SOURCE: Business Wire October 9, 1997

DISTRIBUTION: Business Editors

LENGTH: 1891 words

HEADLINE: L.A. Times Reorganizes Business to Drive Growth

DATELINE: LOS ANGELES

BODY: Oct. 9, 1997--The Los Angeles Times has initiated a top-level reorganization that will focus its business functions, such as advertising and marketing, around the sections of the paper in order to help The Times grow and connect more effectively with readers.

The reorganization, announced by Mark. H. Willes, publisher of the Los Angeles Times and chairman, president and chief executive officer of Times Mirror, includes several executive moves that give individuals responsibility for business-support aspects of The Times' editorial sections and the newspaper's daily regional editions in Orange County, Ventura County and the San Fernando Valley. The appointments and responsibilities are effective immediately.

Jeffrey S. Klein, currently senior vice president of consumer marketing, has been named to the new position of senior vice president and general manager, news. He will be responsible for business planning for all Times news sections, except weekday and Sunday Calendar, and for the marketing research department. He continues to oversee the paper's consumer marketing division.

Janis Heaphy moves from the position of senior vice president, advertising to senior vice president responsible for retail and national advertising sales and marketing, advertising operations and all business planning for the newspaper's weekday and Sunday Calendar sections. She will also be responsible for a new section being designed to broaden the paper's appeal to women.

Both Klein and Heaphy will be working closely with Times editors in the business planning for new sections and features.

"This change will enable us to organize around growth opportunities while simultaneously continuing to protect our editorial integrity and journalistic quality," said Willes. "Business-planning activities will be organized around editorial sections rather than around business functions, such as advertising, marketing and sales.

"If we are to become more innovative and continue our terrific growth momentum, we need the structure and accountability that enables talented people to be their best. We have the talent, and this new organization will allow that talent to serve more readers, more rapidly.

"The key to this approach is having the right people, and Jeff and Janis are two of the best," Willes added. "Jeff has a broad background in every area of newspapers, from writing a consumer column to being a First Amendment lawyer to directing the business operations of our regional editions. Janis has proven her ability as a leader throughout her career in the newspaper business, particularly during our remarkable advertising growth over the past couple of years. They are perfectly suited to take on these new responsibilities."

Robert G. Magnuson, currently a vice president of The Times and president of the newspaper's daily Orange County Edition, now becomes a senior vice president of The Times. He will continue as president of the Orange County Edition and will also be responsible for the editorial and business functions of the newspaper's Ventura County and San Fernando Valley editions. Magnuson will also oversee California Community News (CCN), a Times Mirror subsidiary which publishes seven daily and weekly newspapers in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Robert N. Brisco, senior vice president of marketing and new business development, becomes senior vice president responsible for Times classified advertising sales and marketing, and he will continue to oversee The Times' new media ventures. He will also assume responsibility for the newspaper's production operations in downtown Los Angeles, Orange County and the San Fernando Valley. Production operations will continue to be led by Mark Kurtich, vice president of operations, who reports to Brisco. Brisco also remains responsible for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate and the newspaper's strategic planning activities.

Keating Rhoads, who has been The Times' senior vice president of operations since 1994, will be moving to Times Mirror, The Times' parent company, in a new corporate position.

"Bob Magnuson's newspaper experience -- from an editorial and business standpoint -- is second to none, and he brings great energy and innovation to our regional operations," said Willes. "Bob Brisco has established himself as a visionary in the areas of new media and strategic planning. His new responsibilities will broaden his newspaper experience, and I know that his knowledge and strategic vision will be very valuable in his new position."

"The new structure builds on the success of recent collaborative and integrated efforts involving the Times Business section that have produced such rich and popular features as Wall Street, California; The Cutting Edge; and Small Business," said Donald F. Wright, president and chief executive officer of The Times. "These new top-quality features have not only been popular with readers, but have attracted new ad revenues to the paper. Now it'll be even easier for different areas of the paper to work together, in a spirit of partnership and mutual respect, toward the common goal of increasing readership and financial return.

