New features editor at LAT

Associate Editor Leo Wolinsky had handled page one duties through several of the recent editorships at the Los Angeles Times. For the first time in his 30-year career at the Times, he moves over to features. Reportedly not a favorite of new Editor Russ Stanton, many in the newsroom thought Wolinsky's days were numbered since he was closely connected to the private talks held in 2006 with potential buyers Eli Broad, David Geffen and Ron Burkle and with the civic leaders who wrote Tribune a letter protesting the paper's decline in editorial quality. He was passed over last year for managing editor. Memo from Stanton — who is speaking to the Washington bureau today — after the jump:

Colleagues: Beginning Monday, John Arthur will be calling the shots on the front page, duties he handled before being promoted to Managing Editor last year. John will keep his title and we'll be looking to redistribute some of his other duties in the coming weeks. Leo Wolinsky will be moving to features beginning Monday, March 17th. I've asked him to provide managerial oversight, help with staffing issues and use his experience on A1 to help us get more stories from the feature sections on the front page. Leo will retain his title of Associate Editor.
Thanks for your patience as we begin the process of re-engineering the newsroom's organizational structure to meet the demands of a new era.

Russ Stanton
Editor