Managing editor's note recognizes Times' 2003 coverage of Stevens

Here's the message from Davan Maharaj, sent July 30:

Colleagues,

The indictment of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens received front page treatment in all the top papers today. Lost in all the hoopla was the fact that the federal investigation was sparked by great journalism from our DC bureau. Here's a link to Chuck Neubauer's story that ran in 2003.

It shows that our journalism is continuing to have wide impact.

Davan

Editor addresses recent cuts in staff and pages

Editor Russ Stanton's memo to the newsroom:

Colleagues,

A few weeks ago, we announced that we would be losing 150 of our newsroom colleagues and reducing the number of pages we printed by 15%. The announced layoffs are now concluded, and we are losing fewer colleagues (135) and fewer pages (14%) than initially forecast. The process has been painful, and we've had to say goodbye to too many good friends and co-workers.

Our challenge now is to focus on the tasks at hand -- to break stories online and in the paper and continue putting resources toward the in-depth investigative reports that we're known for. This week, we have magnificent examples of both:

Within hours, more than 300,000 readers turned to us for information about the quake. And the excellent Wildfire series is a great reminder of what we're capable of -- wonderful storytelling, brilliant documentary photography, video and graphics, and dazzling design, in print and online.

Blogging the news

The note from Lori Morse of Los Angeles explained that she was a longtime reader and she worried about the loss of features and staffers from The Times. She offered to help in any way she could. She also wrote, "I do not care for the blogs, I just see them interfering with real news reportage.  Everybody has an opinion but what are the FACTS." In a follow-up note, she added, "I feel it is a confusing term and one not associated with QUALITY news reporting."

On at least two counts, Morse is not alone. First, many readers have expressed fear and concern for their hometown paper, which they see and have been told is growing smaller. Second, many readers see "blog" and think "opinion."

The two points are related: As the print edition has fewer pages, the measure of The Times these days includes the reporting that appears online only. And the information on a growing number of blogs represents hundreds of reported pieces a week by the same writers whose work readers value in the printed news articles.

Tony Pierce, the editor who oversees the blogs, estimates that some 125 Times reporters contribute to at least one of the 43 blogs (each blog has two to 10 writers contributing). There are dispatches from Baghdad (Babylon & Beyond), news updates from Hollywood (Gold Derby, among others) and the great outdoors (Outposts). There's "the inside scoop on food in Los Angeles," as the Daily Dish describes itself. The Bottleneck Blog reports on Los Angeles traffic. Reporter Patrick Goldstein's The Big Picture, which started as a popular column in the Calendar section covering entertainment, media and pop culture, recently became a blog. Its transformation symbolizes how vital blogs are as vehicles for reporting. Goldstein noted in his first column online one reason for the growth to the Web: "The world of entertainment and pop culture is moving so fast that it's become impossible to keep up with all the action without weighing in more often than once a week."

None of the news blogs, though, is opinion.

Thus a reader of the Homeroom page could be informed by an exchange between education reporter Howard Blume and a reader asking a question based on Blume's article on how the state counts high school dropouts. The Health staff reported on its blog a study that suggests that the tobacco industry is manipulating the contents of cigarettes to appeal more to young people. And Countdown to Crawford ("the last days of the Bush administration") reports on a Supreme Court error.

"One thing worth noting is the difference between ‘voice’ and ‘opinion’ –- a lot of our blogs have a lot of voice, such as Top of the Ticket and L.A. Land," says Meredith Artley, who is the executive editor of interactive at The Times.

Reporter Mary Engel joins Science/Medicine department

Science and Medicine Editor Ashley Dunn makes the announcement in a staff memo:

Mary Engel is joining the science desk after almost two years as a healthcare reporter for the California section. She will cover infectious diseases and public health.

Mary joined The Times in 1999 as editorial page editor of the Valley edition. She moved to the downtown editorial pages in 2001. In 2005-2006, she was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT, where she studied global health, infectious diseases and medical ethics.

