Los Angeles Mag's Mary Melton gets added duties

Mary Melton, the editor of Los Angeles magazine, will add the title of editorial director for parent Emmis Publishing a year from now on April 1, 2013. Deborah Paul, Emmis' longtime editorial director, will gradually phase out of the job between now and then. Los Angeles magazine just collected 17 nominations for this year's National City and Regional Magazine Awards. (Sister mag Orange Coast added three noms itself.)

As Paul says in the note below, Melton will remain as editor in Los Angeles after ascending to the Emmis job, which up to now has been based in Indianapolis.

After 30 years with Indianapolis Monthly and 23 with Emmis, I plan to scale back my full-time career over the coming year. I've spent a major part of my adult life here, in one capacity or another, and the time seems right for a more flexible schedule.
There's nothing about this business I don't love: our prestigious magazines (in their various platforms), my stellar colleagues, the unparalleled company that is Emmis. But life would not be interesting were it not for change.

That said, beginning April 1, I will work in a part-time, consulting capacity that will find me in and out of the office as necessary. I will retain some responsibilities as editorial director and relinquish others. The best news in all of this is that I will gradually transition my role to Mary Melton, who will take the reins as Emmis Publishing editorial director in April 2013, when my full-time retirement will become effective. As you know, Mary has distinguished herself as editor-in-chief of Los Angeles magazine, a position she will maintain in addition to her new duties. We are fortunate to have such an exceptional leader in Mary, who is ready for continued growth and opportunity.

The publishing division is in excellent condition, and we're proud of the great teams we have in place in all of our markets. Jeff and Greg remain committed to high-quality journalism and continuing the management system currently in place. I'm highly confident that this transitional year will be smooth and successful.

I thank you for your support and cooperation in the coming months.

All the best,
Debbie

Los Angeles last week hired Nancy Miller from Fast Company to be deputy editor. The internal note from Melton on that hire follows below.

Nancy Miller will be joining us in the new position of Deputy Editor. Nancy has been the West Coast Editorial Director of Fast Company since April 2010, overseeing features and cover packages in the magazine (including the recent Martin Scorsese “Creative Life” cover) and launching FC’s new online culture channel, Co.Create (www.fastcocreate.com). Nancy has been key in developing Fast Company’s coverage of emerging trends in entertainment, technology, and branding. Prior to joining FC, she was a senior editor at Wired magazine for five years and part of an editorial team that executed several of their most successful covers, including the ASME-winning Mystery Issue with J.J. Abrams, the Wired Etiquette Guide with Brad Pitt, The Future That Never Happened with Will Ferrell, and a groundbreaking—and highly controversial—cover story on breast tissue engineering. Before that, Nancy was a staff writer for Entertainment Weekly for five years as well as enjoyed a stint as a freelance producer and correspondent for KCRW’s The Business. Over the course of her career, she’s been a house guest of Ozzy Osbourne, a juror at the Sundance Film Festival, and a winning contestant on The Price is Right! Her favorite neighborhood in L.A. is Fairfax Village. At the magazine, Nancy will be editing stories and packages, overseeing the Buzz section, and guiding our online team. Her first day is March 13. And yes, you can follow her on Twitter @nmillions.