It left out music editor Randall Roberts, web editor Erin Broadley, food blog editor Amy Scattergood, and copy editors Karre Jacobs and Mel Yiasemide. Editorial creative director Darrick Rainey, assistant art director Jason Jones and designer Mitch Handsone were also left out of the editorial head count. There are seven full-time print and web staff writers: Gendy Alimurung, Patrick Range McDonald, Libby Molyneaux, Christine Pelisek, Scott Foundas and Liz Ohanesian, who is also the online editorial assistant. On the part-time/regular-freelance tip there's critic at large Steven Leigh Morris, assistant listings editors Siran Babayan, Falling James and Derek Thomas, as well as columnists Nikki Finke, Jonathan Gold and Lina Lecaro. Neon Tommy also said the news blogger is an editor. We can assure you, he is not.
More by Dennis Romero at LA Daily.
]]>
Today's Financial Times carries a story from Oceanside, Calif. on the differences in opinion in town over sending more Marines from Camp Pendleton to Afghanistan. The story, by Los Angeles correspondent Matthew Garrahan, is notable as a media moment of sorts for running on the web with the UK newspaper's first news video from Southern California. "It was shot and edited by Sean Ross, a very good local documentary/short film maker," Garrahan tells me.
Screen grab from FT.com
]]>Then there's this: Does California even need a Lieutenant Governor? Perhaps not.
]]>New posts at LA Biz Observed and Native Intelligence.
]]>
When San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom dropped out of the race for governor two weeks ago, one chapter of his political life ended and a new, stranger one began. The Bay Area media has been running with tales of odd disappearances, uncharacteristic Twitter silence — candidate Newsom even tweeted his pregnant wife's labor — and this week's resignation of press secretary Nathan Ballard. He had been with Newsom since 2007, just after the mayor admitted to an affair with the wife of his campaign manager and sought help for an alcohol problem. More recently Newsom split with adviser Eric Jaye, and the San Francisco Chronicle has taken to referring to the "mayor's bizarre behavior of late."
Today, Chronicle columnists Matier & Ross say some of Newsom's behavior is explained by his new sense of being burned by — and wanting to get back at — the Bay Area media. Matier & Ross also have an item about the mayor's wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, getting special handling on a Southwest flight to Los Angeles on Monday.
Also in SF: New police chief George Gascón has taken a page from ex-boss William Bratton's playbook and endorsed local DA Kamala Harris for state attorney general.
]]>Noted: Another citizen reporting site, AllVoices.com, says it's hiring reporters and freelancers in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Lynda Gorov, the former Boston Globe correspondent in L.A., is chief of correspondents. More info.
Click to view larger. See more by Steve Greenberg in the LA Sketchbook archive.
]]>
Curbed LA introduced a bold new look today, bringing the site more in line with others in the company's spreading empire, with more obvious links to the sister sites. We've got a major re-visualizing in the works ourselves (maybe), so I'm interested in some of their choices. From the explainer:
Since Curbed LA launched in November 2005, the visual look of this site has changed little. That was, until early this morning when the switch flipped on the aesthetic overhaul now seen before you. Do come in and make yourself comfortable.For readers of Eater LA, the design will be familiar—it's a look based on the new feel brought to that family of blogs last month. For those who haven't seen this new look before, couple quick notes. We're aiming to make it easier to access recent news about individual neighborhoods—look for clear neighborhood links to the right of each post, and a full neighborhood list down the right column.
Check it out. I notice they're now segregating anonymous comments from those left by registered visitors.
]]>How did the most egregious serial Bay polluter of the 21st century get away with so many violations?The Regional Water Board staff and attorneys made some egregious errors of their own in enforcing the case. Picture a serial felon getting released on probation because the police failed to read the accused his Miranda rights. That’s what happened here.
It's a tale of raw sewage forgiven, Gold says: "All of those men, women and children that got sick from swimming in the sewage polluted waters of Paradise Cove in the last 10 years have the Regional Board and the Kissel Co. to thank."
