Kinsley Expected to Lose Top Edit Page Post, But Remain at 'L.A. Times'
By Joe Strupp
Published: July 26, 2005 10:55 AM ET
NEW YORKThe Los Angeles Times' Michael Kinsley is currently in negotiations to change jobs, a move that will likely end his brief but eventful tenure as the paper's editorial and opinion-page editor. Although details of his new position have yet to be finalized, Kinsley is expected to remain at the paper as a columnist and may handle some Web site duties, according to a source at the Times and a report in Tuesday's New York Times.
John Carroll, the outgoing editor of the paper who had originally hired Kinsley away from Slate, told E&P Monday he did not know about Kinsley's plans, but noted "there may be some changes in the works." A story in the Los Angeles Times last week announcing Carroll's departure indicated that editorial page oversight would shift to the publisher from the editor.
Times editorial page editor Andres Martinez, who currently works under Kinsley, declined to comment on Kinsley's future Monday. Publisher Jeffrey Johnson, who is on vacation, could not be reached for comment.
When asked late Monday if Kinsley was leaving his post, Times spokeswoman Martha Goldstein said only that "his role is evolving. We don't have anything further to add to that description."
Rumors of Kinsley's changing future began last week when Editor John Carroll announced his own pending retirement, which will take place Aug. 15. Carroll will be replaced by managing editor Dean Baquet.
Along with announcing Carroll's departure, the paper also revealed a change in the oversight of the editorial page, which had been under the editor's control but will now be reporting to the publisher. Baquet could not be reached for comment on the change, but Carroll said he believed the realignment would be good.
Carroll said he had edited papers in which both editors and publishers had controlled the editorial page and found no problem with either approach. "I don't have any doctrine on that," he told E&P. "But I think Dean feels that the editor shouldn't oversee it and I think Jeff feels that way, too."
The paper surprised many in April 2004 when it chose Kinsley to take the newly created post of editorial and opinion editor, a job he began in June of last year. He replaced Janet Clayton, who had been editorial page editor since 1995 and took another editing post at the paper.
Almost from the beginning, Kinsley had drawn the ire of some at the paper for choosing to run the editorial page from his home in the state of Washington, traveling to Los Angeles only during part of each month.
"It's a very complicated arrangement I have, and not all aspects are working as well as others," Kinsley, 54, told The New York Times in Tuesday's paper. "This living in Seattle and editing the editorial page is not an ideal arrangement...It's not ideal for me and it's not ideal for the paper. I don't think it's terrible. I think I'm doing a pretty good job. But that's the one thing that is not working out, so we're going to try to fix it."
Kinsley's tenure as head of the editorial page has had its notable moments. He made some news last fall when he told E&P he was considering changing the paper's long-running policy of not endorsing candidates in presidential races, a consideration that did not lead to a shift in policy. He also pushed for more signed editorials and editorials from those outside the paper's staff ranks.
In June, Kinsley sparked gossip and some anger among staffers when he left a copy of a power point presentation on a photocopy machine detailing editorial page shake-ups that had yet to be announced. Those included some staff changes and reassignments, plans for publication of opposing editorials, and more reader involvement.
Most recently, the paper's short-lived "wikitorial" experiment blew up in editors' faces. The meltdown occurred after the wikitorial page on the Times Web site was infiltrated by online vandals who placed profane headlines and some pornography on the site, which led to its indefinite cancellation after just two days.
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Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.
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