Kevin Merida takes the top job at the LA Times

Yesterday, after months of speculation, the LA Times appointed its next executive editor. The paper has given the job to Kevin Merida, the editor in chief of The Undefeated, an arm of ESPN that reports on the intersection of sports, race, and culture; prior to working there, he spent twenty-two years at the Washington Post, including as a managing editor, and also worked as a reporter at the Dallas Morning News and Milwaukee Journal. Merida, who is Black, will be just the third top editor of color in the history of the LA Times; his hiring follows a public promise that Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner, made last year to diversify the paper’s ranks. Merida will be tasked with growing the paper’s digital-subscriber base, which currently lags those of bigger rivals, as well as its own goals. “I see nothing but opportunity,” he told Meg James, an LA Times reporter. “I think this can be the most innovative media company in the country.” Merida, who is sixty-four years old, is respected across the media industry, and the reaction to his appointment was broadly positive. Dean Baquet, a former LA Times executive editor who now holds the same post at the New York Times, called Merida a “really good choice.” Colleagues from Merida’s days at the Post—including Dan Balz, Philip Rucker, and Wesley Lowery, who has since left that paper and sharply criticized its overall leadership—were similarly effusive; Michelle Ye Hee Lee, a Post reporter who is also president of the Asian American... Continue reading at 'Columbia Journalism Review'

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2021-05-04 12:30:57 UTC ]
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My Job in 5; Sophie Schrey, senior editor, Buster Books

This week's My Job in 5 is with My Job in 5; Sophie Schrey, senior editor, Buster Books, the children's imprint of Michael O'Mara.  Here's what she had to say about her role. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Odedina to take open submissions at Pushkin

Sarah Odedina, the new editor-at-large at Pushkin Children’s, is looking to build the children’s list through a new open submissions initiative. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pushkin children #sarah odedina #open submissions


Rebuck: 'Brexit too big a risk to take'

Penguin Random House chair Gail Rebuck has said that she and other UK bosses for parent company Bertelsmann are "unanimous" in wanting to stay inside the European Union, because leaving "it is too big a risk to take". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers’ Facebook videos are shared 7 times more than links

Publishers are addicted to the video format on Facebook, and it's easy to see why: they get much higher engagement on video posts than they do on article links, according to an analysis of NewsWhip data. The problem is that publishers have less ability to monetize the video they post to... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Brant Publications’ Takes Control of Artnews Assets and Titles

Brant subsidiary BMP Media becomes the legal owner of Art in America, The Magazine Antiques, Modern, and ARTnews. The post Brant Publications’ Takes Control of Artnews Assets and Titles appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2016-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Audio download chart, April 2016: Train is the top track

Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train (Random House) has supplanted Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Pottermore) at the top of April’s Audible Audio Download Chart, claiming only its second month at number one. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Top-Selling Audio Downloads in 2016

To provide a picture of what’s doing well in the hot-as-ever digital download arena, several publishers shared with us their top-selling digital audio titles for the year to date. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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L.A. billionaire becomes the 2nd-largest shareholder of L.A. Times' parent company

Los Angeles Times owner Tribune Publishing Co. has rejected a second buyout offer from rival newspaper publisher Gannett Co., and this time it’s brought in new financial muscle to fend off further overtures: L. A. billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong. Tribune Publishing announced Monday morning that... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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My Job in 5; Anna Cunnane, Export sales manager, Kyle Books

This week Anna Cunnane, export sales manager at Kyle Books tells us about her role and why she rates joining the SYP. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Candid Comments on What It Takes To Run a Small Press

Long, unpaid hours, feelings of being overlooked, having one's work "disregarded"...there's reward in the trenches, yes, but also a lot of lonely labor. The post Candid Comments on What It Takes To Run a Small Press appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Time Inc.’s Jen Wong: ‘We have a ways to go to get to the bleeding edge’

As a legacy publisher, Time Inc. still gets 76 percent of its revenue from its print brands. It falls to Time Inc.’s new president of digital Jen Wong to speed its transaction to digital. She talked to Digiday about the hard work of speeding up the pace of change, the value of being first with... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Euro Politicos Top Nonfiction Lists Overseas

Guillaume Musso’s "Brooklyn Girl" has Parisians dreaming of Park Slope for the second month running, as the bestseller retains its #1 position on the fiction chart in France for April. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marsh Takes New Role at Abrams & Chronicle Books

Brenda Marsh has been named the managing director of Abrams & Chronicle Books, the London-based distribution venture of Abrams and Chronicle. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC Bitesize promotion will 'kill start-ups and destroy jobs'

Educational publishers have raised concerns over the BBC’s revision platform Bitesize, after the organisation launched a free app with cross-promotion on BBC TV and Radio. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bbc tv #educational publishers #raised concerns #organisation launched #free app


YA take on Da Vinci Code to be released

An abridged version of Dan Brown's best-selling book The Da Vinci Code is to be published for young adults, his publisher announces. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2016-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Girl on the Train is tops again, steams towards one million mark

The Girl on the Train (Black Swan) has run away with the Official UK Top 50 number one spot for a second week, selling 89,852 copies for £347,113, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. This is a 51.9% increase in volume on its first week at the top. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jobs on the line as OUP 'reshapes' ELT

An unconfirmed number of jobs are under consultation at Oxford University Press's English Language Teaching division, the publisher has confirmed. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BookCon 2016: YA Authors Take Center Stage at Literary Fan Fest

YA authors who were most feted at the annual mashup of literature and popular culture, which took place in Chicago on May 14. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book sales in the UK decline for the first time

There's something to be said about a printed book. It's easy to read outdoors, you can lend it to a friend and, unlike a top-end Kindle, it doesn't spell disaster if you lose it. E-readers have their place, but today The Publishers Association (PA) h... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Printed book sales rise for first time in four years as ebooks decline

Adult colouring book craze and 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland helped revival in traditional publishing last yearSales of printed books have grown for the first time in four years, lifted by the adult colouring book craze and 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland, as ebooks suffered... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #150th anniversary #traditional publishing #printed books #publishers association