Austin Beutner Out As LA Times Publisher; Timothy Ryan In

[news]

[news]

After a mere 13 months as publisher of the Los Angeles Times, former Wall Street banker and Deputy LA Mayor Austin Beutner has been given the boot by Tribune Publishing Co., sources close to the firing confirmed to The Huffington Post. Politico's Ken Doctor first reported the news Tuesday. 

The reason for the firing wasn’t immediately clear, but various media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, have cited financial troubles at the paper and Beutner’s expensive, high-profile hires from the world of politics and business -- which some suggested were made in contemplation of a run for political office -- as reasons for the decision. Among the hires suspected to be politically motivated were Nicco Mele, an Internet strategist who worked on Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign, and Johanna Maska, a former White House aide under President Barack Obama.

During his tenure at the LA Times, Beutner spearheaded several digital initiatives, including the launch of online "verticals" focused on news events such as the California drought. Beutner also helped orchestrate the purchase of the San Diego Union-Tribune in May, part of a strategy to ease regional distribution and production costs.

The firing also comes amid long-running tensions between the Chicago-based Tribune Co. and the LA Times, which was owned by Times Mirror before Tribune bought it in 2000. The board recently rejected a proposal from billionaire LA investor Eli Broad to buy the paper and put Beutner in charge.


Timothy Ryan, publisher of the Baltimore Sun Media Group, will take over for Beutner, effective immediately.


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Gabriel Arana is senior media editor at The Huffington Post.














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