LA Times Editor Bolts Before Job Ax Wielded in Newsroom Again

Image via WikipediaImage via WikipediaTheWrap.com Website this week reported that Los Angeles Times Editor Russ Stanton has resigned as the beleaguered daily awaits January layoffs that could further shrink the newsroom by 12 to 20 staffers.

Stanton is the fourth consecutive editor at the Times to depart in the face of a pink slip-laden newsroom. While at the helm, Stanton saw his editorial staff shrink to 550 from 900, The Wrap reports. Meanwhile, circulation at the metro daily has plunged 21 percent since March 2009. The Times is owned by the Tribune Co., which has been immersed in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since December 2008. A paywall for the Los Angeles Times is expected to debut during the First Quarter of 2012.

Media Group Seeks 'Freedom' from Newspaper & TV Ownership

Image via WikipediaLos Angeles Times media writer James Rainey reports today that Irvine, Calif.-based Freedom Communications, which counts 33 dailies, 70 weeklies and eight tv stations among its holdings, is putting its properties up for auction.

The Orange County Register, Freedom's Flagship daily, reportedly is drawing interest from the Tribune Co., owner of The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, and Denver-based MediaNews, which includes the Torrance Daily Breeze, San Bernardino Sun and the Long-Beach Press Telegram among its nine California properties, according to Rainey.

Bids are expected sometime next month.  Freedom Communications emerged from a 2009 Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April of last year (see "TUOL" post 11/19/10).