Forget those rumors about LAT Assistant Managing Editor John Arthur taking over the Times sports department when Bill Dwyre retires. Arthur was named today to be the Page One editor. (Memo on what that means after the jump.) Also, Senior Feature Correspondent Tina Daunt has been given a new Hollywood and politics beat. She has previously covered mayoral campaigns and City Hall.

To: The Staff
From: Dean Baquet [and] Leo Wolinsky

Assistant Managing Editor John Arthur, who has been the paper's night editor for the last five years, has been appointed to take over Page 1 duties. In his new role, he will chair the daily page 1 meeting and make A1 selections.

Arthur, who has been at The Times since 1986, virtually created the position of night editor, combining his skills in news judgment, line editing and production to oversee all aspects of the paper during the evening hours.

Arthur, who will report to Managing Editor Leo Wolinsky, will continue to help in the evolution of Page 1 through an expected re-design and beyond. He also will oversee a new night editor to be selected soon.

Arthur joined The Times in the Orange County Edition, where he served as city editor and managing editor during a period of major expansion. In 1992 he was an assistant national editor and later was named editor of the Valley Edition. In the Valley, he helped oversee that edition’s expansion and the Pulitzer Prize winning coverage of the Northridge earthquake and the North Hollywood shootout. He was promoted to managing editor in 1997 to oversee the regional editions, the national edition and the sports and travel sections.

He previously worked at the San Francisco Examiner and the Pittsburg (Calif.) Post-Dispatch.