Baron and Chandler staying home.
Boston Globe editor Marty Baron today put the kibosh on speculation that he could be headed to the Los Angeles Times to become a managing editor under that paper's editor and his good friend, Dean Baquet.
And Boston Herald editorial director Ken Chandler, while not quite so definitive, downplayed any suggestion he might return to his old stomping grounds at the New York Post.
The Baron rumor appeared in LA Observed, the Web site featuring the reporting of Kevin Roderick whose resume includes twenty years at the Times. LA Observed
Earlier in his career, Baron worked at the L.A. Times in a variety of roles ranging from business editor to editor of the Orange County edition. And he is very friendly with Baquet, a former colleague from The New York Times. In fact, Baron and Baquet were frequently mentioned in media speculation as possible successors to New York Times executive editor Howell Raines, who resigned in 2003 in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal.
Baquet instead succeeded John Carroll, who resigned as newsroom boss at the L.A. Times in July. Carroll resigns
Regardless of the relative merits of the two papers, it seems a little far-fetched that Baron would leave the top job in Boston for a lesser position in Los Angeles. When asked to respond to the L.A. rumor, Baron flatly told Media Log that "I'm not interested, which is not a reflection of the paper, which I dearly love" nor on Baquet who he calls "a terrific friend."
"I have a great job and have no intention of looking for another job," Baron added.
Chandler, a longtime Rupert Murdoch employee, was editor of the Post from 1993-1999 and publisher from 1999-2002, before he was essentially given his walking papers by Lachlan Murdoch. But now that Rupert has succeeded his son as publisher of the Post, there's been some speculation that Chandler, who returned to the Herald in 2003, could be reunited with his old boss in the Big Apple. Rupert returns
Asked if he had any plans to rekindle his Post career, Chandler told Media Log, "Not that I'm aware of." While not quite an unequivocal "no," Chandler then added: "I'm committed to the Herald and there's still a lot to be done here."
And Boston Herald editorial director Ken Chandler, while not quite so definitive, downplayed any suggestion he might return to his old stomping grounds at the New York Post.
The Baron rumor appeared in LA Observed, the Web site featuring the reporting of Kevin Roderick whose resume includes twenty years at the Times. LA Observed
Earlier in his career, Baron worked at the L.A. Times in a variety of roles ranging from business editor to editor of the Orange County edition. And he is very friendly with Baquet, a former colleague from The New York Times. In fact, Baron and Baquet were frequently mentioned in media speculation as possible successors to New York Times executive editor Howell Raines, who resigned in 2003 in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal.
Baquet instead succeeded John Carroll, who resigned as newsroom boss at the L.A. Times in July. Carroll resigns
Regardless of the relative merits of the two papers, it seems a little far-fetched that Baron would leave the top job in Boston for a lesser position in Los Angeles. When asked to respond to the L.A. rumor, Baron flatly told Media Log that "I'm not interested, which is not a reflection of the paper, which I dearly love" nor on Baquet who he calls "a terrific friend."
"I have a great job and have no intention of looking for another job," Baron added.
Chandler, a longtime Rupert Murdoch employee, was editor of the Post from 1993-1999 and publisher from 1999-2002, before he was essentially given his walking papers by Lachlan Murdoch. But now that Rupert has succeeded his son as publisher of the Post, there's been some speculation that Chandler, who returned to the Herald in 2003, could be reunited with his old boss in the Big Apple. Rupert returns
Asked if he had any plans to rekindle his Post career, Chandler told Media Log, "Not that I'm aware of." While not quite an unequivocal "no," Chandler then added: "I'm committed to the Herald and there's still a lot to be done here."
6 Comments:
Wake up Boston....
These are all great hot subjects, full of so many corners to develop and talk about and yet NO COMMENT YET???
What's going on people...let's get yakking....We all need to help keep MediaLog stimulated...
Mark deserves better than this.
Why does Mark deserve anything better than what he's getting? This stuff is okay, but it's nothing remarkable.
Mark does have something that sets him apart from all the other "media" bloggers -- He actually understands the news business.
I don't know -- the faceless editor of the Globe deciding not to take a job that he hasn't been offered doesn't quite rank as noteworthy in my book.
It's kind of like saying "Tiffany's Not Robbed."
The Chanlder bit is only slightly more interesting, if only because of the complete shakeup (some would say shakedown) he's performed at the Herald (and not for the better, I might add).
A better angle, in my opinion, would be to look at what kind of traits would be ideal for these particular jobs. How much "vision" does the person need? How much print experience, and how much business experience? Would a background in customer relations help? What traits help an editor capture the imagination and loyalty of the newsroom, the public, the advertisers? Should papers hire for the long run, or should they treat editors like football coaches, to be dumped at first sign of a losing season? And how should the owners "grade" the performance of their personnel? And so on.
Mike_B
I would love to see Ken Chandler leave if it meant the Herald was returning to some kind of real journalism. I subscribed for years and have been so sad to watch the decline to second-rate New York Post standards in every way. In the 90's after they redesigned the Herald, it was a good paper. Now it's almost totally irrelevant and I don't even read it when they give it away.
But I fear Patrick Purcell is committed to the current strategy, and if Chandler left he would install a new editor to do the Post thing, probably even worse than it's done now.
Mark
When they redesigned the Herald, they made it completely and totally boring. It wasn't a redesign. It was a rede---zzzzzzz---ign. That's what happens when you listen to idiot focus groups.
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