Following a "realignment" of part of its ad sales department, the Los Angeles Times said that Lynne Segall, vice president, entertainment and luxury, is leaving the company.
The paper announced three sales promotions in her wake: Andy Vogel to vice president of emerging media, a new position; Francie Berns to VP of film advertising; and Stacey Farish to VP of media and live entertainment.
Segall, who at one point served as associate publisher at the Hollywood Reporter for 15 years, had been at the Times since 2006.
"It was sudden," Segall told TheWrap. "I was brought in to manage the entertainment division on a strategic level. We launched the Envelope and some great events. They wanted to flatten the structure with fewer managers."
Segall said she was the only manager let go.
"My focus was to bring a trade perspective to the paper, connecting it to that part of the business," Segall said. "I’m very proud of my legacy."
That legacy included several clashes with the editorial staff over high-priced Hollywood ads that sometimes took over the front page of the paper.
In March, the Times sold its front page to the Walt Disney Company in a special promotion for “Alice in Wonderland.” According to an insider at the paper, Disney paid roughly $700,000 for the four-page spread. (Ironically, Berns — one of the executives promoted to pick up Segall’s slack — is credited as the "architect" of the "Alice" deal.)
In April 2009, the paper stirred controversy by running an ad on its front news page for NBC’s “Southland.” At the time, critics inside the paper and out accused the Times of selling its editorial integrity for an ad, because the ad appeared at a casual glance to be an article. Dozens of editorial staffers protested, and it ultimately led to the exit of executive editor John Arthur. (Arthur was also critical of an ad for "The Soloist" that was published under the paper’s banner.)
At the time, Segall responded to Arthur via TheWrap: "Russ Stanton, his boss, the editor of the paper, approved both advertorial units. The ad department in this company is not in a position nor would we ever be allowed to go out in the market to sell units like this without editorial vetting and giving us permission first."
But the pressure to bend the rules was evident during Segall’s tenure.
The Tribune Company, which owns the Times, is currently in bankruptcy, and the paper has been through several rounds of layoffs since Sam Zell bought it in 2007. And like nearly all newspapers, the Times has had to deal with steep advertising declines to match its circulation.
Two months after the "Southland" incident, HBO bought a front-page wraparound ad for its "True Blood" series. (That deal was struck by Farish, another of the executives promoted by the Times.)
In each case, the studios said the Times had initiated the ad packages.
Here’s the press release on the restructuring, via Company Town:
Times Media Group promotes entertainment ad execs
The Los Angeles Times Media Group announced Thursday that it restructured the entertainment division of its advertising department.
The company announced the promotion of three sales executives to head up its film and media and live-entertainment groups: Andy Vogel, appointed to the new position of vice president of emerging media; Francie Berns, promoted to vice president of film advertising; and Stacey Farish, vice president of media and live entertainment.
All three will report to John T. O’Loughlin, executive vice president of advertising and chief revenue officer of the Times Media Group.
"It is crucial that our team, our products and services continue to evolve to create and provide new value to our clients," O’Loughlin said. "Francie and Stacey are both innovators and experts in their fields who will bring the tenacity and vision necessary to aggressively drive bold solutions. Likewise, Andy’s rich background in new ventures and digital initiatives makes him uniquely qualified to lead new and nontraditional product sales efforts for our entire media group."
Vogel also will work with digitally focused advertising agencies and on expanding the Times Media Group’s portfolio of tech-driven products. He joined The Times in 2009. Before that, he had been sales director at InfoSoft Group and vice president of advertising and online products at Shepherd Express and ExpressMilwaukee.com.
Berns will oversee the expansion of film-related sales efforts, including a series of editorial and event-related entertainment products such as new blogs on latimes.com and the upcoming Hero Complex Film Festival. She has been director of movie advertising at The Times since 2006, during which time she was the architect of creative advertising campaigns in The Times for Walt Disney Co.’s films "Alice in Wonderland" and "Prince of Persia." Berns came to The Times from an advertising agency in Chicago.
Farish will lead a broader program to increase sales, particularly in the cable and satellite TV categories, and will oversee sales teams on both coasts. Before her current assignment, Farish was The Times’ senior director of entertainment advertising sales, where she created HBO’s front-page "True Blood" Season 2-opener ad; she spearheaded an innovative campaign for the TV listings that appear in the Calendar section and the Envelope Primetime Emmy Screening Series. She previously was senior director, Western region, at ABC Radio Networks.
As part of the realignment, Lynne Segall, vice president, entertainment and luxury, is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.
More to read:
Turmoil at L.A. Times Over H’wood Advertorials
Times Sells Disney Its Front Page for $700K
