Posted on 03/22/2007 12:17:49 PM PDT by abb
David Hiller's decision to kill the Brian Grazer section this Sunday makes my continued tenure as Los Angeles Times editorial page editor untenable. The person in this job needs to have an unimpeachable integrity, and Hiller's decision amounts to a vote of no confidence in my continued leadership.
I regret that my failure to anticipate and adequately address the perception of a conflict in this matter has placed Hiller -- whom I like and respect a great deal, incidentally -- and my colleagues on the editorial board in such an awkward position, not to mention Brian Grazer and Kelly Mullens, who did nothing wrong here but have been caught up in all this. Nick Goldberg and Michael Newman are two of the smartest, most talented people I have worked with, and any lapses in judgment here were mine, not theirs.
I accept responsibility for creating this appearance problem, though I also maintain that the newspaper is overreacting today. We are depriving readers of an interesting, serious section that is beyond reproach, and unfairly insulting the individuals we approached to participate in this guest editor program by telling them it is a corrupt concept. How we come about this decision when 24 hours ago the managing editor of this newspaper was assuring me he didn't see a story after I walked him through the facts, and while Hiller maintains we did nothing wrong, is a bit perplexing. In trying to keep up with the blogosphere, and boasting about their ability to go after their own, navel-gazing newsrooms run the risk of becoming parodies of themselves.
snip
(Excerpt) Read more at opinion.latimes.com ...
Ping
Okay. I read it twice. What the heck is this about?
I missed this story I think. What happened?
Background.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-andres23mar23,0,6732948.story?coll=la-home-headlines
More.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-andres23mar23,0,6732948.story?coll=la-home-headlines
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/scandal-over-grazers-lat-guest-editor-gig/
More.
Investigate the tainted Times
Bill Boyarsky
http://www.laobserved.com/boyarsky/2007/03/investigate_the_tainted_times.php
...Troubled Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington has fired his longtime publicist in the midst of his public relations crisis. Washington is facing a public backlash after making comments in the Golden Globes press room last week, denying he made derogatory comments towards co-star TR Knight. According to Tvguide.com, the actor has hired publicists Allen Mayer and Kelly Mullens, who are crisis management experts...
Snort.
Who knows? Much less, who cares. The LA Times is a rat-infested stinking newspaper, almost as rotten as the NY Times.
where's Sidney Falco when you need him
we need a pic of Kelly..to see if she was worth all the trouble..
Geez, having read all that, all I can say is who cares. Talk about naval gazing. The most interesting part of this was Martinez' tossed-away statement, ".... who have suggested that our editorial page coordinate more closely with the newsroom's agenda,.." Yes, he lets the cat out of the bag casually by mentioning the NEWSROOM'S AGENDA. The newsroom's agenda is why their paper is slowing sinking into the La Brea Tarpits. The newsroom shoudn't have a damn agenda, it should report the news. And as for turning your editorial pages over to some whack job Hollywood type whom no one outside of LA County and certain seedy corners of NYC has ever heard of, how could he ever expect his editorial pages to be taken seriously after that? Buh-bye, LA Times.
Milhous needs to post the dinosaur cartoon. hehe!
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-grazer23mar23,1,320755.story?coll=la-headlines-business
Times' opinion chief quits
Editorial Page Editor Andr–s Martinez resigns after the paper cancels a guest-edited section.
By James Rainey
Times Staff Writer
March 23, 2007
Los Angeles Times Publisher David D. Hiller's decision Thursday to scrap a special opinion section to avoid the appearance of an ethical breach triggered the resignation of Editorial Page Editor Andr–s Martinez, who accused the paper's editor and publisher of overreacting.
Hiller announced early in the day that he would not publish a special Current section — featuring Hollywood producer Brian Grazer as guest editor — because it might appear to some readers that Grazer had an unfair advantage when he was selected.
Grazer has been represented by the publicity firm 42 West and executive Kelly Mullens, who is Martinez's girlfriend. Martinez and Mullens denied that their relationship influenced the decision to pick Grazer as the first in a planned series of prominent guest editors for the Current section.
In an interview Thursday night, Martinez said that halting publication of the special section "was an overreaction. It was not necessary. I think the damage to the institution was significant."
Martinez blamed Hiller and Times Editor James E. O'Shea, who both came from Chicago last fall after their predecessors left the paper under pressure from The Times' parent, Tribune Co.
snip
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/us/23martinez.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin
March 23, 2007
Los Angeles Times Editorial Page Chief Quits
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
Andrés Martinez, the editorial page editor of The Los Angeles Times, resigned yesterday, saying he had been undermined by his publisher over what Mr. Martinez described as a “perception of a conflict of interest.”
Mr. Martinez had helped select Brian Grazer, a Hollywood producer, as guest editor of a special edition of this Sunday’s opinion section, called Current. The paper reported yesterday that Mr. Martinez is in a romantic relationship with Kelly Mullens, a senior executive at the public relations firm that represents Mr. Grazer’s production company.
The publisher, David Hiller, initially said he did not see a conflict, only the appearance of a conflict that could be handled with an editor’s note disclosing the relationship, said James O’Shea, the paper’s editor. But Mr. Hiller changed his mind yesterday after several staff members expressed their concern to Mr. O’Shea, and Mr. O’Shea spoke with Mr. Hiller. Yesterday, Mr. Hiller canceled the special edition.
In a statement last night, Mr. Hiller said that “a potential conflict of interest had emerged” over Mr. Martinez’s relationship with Ms. Mullens. “We believe that this relationship did not influence the selection of Brian as guest editor,” he said. “Nonetheless, in order to avoid even the appearance of conflict, we felt the best course of action was not to publish the section.”
snip
Hey, great graphic abb!! LOL!
[some of his colleagues rose up to protest that he [Martinez] had been targeted by enemies in The Times' news operation.]
Aw, they wouldn't do that - would they?......
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