]]>
Lots of talk and kudos today for Ruth Seymour, who announced to her staff last night (see her note) that she will retire as head of KCRW. Larry Mantle opened his show on rival KPCC this morning with more than a minute of praise, calling her announcement "a historic day in public radio." Seymour's news also got the final segment on Mantle's "Airtalk." "Ruth Seymour is a giant in public radio," Mantle said. "A truly unique figure in public radio, and worthy of a great deal of credit for the contributions she has made to the growth of public radio."
Tonight on KCRW's own "Which Way, L.A.?", Warren Olney said "she's been a pioneer in public radio" and talked with guests about her creation of the eclectic format (mixing a range of music with news and commentary) and enduring programs such as "Politics of Culture" and "Left, Right & Center." "Ruth saved Weekend Edition," said former music director Tom Schnabel, describing how she raised money and lobbied in Washington for NPR to keep that show. "She breaks all the rules of public radio and succeeds." Ira Glass also described her role in supporting his "This American Life."
Seymour told Sharon Waxman of The Wrap that "I just felt it’s time. There comes a moment where you say, 'It’s time to leave. You’ve been here more than 30 years. You’re in your 70s.'
"Media is in the process of tremendous change. More and more we don’t really know where it’s going to end up. I think it can benefit from new leadership."
Seymour also said she hears less comments about her distinctive New York voice than in the past: "I became an acquired taste. At the beginning, people like me never got near a microphone. Now regional accents are quite common....But I’ve lived here since the early '60s."
From this morning on LA Observed: Full text of Seymour's letters to staff and KCRW listeners and the station news release.
Photo by Marc Goldstein
]]>Ruth Seymour, who built KCRW into a National Public Radio power, sent a letter to radio station staffers last night saying she will retire at the end of February. She has run the station based at Santa Monica College since 1977. Here's her note:Dear Staff,I want to give you a heads-up on some dramatic news.
I've made the decision to retire as General Manager at the end of February. I will be speaking personally to many of you in the coming weeks but I wanted to make sure that you heard this from me before it becomes more public.
For almost all of you, I am the only manager you've known. Some of you go back with me to John Adams Jr. High. We have a lot of history together.
We have created a family of sorts down in the basement. We have laughed and cried together, quarreled and made up. We've welcomed new wives and husbands and lots of babies, some of whom plan to run the station themselves someday.
The College is required to engage in certain procedures to choose a new manager and they have embarked on the process. I will be here to hand off the station to my successor.
Nothing is harder than to announce that you're leaving and then try to manage for the next few months. So I hope you'll make it easy for me.
I'm attaching a letter which will be sent to the membership. Please read it.
I'm sure I'll get a chance to talk individually to everyone of you in the days to come.
With love and gratitude - Ruth
The letter to station supporters is after the jump, followed by a press release going out this morning. Santa Monica College has begun the process of selecting a new general manager.
]]> Seymour's letter:After 32 years of leading KCRW, I am writing to let you know that I will be retiring as KCRW’s General Manager at the end of February.
What a long and exciting journey it’s been. I’ve had the opportunity to head a station that was once considered one of the most underdeveloped in the country. When you’re that poor and weak, there’s no place to go but up or out.
KCRW went up.
It became a leader and a trendsetter. Today the audience for the unique programs the station originates has spread to listeners across the country, and indeed, across the world.
I am grateful for the opportunity to have overseen the transformation of KCRW from a worn-out facility in a middle school playground into the internet powerhouse that it has become.
No one builds a KCRW alone. When you’re so taken up with the here and now, you don’t really spend a great deal of time reflecting on the past. Therefore, I’ve asked my longtime colleague Will Lewis, who has been an invaluable companion on this radio adventure, to document the years we’ve spent shaping and growing the station. His overview is included with my letter.
I want to thank our licensee, Santa Monica College, which allowed us the freedom to experiment and cheered us on. I have served under four Presidents and countless College Boards, and throughout they have been steadfast in their support and encouragement. That is no small thing and I wish every public station as exemplary a licensee as KCRW enjoys.
The KCRW Foundation was created in 1980 to safeguard the station in a precarious time. Over the years it has allowed us to undertake some of our most ambitious programs, to expand our facilities and to enter the internet age. The KCRW you know would not exist without the support of the KCRW Foundation.
