This has to be the most artful press release I’ve ever seen about a newspaper eliminating their stand-alone book section. Toronto’s Globe and Mail says at the very end of this exuberant announcement that “the Books section will physically join The Globe’s award-winning Focus section on Saturdays, starting January 10.” Editor-in-chief Ed Greenspon gushes, “The Focus section is one of the most high-profile, best-read sections of the paper so the Books content should reach even more readers.” The main focus of the news in on a Books web site the paper is establishing. Former deputy features editor Peter Scowen, is […]
Newspapers
Another Chronicle Book Editor to Leave
Regan McMahon, who took over as books editor at the San Francisco Chronicle when Oscar Villalon took a buyout, is now also take a buyout and leaving the paper. “When SF Weekly contacted McMahon Monday morning, she said people in the publishing world didn’t know about her imminent departure, and she feared that once they heard the news, they’d freak out. But she insists they shouldn’t worry — she’s been assured by higher-ups that the paper plans to name a new books editor and keep the section going.”SF Weekly
Ulin on LAT's Book Pages
The Sunday LA Times runs this note from David Ulin: This issue of the Los Angeles Times Book Review is the final one in its current form. Starting Aug. 3, Sunday book coverage will move to a reconfigured Calendar Part II, which will be renamed Arts & Books and will feature dedicated space for books. In addition to Arts & Books, we will also continue to publish book reviews six days a week in daily Calendar. We will also publish book-related features, both in the daily paper and on Sunday. And, of course, we will maintain the online book coverage […]
More Names from the LAT
Ed Champion confirms that Kris Lindgren is the other member of the Los Angeles Times Book Review team being laid off: “Her last day is Friday. This is a terrible loss for the books section. I worked with Kris on a few reviews, and she was a fantastic editor, often forcing me to come up with some taut sentences in a very small window of time.”Blog post
Former Editors of Los Angeles Times Book Review Protest Paper's Decision to End Weekly Section
Steve Wasserman e-mailed this letter, also signed by Sonja Bolle, Digby Diehl, and Jack Miles: As former editors of the Los Angeles Times Book Review (1975 through 2005), we are dismayed and troubled at the decision by Sam Zell and his managers to cease publishing the paper’s Sunday Book Review. This step signals the end of an era begun 33 years ago when Otis Chandler, then the paper’s publisher and owner, announced the debut of the weekly section. Since then, the growth of the Los Angeles metropolitan region and the avidity of its numerous readers and writers has been palpable. […]
Another Book Review Editor Gone
As part of the combination of buyouts and layoffs cutting deeply at the Tribune Company’s Hartford Courant (where they intend to eliminate 25 percent of editorial pages), books editor since 2002 Carole Goldberg is leaving the paper.