Bret Israel Is Appointed Senior Editor of Calendar

Bret Israel, editor of the Los Angeles Times’ Southern California Living section, has been named senior editor of Calendar, effective at the end of this month.

Israel will be responsible for the Weekend, Sunday and daily Calendar sections, which in recent years operated as independent units.

Times Deputy Managing Editor John Montorio said that Israel’s mission is not only to help improve Calendar sections but also to ensure that overall entertainment coverage is coordinated with other departments throughout the newsroom. “Bret will be key in assisting us as we proceed with planned retooling of each of these sections in the coming months,” Montorio said.

Earlier this month, Rick Flaste was appointed to the newly created position of Features Editor. Formerly a senior editor for special projects at the New York Times, Flaste, who reports to Montorio, joined him in overseeing the Calendar sections, Southern California Living, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Book Review, Travel, Food and Health.

Israel, 50, joined The Times in 1983. He has directed editorial coverage at the magazine, and has also worked on the book review section and the city and national desks.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from Yale University and a master’s in journalism from the University of Southern California.

“The Times has long devoted extraordinary resources to covering the entertainment and arts community and broad cultural issues,” Israel said. “I am delighted about working with a great staff to make our report as probing, urgent and exciting as possible.”