The San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group, part of the LANG empire, is moving people around and creating new positions. Larry Wilson fills the new job of Public Editor and will run the editorial and Op-Ed pages for the group's three dailies: the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News and Whittier Daily News. Wilson has been editor of the Star-News. More details in the memo after the jump:

To: All
From: Steve O'Sullivan and Steve Hunt
Date: June 26, 2007

Today we announce new roles that will strengthen our core editorial efforts - that means print - while moving with greater speed toward a future focused on the Web and digital media. These changes will help meet the challenge of rapid changes in reader preferences for news and information.

Larry Wilson is promoted to the new role of Public Editor for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group, with responsibility for the Editorial and Op-Ed pages for our three daily newspapers. Larry - an accomplished editorialist, USC journalism educator and talented public speaker - will chair the Editorial Board and undertake new media initiatives to extend the public discussion within and beyond print. Most importantly, Larry will represent the newspaper before the readers and the readers to the newspaper. This is a critical response to public expectations for community leadership from our newspapers. Larry will divide his office-time between West Covina and Pasadena, where he is without peer in public profile among writers and commentators. Larry will report to Steve O'Sullivan.

Steve Scauzillo will support Larry as editorial writer and section editor, bringing to bear his knowledge of issues in the Tribune coverage area and his facility with letters. Steve, also a journalism educator with special expertise in reader-generated comment, will undertake new media initiatives to support public dialog through postings and user-moderated systems. Steve will report to Larry.

Larry and Steve are superbly suited individually and as a team to elevate our efforts - whether print, online and emerging media - in support of the public interest and extend the civic influence of our newspapers.

Hector Gonzalez is promoted to City Editor of the Pasadena Star-News, responsible for local news. Now completing a seven-year stint as Whittier city editor, Hector is among the most experienced assignment editors and reporters in SGVN and Los Angeles Newspaper Group, including his reporting at the LA Daily News. Hector is ideally suited to direct metro coverage and will help integrate Pasadena news into the broader LANG metro report. Hector will report to Metro Editor Eddie Barrera.

Kate Keyes is promoted to assistant city editor at the SGVN Metro Desk, where she will help Eddie develop the consolidated SGVN local news report from our three dailies and growing online operation.

Concurrent with these management changes, we will be taking steps to integrate online more deeply into the daily SGVN metro operation. All of us are challenged to think online first - while redoubling our efforts and care to maintain and improve journalistic standards and integrity.

Please join us in wishing continued success to Larry, Steve, Hector and Kate in their new roles, which they will assume in coming weeks.