Pictures of the Year International, and the Society for News Design.

Carolyn is a graduate of the University of Texas and worked as a staff photographer for the Sacramento Bee, the San Francisco Examiner and the El Paso Herald Post before joining the Times.

Carolyn will report to Calvin Hom, deputy director of photography.

--Colin Crawford, Assistant Managing Editor/Photography

Subject: Leslie Brenner appointed Food Editor

To the Staff:

I'm extremely pleased to announce that Leslie Brenner has been appointed Food Editor.

Leslie joined the section and The Times in September, 2003, as deputy to then-editor Michalene Busico, whose overhaul of Food brought The Times' coverage and criticism of cooking, restaurants and wine to a new level of sophisticated distinction.

Leslie's own credentials had amply prepared her to step right into this demanding new operation. She is the author of numerous books on both food and wine and a former contributing editor to Travel & Leisure.

Her most recent books are "The Fourth Star: Dispatches from Inside Daniel Boulud's Celebrated New York Restaurant" and a novel, "Greetings from the Golden State," which was named one of The Times' Best Books of 2001.

Michalene since has moved on to oversee the successful launch of Home, and, more recently, our rethinking of Calendar Weekend, and Leslie's wide experience, keen intelligence and sharp eye for a culinary or dining trend have made the transition in Food a seamless passage. The section has continued to thrive under Leslie, as demonstrated by the all the superb stories, reviews and recipes Food serves up to our readers each week. She has whetted all of our appetites for more.

Under the theory that you don't break up the Yankees, Leslie will continue to report to Michalene in her role as Senior Editor for Features.

-- John Montorio, Deputy Managing Editor/Features

Subject: Staff Changes -- Arts, Entertainment and Style

Friends:

I'm pleased to announce a number of appointments that will continue to expand and improve our arts, entertainment and style report:

*Valerie Nelson, who joined the Features Department just last December, will become Deputy Home Editor. Val's outstanding contribution to Outdoors is well known and she brings a remarkable breadth of local, regional and national experience as a writer, editor and manager to her new assignment. As deputy to Home Editor Barbara King, we expect Val to play a pivotal role in conceiving, assigning and seeing through to publication a full range of stories and standing features across Home's franchise. With Chris Erskine already in place as a deputy editor, Home now has an editing team capable of taking it to the next qualitative level and beyond. With that in mind, I've also asked Senior Editor Michalene Busico, who helped launch Home and recently refocused Weekend, to resume her role as consultant and counselor to Barbara.

*Scott Sandell will shift to Weekend, where he will join Kevin Bronson as a deputy editor to Michalene. Scott not only brings strong editing and graphic skills to his new post, but also a comprehensive experience of the department's operations. Before going to Home, whose launch he assisted, Scott was an editor on Sunday Calendar and copy chief on the Features desk. Between stints on the editorial teams covering major news stories like the Democratic National Convention, the Florida election controversy and Sept 11, Scott somehow has found time to write television reviews for Calendar and to teach editing at USC.

*Robin Rauzi, currently serving as a temporary deputy in Weekend, will become assistant entertainment editor. Robin has just completed her second stint in Weekend after taking a year off to travel in Europe. Her new assignment builds on her academic background, which includes a bachelor of fine arts in Cinema-Television from USC. Robin joined The Times in 1995 as a reporter in the San Fernando Valley. In her new post, she will report to Entertainment Editor Lennie LaGuire and to Deputy Entertainment Editor Betsy Sharkey.

*Sarah Holeman will join Calendar as an assistant arts editor. Though Sarah currently serves as design editor for the daily editorial and commentary pages, she previously worked as an articles editor for the Valley and Ventura County editions and as an assigning and news editor for a variety arts, entertainment and lifestyle sections at The Times. Until she joined the paper in 1988, Sarah worked on the national and foreign desks of the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. and at the Durham Sun as a reporter. In her new assignment, she will report to Arts Editor Lisa Fung.

These changes will be phased in over the next few weeks.

-- John Montorio, Deputy Managing Editor/Features