"Our Eastern newspapers have also experimented with cross-department teams that aim to increase readership of various sections, " added Wright, "and they have been very successful in this area."

Under the new organization, Michael Parks, newly appointed Times editor and senior vice president, will be responsible for the newspaper's news, feature and editorial content as well as the paper's 1,000-plus editorial staffers. (See today's related news release on Park's appointment and an editorial reorganization at The Times.)

"Our highly journalistic standards and the integrity of everyone involved in publishing this paper allow us to discuss section planning issues with people on the business side without compromising our editorial judgement," said Parks. "Having very focused and integrated business planning support for our editorial sections will help us achieve the financial success that fuels even greater journalism and will extend the impact and relevance of this great newspaper."

Klein, Heaphy, Brisco and Magnuson report to Wright. Also continuing to report to Wright are Elizabeth Drewry, senior vice president of human resources for The Times and Times Mirror; Bill Isinger, The Times' senior vice president of finance; and Judy Kallet, senior vice president of Technology for Times Mirror and The Times.

Klein, 44, has served as senior vice president of consumer marketing for The Times since 1996. He has also been responsible for business operations at The Times' regional editions in Orange County, Ventura County and the Valley, and has served as president and chief executive officer of CCN. Klein previously served as a senior attorney for the company specializing in First Amendment issues. From 1987 to 1989 he was assistant to the president of Times Mirror, and from 1989 to 1991 he was assistant to the publisher of The Times. From 1991 to 1996, he was vice president of The Times and president of the Valley and Ventura County editions. He received his bachelor of arts degree from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif., his master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and a Juris Doctor in law from Stanford University.

Heaphy, 45, served in her previous position since 1996, overseeing The Times' advertising sales, advertising operations and advertising marketing functions. She has been responsible for all Times advertising sales, including retail, classified and national, and a staff of more than 800 employees in local, national and international sales offices. Heaphy came to The Times in 1986 as a senior account executive in the display advertising department. She was named Eastern magazine manager in 1987, was promoted to national advertising manager in 1989, became retail advertising manager in 1992 and was promoted to vice president of advertising in 1994. Heaphy has both a bachelor's and master's degree in education from Miami University (Ohio).

Magnuson, 45, was The Times' business editor from 1990 until 1996, when he was named president of the Orange County Edition. He has been responsible for the editorial and business operations at the daily Edition. He first worked for The Times from 1979 to 1982 as a staff writer in the newspaper's Business section. He then worked for the Asian Wall Street Journal as its Hong Kong bureau chief and, after a brief stint with the Oakland Tribune, joined the Orange County Edition in 1984 where he served as business editor, city editor and managing editor. He was senior Metro editor for The Times before being named business editor in 1990. Magnuson has master's degrees in economics from the University of Massachusetts and in journalism from Columbia University, as well as a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California at Berkeley.

Brisco, 34, was promoted to senior vice president of marketing and new business development in 1996. He has been responsible for advertising marketing, strategic planning, new business operations, and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. Brisco joined The Times in 1993 as director of business planning and advertising operations and was promoted to director of advertising marketing and strategic planning for the newspaper in 1994. He was promoted to vice president of advertising marketing and strategic planning in 1995. Before coming to The Times, he worked at the management consulting firm of McKinsey & Company, Inc., where he specialized in serving companies in the media and consumer products/services industries. He previously served as a research associate at the Boston Consulting Group. He holds a master's degree in business administration from the UCLA Graduate School of Management and a bachelor's degree in economics and broadcast journalism from the University of Southern California.

The Los Angeles Times, which recently recorded the largest daily circulation gain of any U.S. newspaper, is the second largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country.

The Times is a subsidiary of Times Mirror, a Los Angeles-based news and information company, which publishes The Times, Newsday, The Baltimore Sun and other newspapers; a wide array of professional information for the legal, health sciences, aviation and training markets; and consumer magazines.

CONTACT: Los Angeles Times Laura Morgan, 213/237-4715 E-mail: laura.morgan@latimes.com or Investor Information: Times Mirror Jean M. Jarvis, 213/237-3955

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