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Russ Parsons announced on social media yesterday that he has stepped down as food editor of the Los Angeles Times. He's staying to write columns for the section. Amy Scattergood, who recently returned to the Times from the LA Weekly, is the section's new editor. Parsons talked with Los Angeles Magazine about the switch. Excerpt:
I’m hoping that my new/old role as columnist will mean that I’ll be doing more of the same mix of restaurant news/cooking/agriculture/food policy stories that I’m doing now, and that I’ll have more time to tackle longer, more-reported stories. Food is at the center of culture these days, and there is so much that is interesting going on….
I had been talking to my boss about making this change for a while. When I reached out to Amy about the deputy’s position, I told her that it was my hope that she would become food editor fairly quickly. There was no single issue that prompted the change. I’ve always considered myself a writer first who can also do editing and managing. But I’d found that for the last couple of years it seemed like I was able to do less of what I loved most and was having to do more of the other. It’s been terrifically rewarding to manage such a great staff—Betty Hallock, Noelle Carter, Jenn Harris, S. Irene Virbila, Jonathan Gold, and now Amy Scattergood—and I’m really proud of how we’ve built our web presence and managed the transition from a standalone food section to being a part in the Saturday mix. But I really, really love to write.
today I can finally make it official: I’m now food columnist for the Times. My dear friend @AmyScattergood will be taking over the editing.
— Russ Parsons (@Russ_Parsons1) February 10, 2015Previously on LA Observed:
Jonathan Gold's LAT titles become official: he's a columnist
