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Ken Doctor adds details of the LA Times buyout offer (up to one year salary for those on the job 28 years or more) and says the American Airlines ad takeover of the Monday print front page was a sign for some that it's time to go. He expects "two or perhaps three masthead editors" to leave "as well as a number from the paper's cadre of well-known columnists and writers." Politico
Bill Plaschke, the LA Times sports columnist, is teaming with Jeanne Zelasko to host a new morning sports talk show on The Beast 980. It begins today and airs from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., followed by Jim Rome from 9 to noon and Fred Roggin from noon to 3 p.m.
Former LA Times managing Editor Doug Frantz has left the State Department and to become Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD
The New York Times is centralizing the daily creation of the printed paper at a news hub in the newsroom so that the individual desks and departments will become more focused on digital and all-day news coverage. "Because we do not intend to diminish the print paper in any way, we will make sure that some of our best editing talent remains devoted to
it." Dean Baquet memo
It’s our least favorite time of year: media layoff season. The Awl
Reddit is developing its own news site called Upvoted that will have a team of about 10 staffers who “find stories on Reddit, verify the details, interview the original posters, and then write articles.” Poynter
Remember Jeffrey Alan Lash, who was rumored to be either an alien or a spy after $5 million worth of guns and $230K were found in his Pacific Palisades condo after his death? Playboy digs in
Andy Bowers of Slate is producing The Message, an audio podcast drama about a message from deep space that’s gone untranslated for 70 years. iTunes
When Orson Wells lived on Wonderland Avenue. The Organist/KCRW
Nice Jesse Katz piece on the lake at MacArthur Park and the lives it has claimed since 1890. Los Angeles Magazine
"Tangled Vines: Greed, Murder, Obsession, and an Arsonist in the Vineyards of California" by Frances Dinkelspiel is out today. St. Martin's Press
"Once Upon a Time in LA," a first novel by LA music supervisor Howard Paar, "is a dark, thrilling ride deep into the lives of a megalomaniac record label chairman, mob-related radio promotion men, and a young band that gets sucked into the vortex." From Over the Edge Books.
Former LA Times reporter David Haldane has a memoir: "Nazis & Nudists," from Black Rose Writing. His website