Before joining The Times, Mary worked for the Anchorage Daily News and the Albuquerque Journal. She’s a graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis with a degree in American studies.

Editor outlines changes in print version of The Times

In a letter to readers in today's paper, Editor Russ Stanton introduces upcoming changes to the print version of the newspaper, while noting the breadth of coverage The Times continues to provide in print and online. Stanton's message is below; an inventory of the changes can be found in the posting that follows this one.

The future of the Los Angeles Times, in print and online, rests in our ability to meet the needs of our readers and deliver news and information that is unique, far-reaching and indispensable. In-depth journalism remains our hallmark and we are committed to that mission in the face of economic challenges to our industry and our nation as a whole.   

For proof, look no further than today’s front-page story on California’s war on wildfires, the first of a five-part series. It is news of vital importance to Southern Californians and it took a team of talented reporters, photographers and graphic journalists working on two continents to produce.  Latimes.com, which is increasingly becoming the destination of choice that busy readers turn to for breaking news coverage, also brings the series to multimedia life.

Our website just recorded its biggest month ever in June with 115 million page views, a 50% increase over last year.  Readers flocked to our online coverage of the overturning of the ban on gay marriage and the Lakers playoff run, and to a new database honoring California residents who lost their lives in the line of duty during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also embraced our new Olympics, Technology, Countdown to Crawford, and The Big Picture blogs.

[More of the editor's note follows the jump.]

More print sections to change starting next Sunday

Writes Editor Russ Stanton in a note published in today's Times, "In-depth journalism remains our hallmark and we are committed to that mission in the face of economic challenges to our industry and our nation as a whole." Stanton's note to readers (which can be found in the post above this one) is part of an insert that details how The Times plans to meet those challenges while continuing to provide  "world-class coverage."

The plans are part of a reorganization of the paper brought on by a requirement to cut costs, as reported in a July 3 news article that said the paper would reduce the number of pages it publishes each week by 15%.

The latest changes and cutbacks start next Sunday in the Book Review and Opinion section, and Real Estate.

Today is the last issue of the combined Opinion and Book Review section. Starting next Sunday, Opinion moves to the back pages of the main news section, where it appears during the week. (More opinion continues to be published online, at latimes.com/opinion.)

The Book Review will become part of the second section in Calendar on Sundays starting next week. That section, now called Arts & Music, will become Arts & Books, and will include book reviews and features. (Book reviews will continue to run in Calendar during the week, and more book reviews and news can be found at latimes.com/books.)

Today's Real Estate section is the final issue, a number of its features moving to Home, others to Business. Home, which shifts from Thursday publication date to Saturdays, will add Hot Property, Neighborly Advice and other columns to its lineup. (Additional photos of homes from Hot Property columns will continue to be published at latimes.com/realestate.) The Sunday Business section will expand its focus on personal finance to add more coverage of real estate, including Home of the Week.

The candidates: Who makes the news?

John McCain might call media coverage of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama "fawning," as Times reporter Maeve Reston wrote on Tuesday, but so did several dozen Times readers in the past few weeks who sent messages like this from Walter Mielke of Pasadena: "Bias towards Obama. Front page everyday. Tired of it."

A recent surge in such comments, with readers also saying they see bias against Republican candidate McCain, started July 11, when an article on McCain's first marriage was published. The story reported that "McCain, who is about to become the GOP nominee, has made several statements about how he divorced Carol and married Hensley that conflict with the public record," and examined the conflicting information. Typical was a response from the reader who wrote an angry e-mail saying that The Times "will do anything to help Obama and hurt McCain."  (Response to those readers is below.)

But it's the string of Page 1 stories and photos that has brought the most recent protests: On Sunday, July 20, the Campaign '08 banner was over a story about the Iraqi prime minister's endorsement of Obama's plan for withdrawing U.S. troops; on Monday the article was about the political furor triggered by that withdrawal plan. On Tuesday the front-page story was "Obama's views resonate in Iraq." (That was the headline in print; headlines on the online versions are often different.) Each story included an above-the-fold photograph. There were front-page stories, too, last week, on July 15 ("Obama re-admonishes blacks"), 16 ("Obama stands by his plan to end war"), and 17 (a profile of Obama and his father headlined "So alike and yet so different").

