Assistant Managing Editor for Arts and Entertainment Sallie Hofmeister tonight announced the second recent hire to fill openings on the L.A. Times entertainment team. We told you about Steven Zeitchik last week; now Amy Kaufman joins the Times from the Daily Beast, after brief stints there and at The Wrap. The memo to staff:

We are happy to announce that Amy Kaufman has joined the Entertainment team today as a staff writer. A former intern in the Calendar section and current contributor to Show Tracker , Amy will be part of the movie group, reporting to Tim Swanson. Her responsibility principally will be to report breaking news for Calendar and Company Town, although she also will write feature stories and analysis pieces.

Amy comes to us from the Daily Beast, where she was an assistant editor for the fashion and entertainment section, Sexy Beast. Previously she worked as a reporter for The Wrap and for the Los Angeles bureau of the Wall Street Journal. She also has written for Los Angeles Magazine and the Santa Monica Daily Press.

As a high school student in Boston, Amy aspired to an acting career. But when she earned a scholarship check by winning a nonfiction writing contest sponsored by Scholastic, she shifted direction. She is a journalism graduate of USC, with a minor in theater. She also speaks French, which could come in handy in Cannes.

Sallie Hofmeister, AME, Arts and Entertainment
Craig Turner, Arts and Entertainment Editor

Let's assume the new hires will survive next week's expected layoffs.