2 named to top Times posts
The Los Angeles Times promoted two of its top editors Tuesday to managing editor. Assistant Managing Editor John Arthur, a 21-year veteran of the paper, became managing editor for news. Associate Editor John Montorio was named managing editor for features, a new position.
In making the appointments, Editor James O’Shea selected from a field of eight internal candidates for the position left by Douglas Frantz, who resigned this month to become the Wall Street Journal’s Middle East bureau chief.
“One of the things I wanted to do was give people an opportunity to make their case,” O’Shea said, adding that he learned a lot about top editors’ ideas and aspirations for The Times through the exercise.
Arthur stood out as a “person whose experience, credibility and knowledge of the newsroom spanned so many areas,” O’Shea said.
Montorio, he said, is “equally talented and admired” and “one of the nation’s most accomplished features editors.”
O’Shea is the fourth editor of The Times since parent Times Mirror Co. was purchased by Tribune Co. in 2000.
Arthur has served as assistant managing editor since 2000, helping to determine which stories land on the front page. He has held top positions on the paper’s Orange County and Valley editions and also served as assistant national editor.
“This is a great paper with a staff around the world that is breathtaking for its energy, talent and resilience. I’ve always been honored to be in leadership positions here,” said Arthur, 59. “We’re poised to continue the great tradition of the L.A. Times.”
Arthur lives in Santa Monica. He is married and has three children. Before coming to The Times, he worked at the Pittsburg Post-Dispatch in Pittsburg, Calif., and the San Francisco Examiner.
Montorio, 59, spent 15 years at the New York Times before joining the Los Angeles Times in 2001. He helped launch many of the New York Times’ signature features sections, including The City and Sunday Styles. He also edited the Sunday magazines at Newsday and the Washington Star. During his tenure at the Los Angeles Times, Montorio has overhauled the Calendar sections and launched Image, a fashion and style section.
“I take this appointment in part as a recognition of the important role that features, cultural and entertainment journalism have come to play in the life of the Los Angeles Times and its service to readers,” Montorio said.
Leo Wolinsky, who had served as the sole managing editor, retained his title.
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