Many public stations of our size and importance have long since given up using volunteers. We cherish ours. They bring the world into our basement studios. They come from all walks of life; they range from young students to seniors. They’re excited by coming down to the station and answering phones, taking pledges, working in the music library, assisting the deejays. Each year they save the station hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Over the years we discovered and attracted an impressive number of gifted individuals who poured their passion for music, the arts and political drama into dynamic and original radio. They made our reputation.
They were supported by a loyal and devoted staff, committed and inspired by the ideas and the ideals that characterize KCRW.
The media world is now in the process of dynamic change. KCRW is at the forefront, experimenting with the technical advances that are changing the ways in which we communicate.
I am confident that the station will welcome new opportunities as they arise, ever mindful that it’s still all about the programming.
I will leave a station that is strong in its identity, a station that is like no other in the country. The words I like to use to describe KCRW (you’ve seen them in my countless fundraising letters over the years) are singular, idiosyncratic, daring, independent, smart and compelling.
I believe that’s why you value the station, why we’ve been able to forge a remarkable bond with you, one of trust and affection. You have made it possible for us to become the station we are today.
You will make it possible for KCRW to continue to flourish.
It’s been an extraordinary privilege to serve as KCRW’s General Manager -- a joy and a source of great pride. That’s a pretty good note on which to say goodbye.
Sincerely,
Ruth Seymour
News release:
Santa Monica, CA….After 32 years as General Manager of Santa Monica College’s public radio station KCRW-89.9 FM and www.KCRW.com, Ruth Seymour has announced that she is retiring at the end of February.
“I am leaving a station that is strong in its identity, a station like no other in the country,” says Ms. Seymour. “It’s been an extraordinary privilege to serve as KCRW’s General Manager – a joy and source of great pride. That’s a pretty good note on which to say goodbye.”
She arrived at the station in September 1977 as a consultant and was formally appointed manager several months later.
Ms. Seymour has overseen the transformation of a station originally located in a middle school playground, with the oldest transmitter west of the Mississippi. Today KCRW’s 13 transmitters deliver its broadcast service to much of Southern California.
Online, the station has one of the largest audiences of any American radio station, providing three discreet program streams 24/7 at KCRW.com. KCRW’s 26 podcasts are downloaded 1.2 million times monthly.
Ruth Seymour also serves as the station’s Program Director. KCRW is recognized for its original award-winning programs in news, music and culture. The station’s schedule features its signature music show Morning Become Eclectic and its daily news-based broadcasts of To the Point and Which Way, L.A.?.
KCRW produces more national programs than any other public radio station. Its six series are broadcast collectively by stations throughout the country, including New York, Washington, D.C and Seattle.
Ms. Seymour is also a familiar voice to KCRW’s listeners. She often hosts The Politics of Culture and has led the station’s on-air Subscription Drives.
She credits KCRW’s large and loyal subscriber base for enabling the station to engage in ambitious productions and important digital ventures. “We have forged a strong bond with our listeners, one of trust and affection. They have come through for us time and time again.”
Santa Monica College, the station’s licensee, will engage in the selection process to choose Ms. Seymour’s successor. The College expects that it will take several months to complete.
About KCRW: KCRW 89.9FM, licensed to Santa Monica College, is National Public Radio's flagship station for Southern California. The Santa Monica-based nonprofit represents cutting edge radio at its best, presenting an eclectic mix of independent music, news, talk and arts programming. The terrestrial signal serves Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura Counties, as well as parts of San Diego, San Bernardino, Kern, and Santa Barbara Counties and the greater Palm Springs area. KCRW’s programming is internationally renowned and available worldwide via KCRW.com, including three streaming channels, 27 podcasts and archives of our locally-produced programs and live band performances. Hear KCRW music online, all the time, on the ALL music stream Eclectic24.
Photo of Seymour by Marc Goldstein
.
]]>
You know, part of LA Land's problem was that the Times mixed residential real estate pieces with "houses of the stars" pieces and commercial real estate pieces, such that the blog really didn't have any focus. You are apparently attempting to correct this by further blurring the focus of LA Land by combining residential real estate, houses of the stars, and commercial real estate with business news, economic regulatory news, wall street news, and general economic trends. Don't you think this is really losing what little focus you had?
Back in April, based on these stats, L.A. Land was doing way better than most Times blogs. Also folded in are California Consumer and Up to Speed.
]]>