Wrote another reader: "I can't take four more months of flattering Obama articles and pictures."

It isn't all flattering, say editors, as evidenced in the July 24 front-page: The photo showed Obama in front of thousands in Berlin. However, the article reported that "Fresh polls show that he has been unable to convert weeks of extensive media coverage into a widened lead."

The news itself dictates the amount of coverage, editors point out. Times reporters are on the trail with both McCain and Obama. In recent days, coverage of McCain has included two front-page pieces ("Housing crisis is a test for McCain" on July 19 and "McCain takes a risk on Social Security," July 14), several brief stories as well as two longer ones inside the main section ("McCain wins some respect," about his address before the NAACP convention, Page A14 on July 17; "McCain's turn before La Raza in San Diego," Page A11, July 15). 

New assignments in Metro

California Editor David Lauter announces new posts for three veteran Times staffers:

I’m happy to announce several important staff changes. Long-time Metro denizens Jean Merl and Ted Rohrlich are taking on new assignments, and Science team reporter Alan Zarembo is transferring to Metro.

Changes in The Guide, Home section

Two sections that have been published in print on Thursdays today announce some changes, with one of them ending its run in the print edition.

Those changes are part of the cost-cutting reported in a July 3 news article that told of layoffs and also noted, "In a further cost-cutting step, the newspaper will reduce the number of pages it publishes each week by 15%."

Today's Guide includes this note:

CALLING ALL READERS: This is the last print issue of The Guide. Turn to daily Calendar for highlights from The Guide starting July 31. So what will you do with your life? Meet The Guide online anytime for listings and picks of what’s happening at theguide.latimes.com.

Editors also used its Underrated/Overrated column to talk about the change:

Underrated
THE GUIDE
Since we overrated ourselves in our first issue last year, we figured we’d “underrate” The Guide here in our final standalone issue. Well-rounded, deftly curated, geographically diverse, concise and yet packed with information and events you won’t find anywhere else, The Guide was a place you could find the unexpected, and then take it with you to the beach. Highlights of The Guide will continue in daily Calendar, but chances are you’ll miss us.

Overrated
NEWSPRINT
OK, so we’re a little melancholy about not having our own section in the paper anymore, but in all honesty, the Web is the place to be. Luckily for us, we’re already there (theguide.latimes.com). And we’re only getting better. Expect more online stories, more photos, more videos. It’s a new world — and we’ll be your Guide.

Though the standalone section is discontinued after today, many of its features and some listings will appear throughout the week in daily Calendar and the weekly Food section. Comprehensive listings will continue to appear online.

The Home section announces changes in this note to readers in today's paper:

We’re moving! Starting next week, the Home section will appear on Saturdays. You’ll still find your favorite columns, including “The Scout” and “Man of the House,” as well as new features for do-it-yourselfers, bargain-hunters and market-watchers. Look for it all, in print and online, Aug. 2.

For information on other cuts, see these earlier postings: Changes in Sports and motoring coverage; and Highway 1.

Ombudsmen columns

Below are links to some of the past week's columns by ombudsmen, readers' representatives and editors around the nation. More columns and information about ombudsmen in the U.S. and around the world can be found at the Organization of News Ombudsmen website (which has a permanent link on the right side of this page).

Readers ask how to help family of killed parents

In a news story on Thursday, reporter Molly Hennessy-Fiske illuminated the lives of Cecilia Diaz Vasquez and Pedro Davila, the pedestrians killed Sunday while crossing Wilcox Avenue at Hollywood Boulevard. A suspect who police say drove through a red light has been charged with murder in the case. As the article reported, the couple came to California to "earn money to support their three children, whom they left with grandparents in their hometown in the Mexican state of Veracruz." The piece noted that Vasquez and Davila had been talking to the children on the phone just moments before their deaths.

