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The book appears to be all but closed on the Michael Ferro era at Tribune Publishing. The executive and his Merrick Ventures have sold a 25.2% stake in Tribune to Alden Global Capital, making the New York-based hedge fund Tribune’s largest shareholder. Along with the nearly $118 million deal for 9.1 million shares…

And now for something completely different: Gustavo Dudamel, the photogenic, tennis-playing globe-trotting music director of the L.A. Philharmonic brought a touch of levity to Cosi Fan Tutte this weekend by proving his chops as a baritone, singing just one line — all that was needed to win raves for what Los Angeles Ti…

CHICAGO, April 2, 2013 — Tribune Company today announced the promotion of Kathy Thomson , President and Chief Operating Officer of the Los Angeles Times to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer/Tribune Publishing, effective immediately. In this new role, Thomson will work with all of the company’s…

LAObserved.com just posted a memo from Sallie Hofmeister, the LA Times‘ incredibly mediocre Assistant Managing Editor for Arts & Entertainment. More interested in celebrity coverage than substantive beat reporting, Hofmeister exhorts her showbiz blog staff to try to have “an original thought” from time to time…

UPDATE: Here’s the reason why Michael Eisner is first choice among prospective candidates who could operate Tribune Co once it emerges from bankruptcy: John Angelo of NYC hedge fund Angelo Gordon & Co which is one of the Chicago-based media company’s biggest creditors. (See photo of Angelo, Eisner’s son, and Eisner.)…

UPDATE: Bizarrely, LA Times entertainment chief Sallie Hofmeister didn’t bother to even mention that Julie Makinen, formerly Julie Bowles, worked at The Hollywood Reporter briefly. Very briefly. Previous: Earlier this week, I pointed out that both the new Movie Editor and TV Editor for The New York Times…

My pal Claudia Eller has a funny little scoop on the LA Times website about how Starz chief Chris Albrecht made a Blackberry mistake that led to Chris McGurk and Danny Rosett’s exit from Overture. (So I gotta ask: is this why moguls like Alan Horn and Ron Meyer refuse to use smart phones or even computers?) On July 1…

UPDATE 5:45 PM: Ron Burkle and Harvey Weinstein just issued this joint statement in response to Disney insiders telling the media (including Deadline) that the Miramax deal with them is “dead”: “The Weinstein Brothers, The Weinstein Company and Ron Burkle are all working towards a deal to purchase and operate…

She died Saturday at age 86. She was the first film editor to get a solo credit on a feature, 1967’s Bonnie And Clyde for which she “revolutionized imagery, sound, and pace” and “included a staccato tempo sometimes called shock cutting, and beginning the sound from the next scene while the previous scene was still…

E5 Global Media CEO Richard Beckman just informed the staff about Eric Mika’s exit. It’s hardly unexpected. Ever since Beckman was hired in January, he has been telling people outside the trade — but, deliberately, not the staff — that he plans massive firings at The Hollywood Reporter because the company plans to…

Oy, now there’s even more about Oscar badmouthing, and this is even more unimportant. I’ve learned that Hurt Locker financier and producer Nicolas Chartier today admitted to Summit Entertainment he sent more emails about Avatar. But these weren’t mass mailings to Oscar voters; rather, they were simply individual…

The Los Angeles Times must be desperate. Rachel Abramowitz is peddling the story of Angelina Jolie-as-Kay Scarpetta (novelist Patricia Cornwall’s signature character) as news when Mike Fleming wrote it for Variety back on April 21, 2009. By the way, his Deadline|New York site debuts on March 2nd. I’m going to miss…