Tribune Company announced the creation of an online entertainment news bureau that will provide original, multimedia content to the company’s newspaper and television websites. The bureau will be powered by the combined resources of the LA Times and Zap2it, a leading online source of movie and television listings.
The bureau will deliver expanded coverage of movies and television, and will leverage writers and reporters from across Tribune to bring readers constantly updated blogs and other multimedia news on more than 60 top TV shows. One of the team’s first editorial projects will be a behind-the-scenes look at “American Idol.” While located at The Times, the bureau’s editorial content will be aggregated on the Zap2it portal, which will be enhanced and re-launched in the first half of the year.
Times editors and veteran entertainment journalists Richard Rushfield and Joseph Kapsch will lead the operation, working closely with colleagues at The Times, Tribune Interactive, Zap2it and across all Tribune newspapers.
Rushfield has been named director/national entertainment programming for “The Syndicate,” Tribune Interactive’s new online marketplace. He will be responsible for coordinating coverage among Tribune sites and will continue to serve as entertainment editor for latimes.com.
Kapsch has been named editorial director for Zap2it.com, and will oversee its expansion into a national entertainment portal, aggregating info from Tribune sources as well as a network of entertainment bloggers. He will oversee the redesign. Kapsch will also retain his current responsibilities as executive producer/entertainment, latimes.com.