The day the article appeared in the California section, Hennessy-Fiske was inundated with e-mails from readers who want to donate and help the family. A day later, the reporter says, the offers are still coming in: "I've received a handful of e-mails already this morning, many heartfelt. Some come from people living paycheck to paycheck, others from investment bankers on Grand. Some offer $20, $100, others offer continued payments to help the children. Several mention how dangerous they feel walking the streets of L.A., and say they feel a connection to the couple as fellow pedestrians."

The reporter has been forwarding this information to readers who want to donate:

Helen Leung
Field Deputy
L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti
5500 Hollywood Blvd., 4th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Field office: (323) 957-4500; City Hall office: (213) 473-7013

helen.leung@lacity.org

Photo: Cecilia Diaz Vasquez and Pedro Davila.

Changes in Sports and motoring coverage

"What happened to today's entries at Del Mar?" asked reader Richard Faeh of Sierra Madre in an e-mail.

Faeh is one of more than 100 readers who have contacted The Times to ask where the horse-race results are. Sports editor Randy Harvey says this is one effect of the layoffs and cuts that were recently announced in a memo to the staff and July 3 news article in the Business section.

Wrote Harvey, "Due to layoffs and upcoming space cuts, we’ve had to discontinue the handicap and the charts for horse racing. We will continue with occasional horse racing stories as news and events dictate at Del Mar. And we will have robust coverage of the Breeders’ Cup this fall at Santa Anita," including, he hopes, entries and abbreviated charts for Santa Anita.  For what it's worth, Harvey points out that most newspapers have cut back racing coverage in similar fashion.

Eliminated along with the horse racing from Del Mar and Bob Mieszerski's handicap column are three weekly features: Gearing Up on auto racing, Teeing Off on golf and Corner Kicks on soccer.

Several dozen readers asked, too, about Highway 1, which ceased publication July 9. As last week's notice explained, starting July 18 Dan Neil's column will move to the Friday Business section, along with other auto coverage. The Throttle Jockey column has been discontinued, but editors advise that staff writer Susan Carpenter, who wrote the weekly feature on motorcyles, will be writing other stories.

Publisher's farewell to The Times

Publisher David Hiller wrote the following note to Times staff following the announcement of his resignation. (The announcement is in a previous post here and covered in a Times news story.)

Folks,

When I told my mother that Sam wanted to see me this morning, she said “do you think he wants to make you CEO of the whole company?”  You see where a lot of my optimism comes from.  By now you have also heard that Sam had other ideas and I will be leaving The Times.  Sam’s the boss and he gets to pick his own quarterback.

Being the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, and before that the Chicago Tribune, has been the greatest privilege I could ever have imagined.  This is one very special place, and made so by all of you, and those of you gone before who dedicated themselves to bringing the news of the day to the city The Times helped build.  I want to thank all of you for what you do every day; it’s an incredibly important mission.

We are also engaged in the struggle to make sure our mission is also a viable business.  I believe we are on the right track, and am proud of what you have accomplished.  There’s a lot more work to do.  I’m sorry I won’t be here to pitch in, but I’ll be rooting for you.

David

Publisher David Hiller resigns

The announcement to staff from Randy Michaels, Tribune Co.'s chief operating officer (also, here's the news story in The Times):

I want to let you know that David Hiller has decided to step down as publisher of The Los Angeles Times, effective immediately. David took over as publisher in October 2006, during a difficult period for the newspaper and has performed with distinction since that time. During the last six months, he has helped The Times begin making the transition to new ownership, facing new realities. Part of that transition must now include a new publisher.

We are already in the process of identifying the right person to lead The Times going forward. We expect to name a new publisher by the end of the summer. In the meantime, executive vice president and chief administrative officer Gerry Spector and I will oversee all operations at The Times. Russ Stanton and his team are well underway with their work on the redesign of the paper and that work will, of course, continue at a quick pace.

