MANAGING EDITOR TO LEAVE THE TIMES
By Roger Vincent, Times Staff Writer

Los Angeles Times, CA
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June 29 2007

Douglas Frantz will lead the Wall Street Journal’s Middle East bureau.

Managing Editor Douglas Frantz will leave The Times to become Middle
East bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal, he announced Thursday.

The former foreign correspondent served nearly two years as one of
the paper’s top editors. "I felt like I had done as much as I could
in this job. My true love is reporting and writing," said Frantz,
who in his new position will be based in Istanbul, Turkey, his home
for many years before moving to Los Angeles.

His last day will be July 6.

Frantz, 57, worked for The Times from 1987 to 1993 as a business
reporter and investigative reporter in the Washington bureau. After a
stint at the New York Times, he returned in 2003 as an investigative
reporter based in Istanbul. He became managing editor in October 2005.

"This is a great newspaper filled with great people," he said. "I’m
sure it will continue to pursue excellence in journalism. I’m sorry
I won’t be around."

Times Editor James E. O’Shea called Frantz "a solid leader, guiding
the editorial department through some troubled and rugged days. He is
an extraordinary journalist and a dedicated editor who cares deeply
about the newspaper and the staff."

The Times has been roiled by management turmoil in recent years.

O’Shea is the paper’s fourth editor since 2000, when Tribune
Co. bought it as part of its acquisition of Times Mirror Co. The
paper has struggled along with the entire industry as advertising
revenue and readership have declined.

Tribune has agreed to be taken private in a pending deal led by
investor Sam Zell.

Frantz’s replacement will be named shortly, O’Shea said. "I’ll be
focusing my attention on existing staff. We have plenty of good
candidates."

Frantz recently was embroiled in an emotionally charged personnel
issue. A group of Armenian Americans called for Frantz’s ouster after
he blocked the publication of an article on the Armenian genocide of
the early 20th century. Frantz said the story’s author, Times reporter
Mark Arax, who is of Armenian descent, could not be objective about
the topic. Arax objected and resigned this month.

Frantz said he wasn’t leaving because of the controversy.

Wall Street Journal Managing Editor Marcus Brauchli said Frantz was
offered the job after top executives reviewed his handling of the
Armenian story. He called Frantz "a journalist of great distinction
and talent."

Frantz is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. He was recognized for
a Los Angeles Times series chronicling the arming of Iraq before the
1991 Persian Gulf War and for a New York Times series on the Church
of Scientology.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress