Start the Presses: There’s a lot going on here
I have a bunch of changes and announcements to talk about this week, so I best get started.
First, responding to your requests, we are greatly expanding our calendar listings online, reserving items in the paper for events happening that day or in the near future. The online items can be found by clicking on the “Calendar” link in the main navigation bar of each paper’s home page.
Second, as promised in this space about a month ago, we will be expanding our coverage of service clubs, organizations and announcements. Joyce Rudolph, our longtime features editor, has agreed to write a weekly column for the Burbank and Glendale papers. Look for the first column to run this Wednesday.
The point of the column is to shine a light on the good work, charitable events, and everyday joys of people in our communities. Though she retired last year, Joyce remains a force within our area, and I am very happy to have her back in our pages.
Additionally, look for an expanded “Community” page to launch on each paper’s website on April 2. The intent of this page is to provide readers with a place to share information about engagements, weddings, promotions and the like. In addition, our popular “Vacation Photo” feature — where readers send us photos of themselves holding a copy of the paper in places exotic and pedestrian — will finally have an online home.
We are also making a few changes on the frequency and the location of certain features. Starting next week, most of our regular columnists will be featured on A3, rather than on the Forum page. Forum itself will run twice a week — Wednesday and Sunday — in Glendale and Burbank, Thursday and Sunday in the La Cañada Valley Sun, and Sunday in the Pasadena Sun.
This change dovetails with some staffing changes. Starting in April, Carol Cormaci, currently at the Valley Sun, will become managing editor of all four titles. In her new position, Carol will oversee and fact-check letters to the editor submitted to all of our papers.
In addition, Carol will run the new Community Web pages, manage our calendar listings, and be the point person for our soon-to-be launched reader editorial boards. In the coming weeks, look here and online for more details on these initiatives and how you can become involved.
Bill Kisluk’s role also will expand, overseeing news coverage for both the La Cañada and Pasadena editions.
Bill, the founding city editor of the Pasadena Sun, led his staff into an incredibly competitive news market, consistently producing a paper that often beats its more established rivals. The Pasadena Sun is poised to win numerous statewide awards this year for its coverage, and I am confident he will continue this tradition of success in La Cañada.
Finally, I want to announce a couple of hires on our Web team. First, I’m very pleased to announce that Damon Carroll is our new Web editor. Damon comes to us from OregonLive.com, the website connected to The Oregonian, that state’s premier paper. Damon brings a wealth of experience, both editorial and technical, to our shop, and I’m excited to see our sites continue to improve under his leadership.
Joining Damon will be Tiffany Kelly, our general assignment reporter, who will now also take on the role of assistant Web editor.
Tiffany has quickly taken over ownership of our social networking sites, dramatically increasing our reach through Facebook and Twitter. She and Damon will work together to make our sites increasingly relevant, important and easy to use.
These are significant changes, I realize, and a lot to have happen all at once. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call or drop an email. As always, thank you for reading.
DAN EVANS is the editor. Reach him at (818) 637-3234 or dan.evans@latimes.com.