The Los Angeles Times is a great newspaper with a talented and dedicated staff. Let's do everything we can to keep it focused on future success.

Details on newsroom job cuts: memo from the editor

Here is Editor Russ Stanton's memo to staff.

Colleagues:

Earlier this month, I promised to give you details of the job cuts when I had them. Here they are:

Today, editors will begin notifying most of the 150 people who will be leaving us, and we hope to
complete that process within a matter of days. Some of our co-workers will be leaving today, many
at the end of this week, others in the weeks to come. Those leaving will be given detailed information
about the severance package they will receive, which includes one week of pay for every six months
of service, up to one year. All of those directly affected by this cutback will have departed by Friday,
Aug. 29.

The days and weeks ahead will be difficult ones, filled with pain, anger and sadness. All of us need
to respect the feelings of those who are leaving us, and the editors who are being asked to handle
duties they did not seek. As I've said before, I deeply regret that these cost-saving moves will
result in the loss of work for the many people who have served this company well.

The best way we can honor them, and to show our readers and our peers that the Los Angeles Times will continue to produce first-rate journalism, is to stay focused on our work.

Ombudsmen columns

Below are links to some of the past week's columns by ombudsmen, readers' representatives and editors around the nation. More columns and information about ombudsmen in the U.S. and around the world can be found at the Organization of News Ombudsmen website (which has a permanent link on the right side of this page).

Solving the puzzle of a Sudoku mismatch

Reader Evelyn Skillington made her point plain. Her e-mail had only the subject line filled out.  It said simply, "Today's Sudoku? Try it."

The problem was spelled out in other e-mails from several Times readers who asked why the online version of their favorite puzzle doesn't match what's in print. It's a problem best handled by the Times staff at feedback@latimes.com -- the address to which readers send questions about technical issues at the website.

James Bigelow, one of the online producers who helps figure things out for readers, says the puzzle of why the online Suduko doesn't match what's in the paper should be solved soon. He explained in an e-mail, "We realize that many Sudoku players like to use games.latimes.com to find puzzle solutions on the same day that the puzzle appears in the paper. We are working with the Sudoku constructor [changed from "contractor," as this post had incorrectly said] to get the puzzles synced up as soon as possible."

The full note that Bigelow sent to readers is below.

Sam Quinones honored for reports on Latin America

Managing Editor Davan Maharaj's announcement to staff:

Congrats to Metro writer Sam Quinones for winning the the Maria Moors Cabot Prize for outstanding reporting on Latin America and the Caribbean. The Cabot gold medal is the oldest international award in journalism and honors journalists who have furthered inter-American understanding.

Sam was recognized for his vast body of work on Latin America. That includes his two books and his pieces for radio, television and newspapers.  Many of those stories appeared in the LA Times, including:

• The story of Gerardo Rodriguez, the palm tree trimmer who suffocated in a tree just out of reach of his co-workers. The story dealt with one of the most hazardous jobs in California, made so by homeowners' desire for lower priced tree care. It also dealt with Rodriguez's village from a part of Durango, Mexico where all the men are landscapers or tree trimmers in Los Angeles.
• A piece on Jose Luis Bonilla, a Mexican immigrant, who years ago bought a broken-down ranch in the Cuyama Valley. Over the years, he and a crew of immigrant workers used oil pipe and rock to construct a magnificent Mexican village, complete with bandstand, rodeo arena, pond, and much more -- rivaling the Watts Towers for sheer improvisational strangeness. But when county inspectors discovered what he'd built, they asked for permits. In a huff, Bonilla returned to Mexico and vows never to come back to finish his masterpiece.
• For 20 years, Alfredo Rios Galena -- aka Arturo Montoyo -- hid out in Huntington Park. By then, he had become a fervent Christian and preached often on street corners. At times he sang mariachi Christian songs. Yet for a decade before that, he had been Mexico's Public Enemy #1, having robbed numerous banks, broken out of prison three times, and stolen millions of pesos. While robbing banks, he led a double life as a mariachi singer, appearing with masks and known as the Mariachi Misterioso.

