http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-grazer23mar23,1,320755.story?coll=la-headlines-business
Times' opinion chief quits
Editorial Page Editor Andr–s Martinez resigns after the paper cancels a guest-edited section.
By James Rainey
Times Staff Writer
March 23, 2007
Los Angeles Times Publisher David D. Hiller's decision Thursday to scrap a special opinion section to avoid the appearance of an ethical breach triggered the resignation of Editorial Page Editor Andr–s Martinez, who accused the paper's editor and publisher of overreacting.
Hiller announced early in the day that he would not publish a special Current section — featuring Hollywood producer Brian Grazer as guest editor — because it might appear to some readers that Grazer had an unfair advantage when he was selected.
Grazer has been represented by the publicity firm 42 West and executive Kelly Mullens, who is Martinez's girlfriend. Martinez and Mullens denied that their relationship influenced the decision to pick Grazer as the first in a planned series of prominent guest editors for the Current section.
In an interview Thursday night, Martinez said that halting publication of the special section "was an overreaction. It was not necessary. I think the damage to the institution was significant."
Martinez blamed Hiller and Times Editor James E. O'Shea, who both came from Chicago last fall after their predecessors left the paper under pressure from The Times' parent, Tribune Co.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/us/23martinez.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin
March 23, 2007
Los Angeles Times Editorial Page Chief Quits
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
Andrés Martinez, the editorial page editor of The Los Angeles Times, resigned yesterday, saying he had been undermined by his publisher over what Mr. Martinez described as a “perception of a conflict of interest.”
Mr. Martinez had helped select Brian Grazer, a Hollywood producer, as guest editor of a special edition of this Sunday’s opinion section, called Current. The paper reported yesterday that Mr. Martinez is in a romantic relationship with Kelly Mullens, a senior executive at the public relations firm that represents Mr. Grazer’s production company.
The publisher, David Hiller, initially said he did not see a conflict, only the appearance of a conflict that could be handled with an editor’s note disclosing the relationship, said James O’Shea, the paper’s editor. But Mr. Hiller changed his mind yesterday after several staff members expressed their concern to Mr. O’Shea, and Mr. O’Shea spoke with Mr. Hiller. Yesterday, Mr. Hiller canceled the special edition.
In a statement last night, Mr. Hiller said that “a potential conflict of interest had emerged” over Mr. Martinez’s relationship with Ms. Mullens. “We believe that this relationship did not influence the selection of Brian as guest editor,” he said. “Nonetheless, in order to avoid even the appearance of conflict, we felt the best course of action was not to publish the section.”
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