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Unfortunately, the personnel notices from the Times' second floor are trickling out rather than landing en masse. Latest to hit the transactions wire is the move of Janet Duckworth, a deputy style editor, to the LAT Magazine as a senior editor. It's a homecoming of sorts for Duckworth, since she spent several months at the magazine when it was relaunched in the 1980s, before heading off to the Washington Post and later the LA Weekly. (She is the sister, incidentally, of art director Nancy Duckworth, formerly of the magazine.) Her move completes the earlier trade in which magazine senior editor Kelly Scott took over the weekly Home section. Also, Elena Howe becomes a deputy style editor. Although it's not mentioned in the following memo, I'm told that TV writer Lynn Smith is moving over to write style features.
Still to come, if the newsroom buzz is accurate, are some kind of new titles and/or responsibilities for Entertainment Editor Lennie LaGuire and Weekend Calendar Editor Michalene Busico. For now, the memo of the hour:
Friends,Some change is coming to the Style department of Calendar:
Janet Duckworth, our Deputy Style Editor, will become a Senior Editor for the Sunday L.A. Times Magazine later this month.
Anyone who has worked with Janet can testify to her creativity, love of story and writing, fine editing skills -- and her remarkable human touch that makes such loyal fans of her writers.
The move to the magazine returns Janet to her roots; she worked at the legendary (now defunct) New West/California Magazine before heading off to the Washington Post, where she worked, in various stints, for more than 10 years as an editor in the Post's Style section.
Homesick for Los Angeles, she moved back to become an editor at the L.A. Weekly for six years before starting at The Times about two years ago. Since then she's played a pivotal role in improving every aspect of our Style coverage; she's been directly responsible for some of the best feature writing in the paper during her stint in Calendar.
On every stop of the way, she's had a positive impact; now it's the magazine's opportunity.
Elena Howe, currently the assistant Style Editor, steps up to become the Deputy Style Editor.
Elena's history with Style goes back a decade through many incarnations. She's been instrumental in bringing Style into the modern era, especially the section's merger with Calendar. Before becoming an assistant editor, she worked on the Life & Style copy desk as a slot and deputy slot. Before joining The Times, Elena worked for five years at the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, first as the News Editor followed by a two-year stint as the paper's Lifestyle section editor.
She's a skilled editor with a strong story sense and vision of feature coverage. Her calm, reassuring manner and low-key -- yet dead-on -- sense of humor have helped keep us all sane through periods of transition.
Now she'll play an even larger role in refining and expanding feature coverage in Calendar and the rest of the paper.
We'll be doing a posting for a third Style editor very shortly.
Richard Nordwind, Style Editor
Alice Short, Daily Calendar Editor