Highway 1

Says the editor's note on the front of the section, "This is the last issue of Highway 1. Beginning July 18, Dan Neil's column will be in the Friday Business section, along with other auto coverage."

Business Editor Sallie Hofmeister and others are sorting out which of the other features will stay and how often they'll appear. Meanwhile, readers can find past coverage from Highway 1 -- stories and videos -- at the Autos link on latimes.com.

Reviewing what gets reviewed

Earlier this year, reader Mel Bryson of Porter Ranch called to complain that there was "nothing on the performance of Paul Potts at the Wiltern" on March 26. Said he, "I’m kind of wondering how your entertainment section seems to be able to cover all of these rock and roll and all of these other performances, however, when it comes to something like classical music or something that is uplifting, you people have a complete failure here."

Antonio Epelde of Torrance didn't find what he wanted either: "I understand that the seminal jazz group Return to Forever played a long-awaited reunion concert. I have been looking for the review everywhere with no success. Same thing happened with the Cure concert [May 31, June 1] a month ago. What's going on with you guys? You keep publishing extensive reviews on frivolous acts, but you don't pay attention to important performances."

One man's frivolous act is another reader's important show, of course. As another example, there was no review of Michael Buble after his show in Anaheim on May 10, as several readers complained. Yet The Times reviewed two other May 10 events -- Wango Tango '08, featuring, among others, the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus; and Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde." The day a review might have run for the June 13 Return to Forever show, The Times published a review of the June 13 show by the British pop duo the Ting Tings.

Deputy arts editor Craig Fisher put it this way in an e-mail: "Choosing what performances to send reviewers to is in no way an exact science. It depends on who’s available that night, what else is going on, whether the show is the first of several or a one-off, etc. The plain fact is that we simply can’t review everything."

Ombudsmen columns

Below are links to some of the past week's columns by ombudsmen, readers' representatives and editors around the nation. More columns and information about ombudsmen in the U.S. and around the world can be found at the Organization of News Ombudsmen website (which has a permanent link on the right side of this page).

Monthly web report: Page views up 50% over last year, new blogs launched

The performance of latimes.com, and recent developments there, are covered in this memo to staff from Executive Editor for Interactive Meredith Artley:

We pulled in 115 million page views in June, just short of the all-time record of 120 million set in May. Page views are up 50% over this time last year, the biggest year-over-year traffic increase on record.

June was a great month for new blogs. Chris Gaither and his team launched their wonderful technology blog, breaking in to the Top 10 most popular list as newcomers. In D.C., Johanna Neuman and James Gerstenzang launched “Countdown to Crawford” halfway through the month – it’s already in the Top 10, one of the only blogs out there taking a daily look at the final days of the Bush administration. The Olympics blog is going gangbusters -- check out the great posts on the trials. This blog will be the center for our coverage during the games. Last but not least, Patrick Goldstein and the film team launched “The Big Picture” blog to lots of great buzz. These blogs showcase some of our best and brightest talent, opening up new communication channels with our readers, making the site more dynamic in key areas, and benefiting print readers when excerpts of these blogs and others are published in the newspaper.

Folks went all out on the overturning of the ban on gay marriage. Live blogging on L.A. Now, video vignettes, great photos and two informative interactive maps, one on Prop. 8 and one showing the rise in marriage licenses by county.

The California War Dead database continues to be a well-used feature on the site, nearing 500,000 page views and more than 350 touching reader comments.

The Lakers coverage continued to push Sports traffic numbers to new heights, with section traffic doubling the day after the finals. Great live blogging of the games, chats, a bevy of multimedia including video pieces from Bill Plaschke, and lots of fresh and historical photo galleries.

