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Dean Baquet was forced out as editor in chief of the Los Angeles Times after just more than a year and replaced by the #2 editor at the Chicago Tribune. Here's the main post with the breaking news, plus publisher David Hiller's follow-up email to the staff, LABO expert Mark Lacter's take on the new editor, and initial reaction from outside the paper.
* Newsroom scene: (4:15 pm) Emailers say that when Baquet, 50, gathered staffers around to confirm the news, he received a prolonged and emotional ovation. He said good things about successor James O'Shea, a former colleague at the Chicago Tribune, and asked for his time at the LAT to be remembered for more than this week. Publisher David Hiller apologized for the way the news broke and said there would be no further budget cuts this year — but there would be discussions about the paper's future direction. He asked that O'Shea be given a chance. An AP reporter was denied entry to cover Baquet's remarks.