Now, LA Times Rearranges Deck Chairs On Titanic: Showbiz Coverage Converges

I’ve already told you that the newspaper’s Company Town was coming back March 3rd and Calendar deadlines were pushed later. Now Sallie Hofmeister is leaving her post as LAT Business Editor to become Assistant Managing Editor for a new Arts & Entertainment department with LAT Weekend Editor Craig Turner becoming Arts & Entertainment Editor. The Los Angeles Times today announced this new division “to strengthen its coverage of the media business, culture and celebrity across multiple platforms” staffed by 50+ from Calendar, Business, and latimes.com.

“Taking this comprehensive approach allows us to broaden the reach, breadth and depth of our entertainment coverage,” said LAT Editor Russ Stanton. “The goal is to produce high-quality and unique news, data and information that can be distributed to different audiences through different mediums. We will continue to write authoritatively about industry trends while looking for smart and fun ways to cover the celebrities who make Southern California their home and whose exploits are followed by a global online audience.”  (Meanwhile, 70+ editorial staffers will be fired next month. So this makes clear that the only job security at the Los Angeles Times nowadays is writing about celebrity fuck-ups.)

As for Company Town, it’ll run Monday through Friday in the paper and and online covering music, movie, TV, cable, and the digital technologies. By-lines will include Claudia Eller, John Horn, Scott Collins, Meg James, Geoff Boucher, Dawn Chmielewski, Matea Gold, Richard Verrier, David Sarno and Alex Pham. TV ratings, box office and download sales will be tracked every week, as well as an index of media stocks, plus a breaking news blog to come later.