July is off to a good start with the launch of “Greenspace,” an environment blog from Geoff Mohan and team. Thinking about going for a dip as the weather warms up? Check the pools database first. Keep an eye out for more database projects in the coming weeks. Also in July, the homepage redesign project kicks off, with results coming in the fall. This project is the first step in making significant improvements to the entire site.

250 jobs to be cut companywide, publisher says

Publisher David Hiller's announcement to staff follows the editor's memo to the newsroom posted previously (also, here's a related news story in the Times):

Last week I talked about the actions we must take to build a viable, sustainable Los Angeles Times Media Group.

A necessary, but painful, part of fixing our business for the future is getting costs in line with revenues.  Russ Stanton announced today (memo below) that we are eliminating approximately 150 positions from the newsroom.  In total, we are eliminating approximately 250 positions company-wide, with most business-side reductions having already taken place.  Similar efforts have been undertaken all across the newspaper industry and other areas, including many of our customers in auto, real estate, banking, travel, and retail who have also had to cut their own employees — and their advertising with us.

As hard as it is to keep all this change in perspective, it is critical that we think about it in terms of the future.  We must build the next generation of journalism and media and not preside over the decline of an old business model.  How we think about the future, and communicate this to our customers will make all the difference. 

As we move forward, our plans include:

A re-designed flagship Los Angeles Times newspaper to debut in the fall, reflecting the work of the Reinvent team, the Spring Street Project, and related efforts underway for quite some time
A re-designed latimes.com website
A combined multimedia newsroom to produce excellent content for both
More targeted products for new audience segments
A re-organized sales team fired up to turn our revenue picture around
Increased utilization of our operating strengths so we can print and distribute newspapers and other products all across SoCal

We also need to remember that even with staff reductions, we have extraordinary and passionate people, great brands that readers and users trust, and advertising partners who want us to succeed because that is how they succeed.

Thank you for all that you do.  And as we say goodbye to some of our colleagues, please join me in remembering and thanking them for helping build this great place.

Times to cut newsroom staff and pages published

Editor Russ Stanton's announcement to staff:

You all know the paradox we find ourselves in: Thanks to the Internet, we have more readers for our great journalism than at any time in our history. But also thanks to the Internet, our advertisers have more choices, and we have less money. Add to that a poor economy, particularly for us in the California housing market, and you quickly see why a wave of cutbacks has swept through newsrooms this year from New York to Santa Ana.

We are not immune. As David Hiller mentioned in his memo last week we are embarking on another round of cost cutting. I deeply regret to report we will be reducing the size of our editorial staff, both print and Web, by a total of 150 positions, and reducing the number of pages we publish each week, by about 15%.

Editorial pages' Swati Pandey to become a reporter in Business

The announcement to staff from Managing Editor Davan Maharaj and Editorial Pages Editor Jim Newton:

We are pleased to announce that Swati Pandey, a researcher and assistant articles editor for the editorial pages, will become a reporter for Business, starting soon.

A 2004 graduate of Yale University, Swati has been with The Times for just over two years, and has been a stalwart contributor to the editorial pages during that time. Initially a researcher and fact-checker, she has steadily expanded her range with varied and literate articles for the editorial pages and other departments, notably Calendar. Most recently, she produced a lovely Column 1, a first-person piece that ran last week to great acclaim.

 

Times now available on Kindle

Jack Klunder, president of the Los Angeles Times Newspaper, makes the announcement in this memo to staff:

As you may know, the Tribune Company recently completed an agreement with Amazon to produce our publications on their new Kindle Reader.  I’m happy to announce that the Los Angeles Times is the first Tribune paper to go LIVE and as of today, is available for purchase on Amazon’s Kindle store at http://www.amazon.com/Los-Angeles-Times/dp/B0016LG51A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1214944957&sr=1-1.

This is another great step in offering our readers a choice in how they receive news and information.  If you’re unfamiliar with Kindle, you can learn more here:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FI73MA/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=2126589341&ref=pd_sl_20wgx685w_b